Filemon Yap Sotto (November 22, 1872 – October 10, 1966) was a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

Visayan Visayans ( Visayan: ''mga Bisaya''; ) or Visayan people are a Philippine ethnolinguistic group or metaethnicity native to the Visayas, the southernmost islands of Luzon and a significant portion of Mindanao. When taken as a single ethnic group ...

lawyer, legislator, and politician from

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 ...

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 a newspaper publisher and founded the periodicals ''El Imperial'', ''Ang Kaluwasan'', ''La Opinion,'' and ''La Revolucion''. He served as member of Cebu municipal board,

congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

of Cebu's 3rd district for the

Philippine Assembly The Philippine Assembly (sometimes called the Philippine National Assembly) was the lower house of the Philippine Legislature from 1907 to 1916, when it was renamed the House of Representatives of the Philippines. The Philippine Assembly wa ...

(1907–1916), senator of the

Philippine Legislature The Philippine Legislature was the legislature of the Philippines from 1907 to 1935, during the American colonial period, and predecessor of the current Congress of the Philippines. It was bicameral and the legislative branch of the Insular G ...

(1916–1922), delegate to the 1934 Constitutional Convention, and delegate to the Institute of National Language (1937).

Early life

Filemon Sotto was born in Cebu, Philippines on November 22, 1872. The son of Marcelino Sotto of

Binondo Binondo () is a district in Manila and is referred to as the city's Chinatown. Its influence extends beyond to the places of Quiapo, Santa Cruz, San Nicolas and Tondo. It is the oldest Chinatown in the world, established in 1594 by the ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

and Pascuala Yap of

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 ...

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 ...

, he was the elder brother of former Senator

Vicente Sotto Vicente Yap Sotto (born Vicente Sotto y Yap; April 18, 1877 – May 28, 1950) was a Filipino playwright, journalist, and politician who served as a Senator from 1946 to 1950. He also served in the House of Representatives from 1922 to 1925, rep ...

. He acquired a bachelor's degree from Colegio de San Carlos and later attended

San Juan de Letran College The Colegio de San Juan de Letran, (transl: College of San Juan de Letran) also referred to by its acronym CSJL, is a private Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution owned and run by the friars of the Order of Preachers ...

and the

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Miguel ...

, Manila, where he graduated with a law degree and passed the bar examinations in 1905. Musically-minded, he played guitar, violin, and violoncello.

Personal life

In 1909, Filemon had a son with Cebuana beauty queen Remedios Duterte, but the child didn't survive. They bore another child, Pascuala Sotto, who was named after his mother and born on February 9, 1913. The couple separated ways. He married Carmen Rallos, continued to look after the welfare of Pascuala, paying for her education and needs, and even extended his generosity to her children. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Filemon escaped to

Carmen, Cebu Carmen, officially the Municipality of Carmen ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Carmen; tgl, Bayan ng Carmen), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 57,897 people. The town fies ...

with his family. When the war ended, he settled in Cebu City in a house constructed along V. Ranudo Street and when the property was sold, his family relocated to Lahug.

Career

In 1903, he was voted as member and became vice president of the municipal board of Cebu. He was then appointed as fiscal for

Negros Occidental Negros Occidental ( hil, Nakatungdang Negros; tl, Kanlurang Negros), officially the Province of Negros Occidental, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region. ...

and assistant fiscal for Cebu.

Newspapers

Aside from politics, Filemon published and edited periodicals such as ''La Revolucion'', which saw its first print on August 5, 1910, and went in circulation until 1941. He also founded and published the newspapers ''El Imperial'', ''Ang Kaluwasan'', which was first printed in 1902, and ''La Opinion''.

Philippine Assembly

In 1907, he was elected representative to the

for Cebu's 3rd district. He served in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Philippine Legislature until 1916. Through the influence of the members of the ''

Asociacion Feminista Ilonga Association Feminista Ilonga, was a Filipino women's organization that was founded in 1906.Kathleen Nadeau, Sangita Rayamajhi Women's Roles in Asia' It was founded by Pura Villanueva Kalaw. It followed the foundation of Asociacion Feminista Fili ...

(Feminist Association of Ilongo)'' that was formed by Pura Villanueva-Kalaw in 1906, he sponsored the first bill that would allow women the right of suffrage. It was not until 1936 that Filipino women were granted the right to vote under the administration of President Manuel L. Quezon.

Senate

From 1916 until 1922, he was elected senator for two terms, serving together with

Celestino Rodriguez Celestino Lazala Rodriguez (May 11, 1872 – 1955) was a Filipinos, Filipino lawyer and politician from Cebu, Philippines. He served as member and deputy in the Philippine Assembly (1907–1912), as Senate of the Philippines, senator (1916� ...

in the Fourth Legislature and Fifth Legislature for Cebu, which was the 10th senatorial district. At that time, the Philippines was split into 12 senatorial districts, with each district voting two senators.

Constitutional Convention

By 1934, when the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

approved the

Philippine Independence Act 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 ...

which would pave the way for the creation of the Philippine Constitution, Filemon was elected as delegate to the Constitutional Convention. On October 9, 1934, he was appointed and became chairman of the group called Seven Wise Men that included

Conrado Benitez Conrado Benitez (November 26, 1889 – January 4, 1971) is a Filipino statesman, writer, and educator. He founded the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement and was one of the drafters of the 1935 Constitution of the Philippines. Flavier, Juan M ...

Manuel C. Briones,

Manuel Roxas Manuel Acuña Roxas (born Manuel Roxas y Acuña; ; January 1, 1892 – April 15, 1948) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the fifth president of the Philippines, who served from 1946 until his death due to heart attacks in 194 ...

Miguel Cuaderno Miguel Cuaderno Sr. (December 12, 1890 – January 14, 1975) was the 17th Finance Secretary of the Philippines under Manuel Roxas Manuel Acuña Roxas (born Manuel Roxas y Acuña; ; January 1, 1892 – April 15, 1948) was a Filipino lawyer ...

Norberto Romualdez Norberto Romuáldez y López (June 6, 1875 – November 4, 1941), often referred to as Norberto Romuáldez Sr. to distinguish him from his son with the same name, was a Philippine writer, politician, jurist, and statesman. He was the first Lopez ...

, and Vicente Singson Encarnacion, who had significant contribution to the draft of the 1935 Constitution. He submitted the first draft to the convention on November 6, 1934.

Institute of National Language

On January 12, 1937, he was appointed as delegate of the Institute of National Language, which was created by virtue of Commonwealth Act No. 184, by then President Manuel L. Quezon. The government body, the first of its kind, was tasked to develop the Philippine national language.

Later years

On November 25, 1960, Pascuala would later petition the courts to recognize her as natural child of Filemon, and the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

decided in her favor on July 15, 1968. Filemon died in Cebu City on October 10, 1966.

Historical commemoration

* The Filemon Street, which starts from Gorordo Avenue to Maxilom Avenue, in Cebu City was named in his honor by virtue of City Ordinance No. 1123.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sotto, Filemon 1872 births 1966 deaths Senators of the 5th Philippine Legislature 20th-century Filipino lawyers Colegio de San Juan de Letran alumni Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Cebu Senators of the 4th Philippine Legislature Members of the Philippine Legislature University of San Carlos alumni University of Santo Tomas alumni Filipino city and municipal councilors

Filemon Process Monitor is a tool from Windows Sysinternals, part of the Microsoft TechNet website. The tool monitors and displays in real-time all file system activity on a Microsoft Windows or Unix-like operating system. It combines two older tools, ' ...