Pres. Sergio Osmenia Collection

Scope and Content Note

Second and last president of the Philippine Commonwealth (Aug 1944 - May 1946) . His papers consists of reports, memoranda. letters, speeches and messages, cablegrams and radiograms, bills executive orders, petitions and resolutions, proclamation, printed matters, and news clippings. Though small in quantity, the papers are rich in the following subjects dealing with Philippine- American relations, namely: the Lones Law and the Hare-Hawes Cutting Act, the Philippine-American policy during his brief tenure as president of the Philippines and on the rehabilitation of the country after the war.

Biographical Sketch

Name : Sergio Osmena, Sr.
Date of birth : September 9, 1878
Date of death : October 19, 1961
Town : Cebu, Cebu
First Wife : Estefania Veloso
Second Wife : Esperanza Limjap

Children from first wife : Nicasio, Vicenta (now Mrs. Juan Veloso), Edilberto, Emilio, Millagros (now Mrs. Eugenio Alonso), Maria, Jose, Teodoro, Sergio, Jr.
Children from second wife : Ramon, Rosie, Victor.

Schools attended : San Carlos Seminary (Secondary education); San Juan de Letran (AB degree); University of Sto. Tomas (LLB and LLD).

Public service held : Appointed fiscal of Cebu and Negros Oriental in 1904; elected governor of Cebu in 1906; elected delegate for the second district of Cebu and speaker of the first Philippine Assembly, re-elected delegate and speaker of the Philippine Assembly, 1909-1916; elected senator for the 10th district, Cebu vice chairman of the Council of State in 1918; President Pro-tempore of the Senate in 1922; headed Philippine Independence Mission to the United States, the most important was OSROX Mission which worked for the passage of the Hare-Hawes Cutting Act in 1932 granting Philipine independence after a transition period of ten years; vice president and made concurrently Secretary of the Philippine Commonwealth; liberated the Philippines on Oct. 20 1944 by landing in Leyte with General Douglas McArthur.

Biographical Notes


1978 Sept. 9: Born at Cebu. Educated under Miguel Logarta.
1989: Continued secondary course at Seminary College of San Carlos
1892: Completed San Carlos studies at age 14
1892: Met Manuel L. Quezon at Colegio San Juan de Letran where both were "capistas" strudents working for free tuition
1892-1898: Student at Universidad de Santo Tomas along with Quezon, Juan Sumulong and Vicente Singson Encarnacion.
1898 May 1: General George Dewey wrecks Spanish fleet at Manila Bay; Osmena leaves school and after following General Emilio Aguinaldo futilely in Pangasinan returned to Cebu
1898 Dec 10: Treaty of Paris, Spain ceded the Philippines for P20,000,000
1900 Apt 16: Publication of "El Nuevo Dia" a Daily in Spanish with Rafael and Jaime de Veyra as editors
1901 Apr 10: Marries Estefania Chiong Veloso, a daughter of Potenciano Veloso and Genoveva Rosales
1901 July 4: William Howard Taft inaugurated as Civil Governor. Arrival of group of American teachers later referred to as Thomasites (having come on board USS Thomas)
1902 July 1: Cooper Act or Philippines Bill enacted as first Organic Act
1903 Apr: Took examination for lawyers along with Quezon and Singson Encarnacion under Francisco Ortigas
1904: Distributed by St. Louis Exposition at Missouri where Philippine exhibits depicted Filipinos as wild tribes
1904 Apr 15: Appointed acting Governor; vice Juan Climaco who went to Missouri for the exposition
1904 June 11: Appointed provincial fiscal of Cebu
1905 Apr 13: Appointed joint provincial fiscal of Cebu and Oriental Negros
1905 May: Children Nicasio and Vicente born since Mariage
1906 Feb 5: Elected Provincial Governor of Cebu by councilors of province
1906 Oct 5 : Became first Chairman of Convention of Provincial governors held in Manila
1907 Mar: Partido Nacionalista organized with Alberto Barretto as President
1907 July 23: Resigned as Governor of Cebu to run for General Assembly
1907 Oct 16: Became Speaker of first Philippines Assembly
1908 June 19: Declared first moves for Philippine independence from United State of America
1907-1908: First set of Resident Commissioners sent to Washington, D.C. in the persons of Pablo Ocampo and Benito Legarda
1909 May 15: Second set of Resident Commissioners sent to Washington D.C. in the persons of Manuel L. Quezon and Benito Legarda
1910 Nov 4: Third set of Resident Commissioners delayed because of disagreement; elected in March 1914 were Quezon and Manuel Earnshaw (Deliberations began on Nov. 4, 1910)
1912: Partido Democrata founded
1912 Mar 20: Jones Bill No. 1 introduce by William Atkinson Jones
193 Aug 20: Francis Burton Harrison appointed Governor General, arriving in Manila October 6
1914 Oct 14: Jones Bill No. 2 introduced in U.S. Congress
1915 Mar 4: Congress recessed without acting on Jones Bill
1916 Aug 30: Jones Act signed
1919 Jan: First Independence Mission headed by Osmena with Quezon. Widowed with ten children (Nicasio,Vicenta,Edilberto,Emilio,Concepcion,Maria Paloma,Teodoro,Jose, Milagros and Sergio Jr.
1920 Jan 20: Married Esperanza Escobar Limjap
1921-22: "First Collision" with Quezon; Nacionalista Party spilt
1922 Feb 17: Quezon launched Partido Nacinalista-Collectivista at Manmila Grand Opera House with the pronouncement "My loyalty to my party ends were my loyalty to my party : begins"
1922 June 6: General elections Occured before arrival of second independence mission at Washington
1922 June 13: Second Independence Mission headed by Osmena arrived in United States
1923 Aug 11: Nacionalista and Collectivista parties met in national convention to ratify agreement of October 26, 1922 to act together inlegislature
1923: Third Independence Mission heade by Manuel A. Roxas
1924: Governor Wood recommended the audit of P100,000 annual independence fund. This action stranded the mission due to non-transfer of funds to United States
1924: Fourth Independence Mission with Osmena as chairman; Quezon and Claro M. Rexcto to Join Roxas
1925: Fifth Independence Mission heade by Osmena
1926: President Coolidge's disagreements with Filipino leadres
1926: Bill for plebiscite on Philippine indepenedence passed but disapproved by Congress
1931 Dec 5: Ninth Independence Mission with Osmena as chairman and roxas as co-chairman - "OSROX" and considered most controversial f all missions. The proliferation of the "QUAQUAL" (Quezon, Aquino, de las Alas) xables and discussions on HHC Bill
1932 Feb 2: Hare-Hawes - Cutting Bill re-calendared
1933 Jan 13: Hoover vetoed HHC Bill
1933 Jan 17: HHC Bill passed by Congress over Hoover's vetoand became the Philippine Independence Law. House voted 294-94; and Senate 62-26
1933 Apr: Quezon and Osmena met in Paris and proceed to New York and Washington with group of "Pros" and "Antis"
1934 Mar 24: Tydings-Mcduffie Bill signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt Killing the HHC Bill
1935 Nov. 15: Inauguration of the Philippine Commonwealth with Quezon as President and Osmena as Vice-President
1939 Feb 23: Hearing in Congress on above Bill
1941 Nov 11: Re-elected as Vice President
1941 Dec 8: Outbreak of the Pacific War (WWII)
1941 Dec 24: Flight to Corregidor with Quezon, Macarthur and other officials
1941 Dec 39: Quezono and Osmena sworn in as President and Vice-President respectively, for their second terms
1942 Feb 20: Submarines trip to Australia via Mindanao
1942 Mar 30: Arrival at Emlbourne, Australia
1942 Apr 8: Death of Col. Emilio Osmena fourth son
1944 Aug 1: Quezon died. Osmena became President
1944 Oct 20: Leyte landing at Red Beach,Palo, with General MacArthur and Brig. Gen. Carlos P. Romulo
1945 Mar 12: returned to the United States for resumption of negotiations regarding Philippine rehabilitation and for medical treatment once postponed
1945 Mar 19: Underwent prostatectomy
1945 Apr 15: Luncheon with President Roosevelt at Warm Springs, Georgia
1945 Apr 12: President Roosevelt died. Vice President Harry S. Truman succeeded him
1945 May 5: Tydings Mission appointed. its purposed to examine conditions in the Philippines and report findins with recommendations to President Truman
1945 May 23: Returned to the Philippines with his family
1945 June 9: Called Congress, not convened since elections in 1941
1945 June: 26 United Nations "born" in San Francisco
1945 Sept. 22: Signed United Nations Charter in Malacanang ceremonies
1945 sept 25: Establishment of People's Court for the trial of collaborators
1945 Sept 30: Made another trip to the United SStates to finalize arrangements for Philippine independence
1945 Nov. 21: Returned to the Philippines with the family of the late President Quezon
1945 Nov. 25: President Truman's draft for a resolutuion finding the date of the holding of Philippine elections not later than April 30, 1946
1946 Jan 5: Philipine election bill signed into law
1946 Jan 19: Brig. Gen Manuel A. Roxas founded Liberal Party and became candidate for the Presidency with Elpidio Quirino as his running-mate
1946 Jan 21: Nacionalista Convention held with Osmena as candidate for the Presidency and Eulogio Rodriguez as his running-mate
1946 Apr 23: General elections held for President, Vice-President 16 Senatotrs and 97 Congressman Lost to Roxas
1946 May 23: Congress convened
1946 May 28: Inauguration of President Roxas and Vice-President Quirino. Wrote Letter on behalf of President Roxas to U.S. government requesting cooperation when Roxas made trip to the United States with High Commissioner Mcnutt. Official retirement from public office
1946 July 4: Philippine Independence proclaimed
1948 June 26: Gave away daughter, Rosie, in marriage to Dr. Elpidio Valencia
1958 Sept. 9: Celebrated 80th birth anniversary
1960 Nov. 15: Quest speaker at Commonwealth Anniversary observance under auspices of Philippine Historical Commission
1961: Early October underwent medical check-up at Veterans Memorial Hospital
1961 Oct. 19: Died at the age of 83 years, one month and ten days