I bet majority of the youth today don’t know about this. Despite the many mishaps that our city is experiencing nowadays, I believe that there are still many good things to be grateful for.

I’ve always get nuisances when I hear anything about politics. To me, it was all about yada yada yada, blah blah blah, nah nah nah. But everything changed when I learned about the story of one great Zamboangueño who made me realized that, no, not all politicians are crocodiles.

City Mayor Cesar Cortez Climaco

Nobody expected that a mere janitor would become a great leader. That is where perseverance, dreams and a good heart led our beloved Mayor Cesar Climaco.

28 years ago, November 14, 1984, a scene of a fire at the Gov. Alvarez St. fronting La Merced Memorial Homes was happening destroying a beautiful part of the city. The Mayor, being dedicated to his genuine service to the people of Zamboanga, personally went to the burning site where flame and devastation ignite. As he drove back to his office, a gunman, unidentified until this time, shot him in the nape which caused his demise. 

Today, as we remember him in his Death Anniversary, we smile with all pride and honor, we look back to all his passionate deeds, and we salute a hero with so much gratefulness in our hearts.

I remember how he would drive his motorcycle even without bodyguards..

I remember how he would stop just to give candies to kids playing in the street..

I remember how he would sweetly pinch a couple’s cheeks to reconcile them during an LQ..

I remember how carefree he was not to mind being dirty in a construction work..

I remember singing “Hay si Cesar.. Hay si Cesar.. Hay si Ceeeesar Climaco.. Maskin viejo pero gwapo.. Hay si Cesar Climaco..”

That’s how close he was to the people’s hearts. Indeed, he was well-loved.

Thank you so much Mayor Climaco. You will always be alive in our hearts.

Photo by: Zambo_Boy