Potenciano Gregorio

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Potenciano Gregorio, often referred to as Potenciano Gregorio, Sr. (May 19, 1880 to February 12, 1939) was a Bicolano musician. He was the composer of Sarung Banggi (One Evening), the most famous song in the Bikol language.Potenciano Gregorio was born in what was then known as the town of Lib-og (now Santo Domingo) in the province of Albay in the Philippines.It is claimed that Potenciano Gregorio composed Sarung Banggi when he was 17 years old. There are different versions as to how he composed this song. Hilario Balilo, the former town mayor stated that the composer wrote the music and lyrics of the song one night after hearing a bird chirping and the leaves rustling. He based this version on information he received from Justo Gregorio, a nephew of Potenciano. Resurrecion Gregorio, a grandson of Potenciano however claimed that the song was written during the 1897 eruption of Mayon volcano and initially the composer wanted to dedicate the song to his then fiancée Dominga Duran whom he later married.Potenciano Gregorio later sold the rights to the song to Constancio de Guzman.Potenciano Gregorio was among those invited to compete with other musicians during the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1938. However, while he was overseas, he died in 1939 of pneumonia in Honolulu. His remains were brought back to the Philippines and buried in La Loma Cemetery in Manila. In 2005, his remains were exhumed and brought to his hometown of Santo Domingo where they were reinterred.

 

Sarong Bangui by Potenciano Gregorio

Sarong bangui
Sa higdaan
Nacadangog aco
Hinuni nin sarong gamgam.


Sa luba co
Katurugan
Baco cundi,
simong tingog iyo palan.


Dagos aco bangon si sacuyang mata iminuclat
Sa kadicloman nin bangui aco nangalagcalag
Si sacong paghiling biglang tinuhog paitaas
Simong laog na magayon maliwanag


Raul S. Roco
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Raul S. Roco, former senator and education secretary, was born October 26, 1941 in Naga City in the province of Camarines Sur, the son of farmer Sulpicio Azuela Roco and public school teacher Rosario Orlanda Sagarbarria.

A precocious learner, he finished elementary school at age 10 and completed high school at age 14 at the Ateneo de Naga. At age 18 he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, magna cum laude, at San Beda College in Manila.

Roco received his Bachelor of Laws as Abbott Awardee for Over-All Excellence at San Beda College.

As a young Bedan, he wrote the lyrics of the San Beda College Alma Mater Song and was editor-in-chief of The Bedan, the college newspaper.

He took his Master of Comparative Law as a University Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, U.S.A., where he was cross-enrolled at the Wharton School for Multinational Studies.

Roco has been conferred seven honorary doctoral degrees by various universities.

Youth leader and Con-Con delegate

Roco was the youngest ever president of the National Union of Students of the Philippines in 1961 and was one of the Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines in 1964.

He was the youngest Bicolano delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1971 and was also the youngest president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, serving from 1983 to 1985.

As a member of the legal staff of the late Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, he drafted the Study Now, Pay Later Law.

Award-winning film producer and top solon

Taking time off from his legal work, he was executive producer of the late great film director Lino Brocka’s movie Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang which won six FAMAS Awards including best film in 1974.

Financial Law Reformer

As senator from 1992 to 2000, Roco was the author of the law that reformed the central banking system, a feat that earned him the title “Father of the Bangko Sentral.” Other laws passed under his stewardship resulted in the liberalization of the banking industry and the strengthening of the thrift banks. He authored the Intellectual Property Code and the Securities Regulation Code.

Teacher’s champion

Having always the public teachers in mind, Roco helped fund the teachers’ cooperatives as well as the increment mandated by the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers for retiring public school teachers.

On the students’ side, he pioneered in the Senate the computerization program for state universities and colleges and public schools. He also devised meal scholarships for poor students at the Philippine Normal University.

Candidacy for President

1998

Roco ran for president in the 1998 Philippine election. He lost to Vice-President Joseph Estrada but had a remarkable showing in a field of eleven candidates despite being an independent candidate. His strong showing was attributed to the widespread support he received from young Filipinos who eventually formed his party, Aksyon Demokratiko, and its youth arm, Aksyon Kabataan. Party leaders then included Jaime Galvez Tan, Lorna Patajo-Kapunan and Darwin Mariano.

2004

Roco rode his success in the Department of Education into a run for the Philippine presidency. His candidacy was based on his ability to fight corruption and to display fair play, decency, and honor. His Aksyon Demokratiko party formed a coalition with Promdi and Reporma, the parties of 1998 presidential candidates Lito Osmeña and Renato de Villa, to form the Alyansa ng Pag-asa (Alliance of Hope).

Despite having the support of Osmeña, who is one of the most influential and most powerful people among Cebuanos, Roco failed to get a huge chunk of votes in the island of Cebu. A public relations blunder hit his campaign when he and his group toured the slums in Cebu City (planned as an up-close-and-personal strategy to get closer to the voters) expecting thousands of people to come out and greet him. Despite the preparation, only a little over 130 people met him and the very next day, one of the local newspapers published a panoramic shot of Roco in the slums smiling to the camera and the people shown were very few and unenthusiastic. This image created an impression that Cebuanos were not willing to vote Roco for president and in the end, over 80% of Cebu's voters supported President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Roco was a front-runner in pre-election surveys and was considered a strong contender. However, during the campaign, he battled with bone cancer, which developed after his bout with prostate cancer in 1996. His illness forced him to leave the campaign trail for medical attention in the United States. Doctors told him that his condition was not life-threatening and that he could continue his run for the presidency. He returned to the campaign trail, but concerns about his illness greatly diminished his support.

He lost the election to the incumbent, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and finished fourth in a field of 5 candidates.

He was the President of Akyson Demokratiko until his death.

Death

On 5 August 2005, Raul Roco died of cardiac arrest, brought about by prostate cancer, at St Luke's Medical Center in Quezon City. He was buried on August 11 in Naga City, Camarines Sur. His widow, Sonia, was beaten for Senator under the Genuine Opposition (formerly United Opposition) umbrella in the May 14, 2007 midterm elections and still representing the party he started, Aksyon Demokratiko, in the hopes of continuing the advocacies that her late husband had started.

How Sorsogon got to be Sorsogon

            The name Sorsogon was originally spelled “solsogon” in most old Spanish maps. Solsogon is an old Bikol word, meaning, “to trace a river going upstream”. The rootword “solsog” is Bikol for “going against the current”. It is also variously pronounced and spelled as “sogsogon” or “sosogon”, which all really mean the same thing “to trace a river, a trail, or a pathway”.
            As the old folks story goes, after establishing a settlement in Gibalong, in what is now the town of Magallanes, the Spaniards fanned out to explore the area and one group soon came upon a small river emptying itself into what is now Sorsogon Bay. Tired and lost and not knowing where they were, the Spaniards asked a native about the name of the place. Ignorant of the Iberian tongue, and fearful of the white men with the funny hats and bushy countenances, the native, thinking that the strangers were asking for directions, simply pointed at the river and said, “Solsogon”, meaning, trace the river upstream to a native village beyond. And the name stuck.