Demetrio Larena was a political hero and former governor of

Negros Oriental Negros Oriental ( ceb, Sidlakang Negros; tl, Silangang Negros), officially the Province of Negros Oriental, is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Dumaguete. It occupies the southeaste ...

(East Negros), a province on

Negros Island Negros is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of . Negros is one of the many islands of the Visayas, in the central part of the country. The predominant inhabitants of the island region a ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. He was the vice-president of the

Republic of Negros The Republic of Negros ( hil, Republika sang Negros; ceb, Republika sa Negros; es, República de Negros) was a short-lived revolutionary entity which had existed on the island of Negros first as a canton of the First Philippine Republic and ...

and eventually the governor of

from 1901 until 1906. Larena was instrumental in the establishment of

Silliman University Silliman University (also referred to as Silliman or SU) is a private university, private Research institute, research university in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, the Philippines. Established in 1901 as Silliman Institute by the Presbyte ...

Dumaguete Dumaguete, officially the City of Dumaguete ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dumaguete; fil, Lungsod ng Dumaguete), is a 3rd income class component city and the capital of the province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a p ...

. When Dr. David Hibbard came to the

to scout for a good location of the school that the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions wanted to be founded,

was not one of the places originally contemplated. The places that were considered as prospects for the school's location were

Iloilo Iloilo (), officially the Province of Iloilo ( hil, Kapuoran sang Iloilo; krj, Kapuoran kang Iloilo; tl, Lalawigan ng Iloilo), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is the City of Iloilo, the ...

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...

and Zamboanga. But due in part to Larena's accommodating gesture and Dumaguete's natural environment at that time, Hibbard decided that the best place to establish the school would be in Dumaguete.

References

* * Perez, Josefa Villanueva.Biography of Demetrio Larena, 1983 Cable Sun Press * Larena, Josefino Jr Tulabing, Political life of Demetrio Larena, Silliman University South East Studies Program 2001 * Larena, Leonaga Tulabing, Political life of Demetrio Larena, Bais City 1988 * Silliman University Church Parish News April 2010 * Silliman University Church History Committee Historical Notes 2009-2010 * Philippine Commission Annual Report 1903 {{DEFAULTSORT:Larena, Demetrio Year of birth missing Year of death missing Governors of Negros Oriental People of the Philippine Revolution Silliman University people