Emilio Mario Renner Osmeña Jr. (September 11, 1938 – July 19, 2021), better known as Lito Osmeña, was the grandson of
Philippine
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 ...
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...
Sergio Osmeña
Sergio Osmeña Sr. (, ; 9 September 1878 – 19 October 1961) was a Filipino people, Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the List of presidents of the Philippines, fourth president of the Philippines from 1944 to 1946. He was Vice ...
. He was the Governor of Cebu, Philippines from 1988 to 1992. He was the founder and chairman of the PROMDI Party (Progressive Movement for the Devolution of Initiatives), under which he ran for the position of President in the 1998 election but lost to
Joseph Estrada
Joseph Ejercito Estrada, (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor. He served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, the 9th vice presi ...
. He also ran for the position of Vice President and was the running-mate of
Fidel Ramos
Fidel Valdez Ramos (, ; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR and Eddie Ramos, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military ...
in the 1992 election, but lost to Joseph Estrada, six years before Estrada would defeat him again.
Early life and career
Osmeña was born on September 11, 1938, in
Cebu City
Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Sugbo; fil, Lungsod ng Cebu; hil, Dakbanwa sang Sugbo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines and capital of the Cebu Province. A ...
,
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 ...
to Dr. Emilio V. Osmeña and Ma. Luisa Renner. He graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration at the
University of San Carlos
The University of San Carlos, also referred to by its acronym USC or colloquially shortened to San Carlos, is a private, Catholic, research, coeducational basic and higher education institution administered by the Philippine Southern Province ...
,
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 ...
. Early in life, Lito managed Hacienda Lugo. He developed Maria Luisa Estate Park, a family owned residential subdivision.
In the 1970s, he was a political prisoner during Martial Law in 1973 at
Fort Bonifacio
Fort Andres Bonifacio (formerly named Fort William McKinley) is the site of the national headquarters of the Philippine Army (Headquarters Philippine Army or HPA) located in Metro Manila, Philippines. It is located near the national headquarte ...
for nine months and placed under house arrest for four years. During the late 1970s, he focused on developing real estate projects. It was not until the assassination of Ninoy Aquino that he got involved in politics and ran for governor in 1988.
Governor of Cebu
Osmeña served as the Governor of Cebu from February 2, 1988, to June 30, 1992.
Economic reforms
After the reorganization of local governments and the ratification of the 1987 Constitution, he ran for the position of Governor for the province of Cebu in 1988 and won. During his term as Governor of Cebu, Osmeña was able to increase the provincial budget to 1 billion pesos per annum. He made possible the construction of flyovers and causeways, and purchased heavy equipment that caused the opening and maintenance of several barangay roads and bridges as well as the farm-to-market roads and began construction of the Trans Central Highway, connecting Cebu City to the West. Osmeña launched a Water Distribution Program in the entire island, making water available to 90% of the population, as opposed to the 56% before his incumbency. He set up the municipal telephone system throughout the province. Osmeña initiated the modernization of Cebu's International Airport. He also worked with Fr. Francisco G. Silva in developing "Rural Electrification" for remote areas of the province. He also initiated direct flights from Cebu to the different parts of the world. He was elected as Chairman of the League of Governors of the Philippines from 1990 to 1992. It was during his watch as Governor of Cebu that Cebu experienced an economic boom.
1992 vice presidential election
After
Fidel V. Ramos
Fidel Valdez Ramos (, ; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR and Eddie Ramos, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military ...
bolted the
Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino
The Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino () is a centre-right political party in the Philippines.
There are no results available for the 2004 election for the House of Representatives, but according to the website of the House, the party held 7 out ...
in 1992, he invited Osmeña to his new party Lakas Tao (later
Lakas-NUCD) and offered to be his running mate in the May 11 elections. Osmeña accepted Ramos' invitation and accepted his offer citing his vision to follow his grandfather's footsteps. He however lost to
Joseph Estrada
Joseph Ejercito Estrada, (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor. He served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, the 9th vice presi ...
in a 7-way race for Vice President.
Post-governorship
Chief economic adviser
Osmeña served as Executive Vice President of Lakas-NUCD and Chief Economic Adviser of President Fidel V. Ramos from 1993 to 1997.
