Ciudad de Zamboanga--Asia's Latin City

By: Jose F. Sarsoza Jr.


No other city in the Philippines, and in Asia, holds the distinction of having the largest number of Chabacano speakers than Zamboanga City. This is Asia’s Latin City, a city rich in cultural heritage, and if one is yet to ascribe titles for this city, such will merely serve as a civilizing afterthought.

 

Seven hundred kilometers away from Manila, Zamboanga City sits on the southernmost part of the Zamboanga Peninsula.

 

As the sterling mayor of Zamboanga City, Hon. Celso Lorenzo Lobregat, says in his special note” to Ñor Noning Camins’ book, Chabacano de Zamboanga Handbook and Chabacano-English-Spanish Dictionary, of the beginnings of Chabacano, when Fort Pilar “teemed with workmen laying the foundations. . . for the fort walls.”

 

“Think of it,” he says further, “a handful of Spanish soldiers and a greater number of workers from Cavite, Cebu, Iloilo, Dapitan, Subanens and shoreline Samas together day by day. Until the time when the natives assimilated the Spanish commands into their own vocabularies and diverse dialects to form what we know as Chabacano. Sixty percent Spanish, 40% native now, I believe some linguists say. But I believe it favored Spanish more then, if my recollections serve me right.”

 

That Chabacano has survived and flourished through centuries of colonial rule is a testament to the Zamboangueños love to foster and perpetuate their cultural heritage. As Mayor Lobregat puts it, “Zamboanga’s traditions date as far as 700 years and in the city’s bloodline runs the intrepidity of the early Malays, the social tapestry of colonial Spain, as well as the drive and vigor of a surging America in the early 1900s. Zamboanga stands first and unique among the Philippine cities with a heritage envied by many.”

 

Talking further about Zamboanga City’s unique language, Mayor Lobregat notes that there was really “conscious effort to preserve the language.”

 

Language, they say, is a means by which humans compose the sense of their lives. With Chabacano as a unifying force deeply ingrained in the cultural heritage of the Zamboagueños, it is not a wonder that economic prosperity and political stability can easily be achieved, especially if the local government spearheads that drive. Such is the case of the Local Chief Executive of Zamboanga. Mayor Lobregat’s strong commitment and leadership, his immense passion and brand of governance have continuously revitalized this city.

 

Mayor Lobregat has put priority on programs concerning poverty alleviation, education, health, social services, housing and resettlement, sports, environmental protection, peace and security and promotion of cultural heritage. “Our budget for the social sector is the highest,” he stresses, “for example in education, there is a budget from the national government for that, but we have taken the task of providing for classroom shortages, constructing additional school buildings, etc. Then there is the budget for the poor and other less fortunate members of society. The local government takes care of all that.”

 

Joining the battle against human trafficking and other forms of abuse against women and children, the city is known for its vigorous implementation of anti-trafficking program, rescuing 308 victims and helping them avail of social interventions in 2009. Also given priority are programs for senior citizens and solo parents that help them lead a normal way of life.

 

In line with the Women and Children Welfare Program, the Women Crisis Center (WCC), an institution that helps women suffering from traumatic experiences, has become functional reaching out to battered women in Zamboanga Peninsula and other neighboring cities. Then, too, there is the Social Development Center (SDC), a temporary shelter which serves street children and other children in difficult circumstances, operating on a 24/7 basis.

 

Now on his third term as mayor of Zamboanga City, Celso Lobregat has given another milestone to the city and its constituents after the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) conferred on it three special awards in the 2009 Philippine Cities Competitiveness Ranking Project: Best in Entrepreneurs’ Award, Special award for Best in Disaster Preparedness, and Special Award for Best in Documentation.

 

Given these and other awards for the city, it is worth mentioning here that for the second straight year in 2008, Mayor Lobregat was awarded Most Outstanding Mayor for implementing social welfare and development programs; elevated to the Hall of Fame in the Sandugo Awards by the Department of Health; and, under his leadership, the city government was named Most Outstanding Local Government Unit (LGU) by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) for his contributions to the country’s campaign against the drug menace.

 

 

Jose F. Sarsoza Jr is editor of Health & Home.

 


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