Roseller Tarroza Lim (February 9, 1915 – July 5, 1976) 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 ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

who served as a member of the Senate and

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

from 1949 to 1963. He also served as

Court of Appeals A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...

Justice from his appointment in 1973 until his death. Lim was known as the ''"Great Filibuster,"'' after he filibustered for more than 18 hours in an attempt to prevent the election of Ferdinand Marcos as President of the Senate.

Personal life

Roseller Lim was born to Antonio Lim and Mercedes Tarroza. He earned his Associate in Arts (AA) program in History & law degree from

Silliman University Silliman University (also referred to as Silliman or SU) is a private research university in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, the Philippines. Established in 1901 as Silliman Institute by the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, it is ...

in 1940, and passed the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

the same year. He married Amy Schuck of

Jolo, Sulu , nickname = , motto = , anthem = , subdivision_type3 = District , subdivision_name3 = , established_title = Founded , established_date = 1952 , parts_ ...

and had five children — Rosamy, Mercibel, Victoria, Roseller Jr., and Amy."City honors Roseller Lim"
. Sun.Star. Retrieved 2010-05-18.

Political career

Lim was a member of the Nacionalista Party and was first elected as representative of the Lone District of Zamboanga in 1949. In his first term in office, he authored the law that divided the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Zamboanga into the provinces of

Zamboanga del Norte Zamboanga del Norte ( Cebuano: ''Amihanang Zamboanga''; Subanon: ''Utara Sembwangan''; tl, Hilagang Zamboanga), officially the Province of Zamboanga del Norte, is a province in the Philippines situated within the Zamboanga Peninsula region in ...

and

Zamboanga del Sur Zamboanga del Sur ( Cebuano: ''Habagatang Zamboanga;'' Subanen: ''S'helatan Sembwangan/Sembwangan dapit Shelatan''; Chavacano: ''Zamboanga del Sur''; tl, Timog Zamboanga; mdh, Pagabatan Sambuanga), officially the Province of Zamboanga del Sur, ...

. He won another term in

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...

, this time as representative of the Lone District of Zamboanga del Sur. Halfway through his term, he ran and won as senator in 1955, to complete the unexpired two years 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 ...

's term, who was elected

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

in 1953. Lim was instrumental in the election of 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 ...

into the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

governing body in 1957.Sun Star Zamboanga. "City honors Roseller Lim Friday," February 9, 2007. (Accessed on February 22, 2010). He won reelection in

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...

for a full six-year term, but lost in his bid for another term in

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

. Lim also authored the ''Barrio Charter Law,'' which served as the basis of the current

barangay A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolita ...

governments.

Great filibuster

In April 1963,

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Senator Ferdinand Marcos contested the presidency of the Senate against long-time Senate President

Eulogio Rodriguez Eulogio "Amang" Adona Rodriguez Sr. (born Eulogio Rodríguez y Adona; January 21, 1883 – December 19, 1964) was a Filipino politician who twice served as President of the Senate of the Philippines. Early life Coming from a poor family, Rodri ...

of the Nacionalista Party. The Senate was then composed of 12 Liberals, 10 Nacionalistas and two independents who caucus with the latter. Shortly before the Senate adjourned, Lim took the floor to buy time to wait for the arrival from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, of fellow Nacionalista Senator

Alejandro Almendras Alejandro Durano Almendras (27 February 1919 – 4 August 1995) was a Filipino politician who served as a Senator of the Philippines. He was also governor of the then united Davao province. Early life and education Almendras was born in Danao ...

. Lim had to stand the entire time, leaning only on the podium on occasions. He only had water nearby to sustain him and was even prohibited from going to the comfort room; forcing him to relieve in his pants. Upon learning of Almendras' arrival in the session hall, Lim ended his filibustering after 18 hours and 30 minutes. Immediately after he was able to cast his vote for Rodriguez, Lim was carried out of the session hall on a stretcher due to exhaustion. Only to find out later that Almendras voted for Marcos.

Later career

When Marcos bolted from the Liberals to the Nacionalistas to run as president in the 1965 election, Lim supported President Diosdado Macapagal of the rival Liberal Party. When Marcos won the election, Lim transferred to the Liberals. In 1970, Lim was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

to the 1971 constitutional convention. In 1973, Marcos appointed Lim to the

Legacy

Roseller Lim was the first and only politician from Zamboanga to be elected to the

Philippine Senate The Senate of the Philippines ( Filipino: ''Senado ng Pilipinas'', also ''Mataas na Kapulungan ng Pilipinas'' or "upper chamber") is the upper house of Congress of the bicameral legislature of the Philippines with the House of Representatives a ...

. On March 16, 1982, President Ferdinand Marcos signed the Batas Pambansa No. 183 creating the municipality of Roseller T. Lim in the province of

(now in

Zamboanga Sibugay Zamboanga Sibugay, officially the Province of Zamboanga Sibugay ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Zamboanga Sibugay; tl, Lalawigan ng Zamboanga Sibugay; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Zamboanga Sibugay''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Zamboanga ...

) in honor of Lim.
(Accessed on August 5, 2011) A famous boulevard in

Zamboanga City Zamboanga City, officially the City of Zamboanga (Chavacano and es, Ciudad de Zamboanga, Tausūg: ''Dāira sin Sambuangan'', fil, Lungsod ng Zamboanga, ceb, Dakbayan sa Zamboanga), is a city in the Zamboanga Peninsula region of the Philipp ...

was named after the latter which has the view of Basilan Strait and the Sulu Sea beginning from the city proper to the industrial complex of the city. In 2006, the

Zamboanga City Council The Zamboanga City Council (Chavacano: ''Consejo de la Ciudad de Zamboanga'') is Zamboanga City's Sangguniang Panlungsod or local legislature. Currently composed of 19 members, with 16 councilors elected from Zamboanga City's two legislative dis ...

designated February 9 as ‘’Día de Roseller T. Lim’’ or Roseller T. Lim Day and a bronze monument was erected at the rotunda of Normal Road and the R. T. Lim Boulevard.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lim, Roseller Senators of the 5th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 4th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 3rd Congress of the Philippines Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Zamboanga del Sur Silliman University alumni 1976 deaths Nacionalista Party politicians 1915 births People from Zamboanga City Liberal Party (Philippines) politicians Justices of the Court of Appeals of the Philippines 20th-century Filipino judges