He also Chaired the Presidential Committee on Flagship Programs and Projects and finished or substantially undertook the following projects: The General Santos Airport, the Mactan Cebu International Airport, the upgrading of the Batangas port, the upgrading of the General Santos Seaport, the Rehabilitation of the Pan-Philippine Highway, the Quirino Highway, the Southern Tagalog Arterial Highway (Sto. Tomas-Lipa Section), C-5 Road (from South Luzon Expressway to Katipunan Avenue), the Metro Manila Skyway (Buendia to Bicutan), the Edsa/Boni underpass, the Kalayaan/EDSA flyover, the Ayala-Pasay Road interchange, the EDSA-Shaw flyover, the Bohol Circumferential Road, the Bataan Combined Cycle Power Plant (600MW), the Palimpinon Geothermal Plant (80MW), the Pagbilao Plant (700MW), the Upper Mahiao & Malitbog Geothermal Plant in Leyte (231MW), the Rehabilitation of PNR South Line, Line 2, Line 3 and the Deregulation of the Telecom Sector.
1998 presidential election
In 1997, he bolted from Lakas-NUCD and formed his own party he called PROMDI Party (
Probinsya Muna Development Initiative
The Progressive Movement for the Devolution of Initiatives or Probinsya Muna Development Initiative (; ), abbreviated as PROMDI or Abag-Promdi, is a political party in the Philippines based in Cebu.
The party was founded in 1997 by Lito Osmeña ...
).
With
Ismael Sueño
Ismael "Mike" Dres Sueno (born July 1947 or 1948) is the former Secretary of the Philippine Department of the Interior and Local Government. He was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte to replace Mel Senen Sarmiento starting June 30, 2016. A ...
as his running mate, he ran for the position of President in the 11-way presidential election but lost to Joseph Estrada.
Later activities
Osmeña returned to private life after the elections handling the party he founded as a party-list party. In the House of Representatives, the party was represented by
Joy Augustus Young
Joy Augustus Go Young is a Filipino politician currently serving as a member of the City Council representing Cebu City's North District. He served as Vice Mayor of Cebu City from 2010 to 2013 and was a member of the Philippine House of Re ...
. Osmeña did not run in the 2004 elections and supported his former political rival
Raul Roco
Raul Sagarbarria Roco (October 26, 1941 – August 5, 2005) was a political figure in the Philippines. He was the standard-bearer of '' Aksyon Demokratiko'', which he founded in 1997 as a vehicle for his presidential bids in 1998 and 2004. He was a ...
for president. His party was disqualified in the party list elections, citing that the party was a national political party.
Osmeña ran in 2010 for senator but lost.
Personal life
Lito, as he was often called, was married to Annette Versoza and had three children, namely Mariano, Maria Luisa, and Emilio III. He had eight grand children – Annette, Santino, Marie, Katrien, Alexander, Emilio IV, Illeana, and Julia. Lito was part of the Osmeña clan, a very influential political family in the Philippines. Other prominent family members include Former Senators
Sergio Osmeña III
Sergio may refer to:
* Sergio (given name), for people with the given name Sergio
* Sergio (carbonado), the largest rough diamond ever found
* ''Sergio'' (album), a 1994 album by Sergio Blass
* ''Sergio'' (2009 film), a documentary film
* ''S ...
,
John Henry Osmeña and
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 ...
; former Cebu City Mayor
Tomas Osmeña, former President
Sergio Osmeña
Sergio Osmeña Sr. (, ; 9 September 1878 – 19 October 1961) was a Filipino people, Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the List of presidents of the Philippines, fourth president of the Philippines from 1944 to 1946. He was Vice ...
, former Cebu Vice Governor John Gregory Osmeña, as well as his sister, real estate developer Annabelle "Annie" Osmeña-Aboitiz.
Death
Osmeña died on July 19, 2021, in his hometown of
Cebu City
Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Sugbo; fil, Lungsod ng Cebu; hil, Dakbanwa sang Sugbo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines and capital of the Cebu Province. A ...
from
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...
. He was 82 years old. His wife Annette also died from complications of the virus two weeks later, on July 31.
References
External links
Philippine Daily Inquirer: Three parties seal alliance
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osmena, Lito
1938 births
2021 deaths
Governors of Cebu
Advisers to the President of the Philippines
Candidates in the 1998 Philippine presidential election
Candidates in the 1992 Philippine vice-presidential election
People from Cebu City
Emilio
Lakas–CMD (1991) politicians
Probinsya Muna Development Initiative politicians
University of San Carlos alumni
Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Merit (Philippines)
Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines