Miguel Raffiñan (born May 13, 1891, date of death unknown) was a Filipino

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, politician and mayor 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 ...

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 mayor 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 ...

(1947–1951) and Congressman of Cebu's 6th District (1916–1922, 1931–1934, 1939–1941).

Early life

Miguel Raffiñan, son of Filomeno Raffiñan and Honorata Garces, was born on May 13, 1891. He attended

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 ...

and acquired a bachelor's degree and became a lawyer on October 2, 1917. He married Visitacion Paras Abad of

Barili Barili, officially the Municipality of Barili ( ceb, Lungsod sa Barili; tgl, Bayan ng Barili), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 80,715 people. History The w ...

, Cebu.

Career

Journalism

He wrote for the Spanish dailies ''El Precursor'', a newspaper founded by Mariano Jesus Cuenco, and ''La Revolucion'', a daily founded by

Filemon Sotto Filemon Yap Sotto (November 22, 1872 – October 10, 1966) was a Filipino Visayan lawyer, legislator, and politician from Cebu, Philippines. He was a newspaper publisher and founded the periodicals ''El Imperial'', ''Ang Kaluwasan'', ''La Opini ...

Congressman

He was elected Congressman for Cebu's old 6th district in the

4th Philippine Legislature The Fourth Philippine Legislature was the meeting of the legislature of the Philippine Islands under the sovereign control of the United States from October 16, 1916 to March 8, 1919. Sessions *First Regular Session: October 16, 1916– Februar ...

in 1916 and reelected again in

5th Philippine Legislature The Fifth Philippine Legislature was the meeting of the legislature of the Philippines under the sovereign control of the United States from 1919 to 1922. Members Senate Notes House of Representatives Notes See also *Congress of the Phili ...

in 1919 and served until 1922. In 1931, he ran and won again as representative in the same congressional district in the

9th Philippine Legislature The Ninth Philippine Legislature was the meeting of the legislature of the Philippines under the sovereign control of the United States from 1931 to 1934. Members Senate Notes House of Representatives Notes See also *Congress of the ...

and won again in 1939 elections where he served in the 2nd National Assembly until 1941. The 6th congressional district then was composed of the towns of

Aloguinsan Aloguinsan, officially the Municipality of Aloguinsan ( ceb, Lungsod sa Aloguinsan; tgl, Bayan ng Aloguinsan), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 34,466 people. ...

, Barili,

Dumanjug Dumanjug, officially the Municipality of Dumanjug ( ceb, Lungsod sa Dumanjug; tgl, Bayan ng Dumanjug), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 57,823 people. It wa ...

Pinamungajan Pinamungajan, officially the Municipality of Pinamungajan ( ceb, Lungsod sa Pinamungajan; tgl, Bayan ng Pinamungajan), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 75,131 ...

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, O ...

, and

Ronda Ronda () is a town in the Spanish province of Málaga. It is located about west of the city of Málaga, within the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its population is about 35,000. Ronda is known for its cliff-side location and a deep chasm ...

World War II

Raffiñan participated in the resistance movement 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and led the people of Barili in the fight against the Japanese colonizers. The guerilla force in Barili was formed by Lieutenant Aguasin and Domingo Gutang on September 27, 1942.

Mayor

On September 6, 1947, he became mayor of Cebu City until 1951, succeeding Dr. Luis Espina. During his term, he was responsible in the repair and reconstruction of the four-story, colonnaded Cebu City Hall with War Damage Funds. Additionally, the first radio telephone circuit established between

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital city, capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is Cities of the Philippines#Independent cities, highly urbanize ...

and Cebu was inaugurated on March 1, 1950, under the term of then President

Elpidio Quirino Elpidio Rivera Quirino (born Elpidio Quirino y Rivera; ; November 16, 1890 – February 29, 1956) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the sixth president of the Philippines from 1948 to 1953. A lawyer by profession, Quirino ente ...

, with the first official three-minute conversation between then former President Sergio Osmeña and Raffiñan. In 1947, the city council passed an ordinance exacting fees on each ticket sold in local theaters. Theater owners filed a complaint against the city in court with Raffiñan, then city treasurer Anatolio Ynclino, and acting city treasurer Jesus E. Zabate as respondents. On February 18, 1956, 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 ...

ruled that the city did not have the power to enforce the ordinance and denied the demand of plaintiffs to recover the fees that were already collected. Raffiñan would later be replaced by Pedro Elizalde as mayor.

Legal practice

As a lawyer, he represented the Sampaguita Shoe and Slipper Factory in a suit against the Bureau of Customs and the Court of Tax Appeals that was decided by the Supreme Court.

Historical commemoration

* Previously known as San Jose Street, the Miguel Raffiñan Street in Cebu City was named in his honor by virtue of City Ordinance No. 553 enacted on August 26, 1965.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raffinan, Miguel 1891 births Year of death missing University of San Carlos alumni Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Cebu Members of the National Assembly of the Philippines Members of the Philippine Legislature 20th-century Filipino lawyers