Cesar Climaco
Bureau of Customs | |
---|---|
In office 1962–1962 | |
President | Diosdado Macapagal |
Preceded by | Rolando G. Geotina |
Succeeded by | Norberto B. Romualdez Jr. |
Mambabatas Pambansa (Assemblyman) from Zamboanga City | |
In office June 30, 1984 – November 14, 1984 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Zamboanga, Philippine Islands | February 28, 1916
Died | November 14, 1984 Zamboanga City, Philippines | (aged 68)
Political party | Liberal Concerned Citizens' Aggrupation |
Spouse | Julia Floreta |
Alma mater | University of Santo Tomas University of the Philippines College of Law |
Cesar Cortez Climaco (February 28, 1916 – November 14, 1984) was a Filipino politician who served as mayor of Zamboanga City for 11 years over three nonconsecutive terms. A prominent critic of the martial law regime of Ferdinand Marcos, he was famed for his toughness in governance and colorful personality. He was also famous for his refusal to cut his hair[1][2] until democratic rule was restored in the Philippines. He was assassinated by an unknown gunman in 1984.
Early years
Climaco was born in Zamboanga City, the son of a customs broker who later became a municipal councilor.
Political career
Climaco first entered political life when he ran and won a seat in the Zamboanga City council in 1951.[4] Within two years, at the age of 37, he would be appointed as mayor of Zamboanga City,[4] holding the post until the following year.[5]
In 1954, Climaco joined the Operation Brotherhood, a group sponsored by the
During his campaign for the mayorship, the melody of "
Climaco first won election as Zamboanga City mayor in 1956, as a candidate of the Liberal Party, and served in such capacity until 1961.
Mayor of Zamboanga City (1956–1959 and 1959–1961)
Climaco became a national figure during his first stint as Zamboanga City mayor. He became known for his personal courage, as shown by his willingness to venture alone out to hotspots and personally confront neighborhood toughs with threats of imprisonment.[4] He maintained a similarly tough stance towards the city's policemen, once disarming cops he caught asleep at their posts during a surprise inspection.[8] Climaco also maintained a harmonious relationship with the city's Muslim population,[1][9] and cracked down on gambling.[1]
As mayor, Climaco ordered the construction of Abong-Abong park in
He struck a friendship with the mayor of Manila, Arsenio Lacson, who had earned a similar reputation for toughness and good governance. Climaco soon earned the nickname "Arsenio Lacson of the South",[1][8] to which Lacson remarked that at the rate Climaco was going, the Manila mayor would soon be known as the "Climaco of the North".[8]
Macapagal administration official
In 1961, Climaco gave up his post as mayor for an unsuccessful run for the Senate under the Liberal Party, in which he finished 12th. After his defeat, he was appointed by President Diosdado Macapagal as Commissioner of Customs. As Customs Commissioner, he brought in cadets from the Philippine Military Academy, vaunted for their idealism and honesty, to work in a Bureau of Customs which had long been reputedly corrupt.[11] He again ran and lost for a Senate seat in 1963. Climaco then was appointed as a Presidential Assistant under Macapagal.[citation needed]
In 1965, Climaco tried for a third time to win election as a senator, but fell around 4,000 votes shy. In the same election, his political ally, President Macapagal, was defeated for re-election by a law school contemporary and friend of Climaco's, Senate President Ferdinand Marcos.[citation needed]
Martial law years
President Marcos declared martial law in 1972. Distressed at the development, Climaco left for exile to the United States[5] He vowed never to cut his hair until democratic rule was restored in the country.[2] He returned to the Philippines in 1976, and two years later, sought election to the Interim Batasang Pambansa as a member from Zamboanga. He was defeated in this effort.[citation needed]
Return as mayor (1980–1984)
In 1980, Climaco staged his political comeback when he won re-election as Zamboanga City mayor under the banner of a political party he had organized, the Concerned Citizen's Aggrupation.[5] By that time, crime and violence, often at the hands of policemen and the military, had become prevalent in the city,[12][13] and a frustrated Climaco posted a scoreboard in front of city hall listing a running tally of unsolved violent crimes in the city.[12][13] Climaco did not hesitate in denouncing the military and the police in the city, and had the police chief transferred out of the city.[14] Upon the outbreak of violent incidents in the city, Climaco would rush to the scene on board his motorcycle and quell the disruption.[15] Despite the threats of violence, Climaco never carried a gun or surrounded himself with bodyguards.[1]
Climaco maintained a highly critical view towards the Marcos government. He was critical of the highly centralized structure of government under which it was necessary to obtain the blessing of the Office of the President before funds could be disbursed.
Bid for the Batasang Pambansa
In
Assassination
On the morning of November 14, 1984, Climaco rushed to the scene of a fire that had broken out in a nightclub in downtown Zamboanga City. The assassin escaped, while Climaco was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.
The crowd that attended Climaco's funeral in Zamboanga City was estimated as ranging from fifteen thousand people [5] to up to two hundred thousand people.[20] He was buried at Abong-Abong Park.
To date, nobody has been convicted for Climaco's assassination. Police and military officials pinned the blame on a Muslim group led by Rizal Alih,[9][20] but attempts to apprehend him were unsuccessful. Climaco's widow publicly expressed that it was the military who was behind the murder.[20] A relative from the Air Force was the only military person allowed into the wake. Climaco himself was said to have remarked before his death that if he were ever assassinated, the military would blame Alih for the murder.[9]
Legacy
Climaco's son, Julio Cesar, was appointed OIC mayor of Zamboanga City in 1986, and served in that post until the following year. His niece,
In 1994, ten years after his assassination, Eddie Garcia starred in a film biography of Climaco, Mayor Cesar Climaco; produced by Seiko Films,[21] the film was rated PG7 in an effort to show the youth the fights of one of Ninoy Aquino's greatest allies in the fight for democracy. In the film, Climaco goes to Ninoy's residence in the US and convinces him to come home to challenge Marcos for an election. Footage of his funeral is also shown during the film's closing sequence.
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h Soliven, Max (October 31, 2006). "Remembering the 'Cesar' of Zambo". The Philippine Star. By the Way. Archived from the original on March 30, 2007. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
- ^ ISBN 971-27-0279-0.
- ^ Guingona, p. 195
- ^ a b c d e f Guingona, p. 197
- ^ a b c d e f "List of Past Mayors of Zamboanga City". Zamboanga City government. January 8, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 10, 2009. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
- ^ "The 1958 Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding – Operation Brotherhood". Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation Online. Archived from the original on March 7, 2008. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
- ^ Guingona, p. 196
- ^ a b c Guingona, p. 198
- ^ a b c Guingona, p. 204
- ^ Guingona, p. 201
- ^ Guingona, p. 199
- ^ a b "Murder in Broad Daylight". Time. November 26, 1984. Archived from the original on August 10, 2009. Retrieved January 26, 2008.
- ^ a b Guingona, p. 202
- ^ Climaco, p. 203
- ^ Guingona, p. 191–192
- ^ Guingona, p. 206
- ^ Hollie, Pamela G. (June 20, 1982). "A Mayor in Southern Philippines Taunts Marcos". The New York Times. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
- ^ Tan, AB (November 15, 1984). "Philippine Mayor Is Slain". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
- ^ a b Guingona, p. 192
- ^ a b c Shinn III, John L. "Special Edition: The 1984 Assassination of Mayor Cesar Climaco". L.A. Zamboanga Times. Retrieved January 26, 2008.
- ^ "Mayor Cesar Climaco". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
References
- ISBN 971-27-0279-0.