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Date Posted: 11/ 2/04 10:41am
Author: Moderator
Subject: An ex-mayor of Baguio a Tagudinian passes on

Wednesday, November 03, 2004

Ex-mayor Lardizabal of
Baguio City passes on

By Ramon Dacawi, Northern Luzon Bureau

BAGUIO CITY—This city has lost one of its most illustrious sons with the death of Baguio’s first elected mayor, Luis Lardizabal, on Monday in Quezon City. He was 90 years old.

He succumbed to a lingering illness at 8:55 p.m. at the National Kidney Institute.

His body lies at the Mount Carmel Church on Aurora Boulevard, Quezon City. Internment is on Saturday morning at the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina.

The city officials, led by Mayor Braulio Yaranon, were making arrangements on Tuesday with the late mayor’s wife Cresencia and daughter Caroline to have his body brought up to Baguio City to enable residents here to pay their respect to Baguio’s longest serving elected mayor.

If it is not possible to bring Lardizabal’s body to Baguio City, Yaranon will lead a city delegation to Quezon City on Friday evening. Yaranon has ordered the flag in front of city hall placed at half-mast to honor Lardizabal.

Addressed by many as Tang Luis (Father Luis), Lardizabal is remembered for his public works and parks development projects, brilliance in law practice and eloquence as a speaker, besides his wit and humor.

Lardizabal was born on June 21, 1914, in Tagudin, Ilocos Sur. He finished high school at the National University in 1931 and worked his way through law school at the University of the Philippines as a piccolo player for the university band. “I was the best piccolo player because I was the only piccolo player then in the university,” he used to tell the mayor’s staff.

After passing the bar in 1937, he set up his law office here and was soon serving clients from all over the country. His legal service for workers and the poor led him to organize the first labor union in the Cordillera region.

His political career spanning 27 years began in 1946 when he was appointed city councilor. He was elected twice for the same office before becoming Baguio’s first elected mayor, defeating rival, Benito Lopez, in 1959.

The Nacionalista Party stalwart lost the mayorship to Guillermo de Guzman in 1963 and he was taken in by the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos, a fellow Ilocano, as presidential assistant on local government affairs.

He returned in 1967 for his longest unbroken term as mayor, defeating Yaranon twice. With elections suspended following the declaration of martial rule in 1972, Lardizabal served until the end of 1979.

Up and about at daybreak and sometimes in his office before his staff, Lardizabal would work into the evening, issuing directives for the immediate repair of potholes, trimming of park hedges or presiding over meetings on major projects.

Still, he found time to serve as governor of Lions District 301-C, president of the Host Lions, supreme commander of the Knights of Rizal, Sir Knight of the Knights of Columbus, chair of the Baguio Red Cross fund campaign, director of the provincial governors and city mayors league and chair of the mayors’ league.

He also taught law and sat as dean of the college of law of the Baguio Colleges Foundation.

Lardizabal received from President Marcos the “Most Outstanding City Mayor” award in 1971 under the Presidential Assistance on Community Development and the “Sultan Award” as the most outstanding executive in 1973.

In 1980 Marcos appointed him elections commissioner and replaced him with Philippine Air Force deputy chief, Brig. Gen. Ernesto Bueno.

Lardizabal returned to local politics in 1983 but lost to the fellow lawyer Honorato Aquino for the lone city seat in the then Batasang Pambansa. He made another bid for the mayorship in 1987 but again lost, this time to faith healer Ramon “Jun” Labo, one of the most colorful figures to grace the city’s political history.

Labo, however, was unseated over questions on his citizenship in a court battle waged by Lardizabal. Vice Mayor Jaime Bugnosen took over the post, with Lardizabal unsuccessful in his court pleading that he be proclaimed for having earned the second highest number of votes.

Lardizabal then retired from politics and moved to the family home in Quezon City where many of his former law clients, fellow Baguio politicians, city hall workers and friends visited him.

Relatives said he remained mentally alert until last August, before he turned semi-unconscious and was hospitalized for six weeks for kidney failure and pneumonia.

His niece, assistant city health officer, Dr. Rowena Galpo, said Lardizabal made his last political statement after learning that Yaranon, his former opponent, finally made it as mayor in May.

“Yaranon pay la idi. No agtarayak, maabak ko pay laeng isuda [It’s been Yaranon since way, way back. If I run, I can still defeat all of them],” he said with a chuckle.

SOURCE: THE MANILA TIMES

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