Manuel Alesna Cuenco (November 10, 1907 – October 18, 1970) 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 ...

physician 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. He was the former

Governor of Cebu The governor of Cebu ( fil, Punong Lalawigan ng Cebu) is the chief executive of the provincial government of Cebu, Philippines. The first governor appointed by the Spanish Crown was Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, and during the American Era, Julio Ll ...

(1946–1951), administrator of the Overseas Employment Council, and the

Secretary of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate Minister of Mental Health, ministers ...

(1964–1965).

Early life and education

The son of Filipino politician Mariano Jesús Cuenco and Filomena Alesna, Manuel Cuenco was born on November 10, 1907. He finished medicine at 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 ...

. He and his wife Milagros Veloso had six children, including

Antonio Cuenco Antonio "Tony" Veloso Cuenco (March 26, 1936 – June 27, 2020) was a Filipino politician who served as a council member for the 2nd District of the Cebu City Council. He also served as the Secretary-General of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Asse ...

who later would become a congressman. The family escaped from the war and avoided Japanese forces by evacuating to remote locations like the towns of

Sibonga Sibonga, officially the Municipality of Sibonga ( ceb, Lungsod sa Sibonga; tgl, Bayan ng Sibonga), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 53,424 people. Sibonga is ...

in Cebu, Talibon in

Bohol Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Bohol; tl, Lalawigan ng Bohol), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region, consisting of the island itself and 75 m ...

, and

Hilongos Hilongos (IPA: ɪ'lɔŋos, officially the Municipality of Hilongos ( ceb, Lungsod sa Hilongos; war, Bungto han Hilongos; tl, Bayan ng Hilongos), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, ...

and

Macrohon Macrohon, officially the Municipality of Macrohon ( ceb, Lungsod sa Macrohon; tl, Bayan ng Macrohon), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Southern Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 26,580 people. ...

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

Career

Before the outbreak of the war, he worked as company physician for the Cebu Portland Cement Company in Naga, Cebu, a government-owned-and-controlled company that was later privatized. After

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 ...

in 1946, then President

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 ...

appointed him as Governor of the province of Cebu. The next year, he was reelected as a Liberal Party candidate for another term. In 1951, he was defeated by

Sergio Osmeña Jr. Sergio "Serging" Veloso Osmeña Jr. (December 4, 1916 – March 26, 1984) was a Filipino politician who served as a Senator of the Philippines, and ran against Ferdinand Marcos in the 1969 Philippine Presidential election. He was the son of Se ...

in his bid to be elected again as governor and the electoral protest he filed on the outcome of the 1951 election before the Court of First Instance against Osmeña was dismissed on September 4, 1954. He was appointed and worked as the administrator of Overseas Employment Council from 1962 until 1963, and appointed as the Secretary of Health from December, 1964 to December, 1965. His appointment to the Cabinet of then President

Diosdado Macapagal Diosdado Pangan Macapagal Sr. (; September 28, 1910 – April 21, 1997) was a Filipino lawyer, poet and politician who served as the ninth president of the Philippines, serving from 1961 to 1965, and the sixth vice president, serving from 19 ...

as the head of the Department of Health was the result of the alliance between otherwise local political rivals, the Osmeña and the Cuenco clans. The alliance was formed against the reelection of

Carlos P. Garcia Carlos Polestico Garcia (November 4, 1896 – June 14, 1971) was a Filipino teacher, poet, orator, lawyer, public official, political economist, guerrilla and Commonwealth military leader who was the eighth president of the Philippines. A l ...

, whom Macapagal defeated in the 1961 elections.

Later years

He died on October 18, 1970.

Historical commemoration

* Governor M. Cuenco Avenue that stretches from Archbishop Reyes Avenue to the Mahiga Bridge was named in his honor by virtue of City Ordinance No. 869.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuenco, Manuel A. 1907 births 1970 deaths Governors of Cebu Secretaries of Health of the Philippines Macapagal administration cabinet members University of Santo Tomas alumni People from Cebu Cuenco family Visayan people