Manuel Alesna Cuenco (November 10, 1907 – October 18, 1970) was a Filipino physician and politician from

Cebu Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...

, Philippines. He was the former

Governor of Cebu The governor of Cebu () is the chief executive of the provincial government of Cebu, Philippines. The first governor appointed by the Spanish Crown was Miguel López de Legazpi, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, and during the history of the Philippines ...

(1946–1951), administrator of the Overseas Employment Council, and the

Secretary of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate Minister of Mental Health, ...

(1964–1965).

Early life and education

The son of Filipino politician

Mariano Jesús Cuenco Mariano Jesús Cuenco y Diosómito (January 16, 1888 – February 25, 1964) was a Filipino politician and writer from Cebu. He was the 4th President of the Senate of the Philippines. M.J. Cuenco Avenue, a major thoroughfare in Cebu City, was n ...

and Filomena Alesna, Manuel Cuenco was born on November 10, 1907. He finished medicine at the

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (UST; ), officially the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines or colloquially as ''Ustê'' (), is a Private university, private Catholic school, Catholic researc ...

. He and his wife Milagros Veloso had six children, including

Antonio Cuenco Antonio "Tony" Veloso Cuenco (March 26, 1936 – June 27, 2020) was a Filipino politician who served as a council member for the 2nd District of the Cebu City Council. He also served as the Secretary-General of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary As ...

who later would become a congressman. The family escaped from the war and avoided Japanese forces by evacuating to remote locations like the towns of

Sibonga Sibonga, officially the Municipality of Sibonga (; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 53,424 people. Geography S ...

in Cebu,

Talibon Talibon, officially the Municipality of Talibon (; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Bohol, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 71,272 people, making it ...

Bohol Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol (; ), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region, consisting of the island itself and 75 minor surrounding islands. It is home to Bohola ...

, and

Hilongos Hilongos (IPA: ɪ'lɔŋos, officially the Municipality of Hilongos (; ; ), is a First Income Class municipality in the province of Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 64,514 people. Hilongos is the biggest ...

and Macrohon in

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has been ...

Career

Before the outbreak of the war, he worked as company physician for the Cebu Portland Cement Company in Naga, Cebu, a government-owned-and-controlled company that was later privatized. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1946, then President

Manuel Roxas Manuel Acuña Roxas (; January 1, 1892 – April 15, 1948) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the fifth president of the Philippines from 1946 until his death in 1948. He served briefly as the third and last President of the ...

appointed him as Governor of the province of Cebu. The next year, he was reelected as a

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

candidate for another term. In 1951, he was defeated by

Sergio Osmeña Jr. Sergio "Serging" Veloso Osmeña Jr. (December 4, 1916 – March 26, 1984) was a Filipino politician who served as a Senator of the Philippines, and ran against Ferdinand Marcos in the 1969 Philippine Presidential election. He was the son of Se ...

in his bid to be elected again as governor and the electoral protest he filed on the outcome of the 1951 election before the Court of First Instance against Osmeña was dismissed on September 4, 1954. He was appointed and worked as the administrator of Overseas Employment Council from 1962 until 1963, and appointed as the Secretary of Health from December, 1964 to December, 1965. His appointment to the Cabinet of then President

Diosdado Macapagal Diosdado Pangan Macapagal Sr. (; September 28, 1910 – April 21, 1997) was a Filipino lawyer, poet and politician who served as the 9th President of the Philippines, serving from 1961 to 1965, and the 5th Vice President of the Philippines, V ...

as the head of the

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their o ...

was the result of the alliance between otherwise local political rivals, the Osmeña and the Cuenco clans. The alliance was formed against the reelection of

Carlos P. Garcia Carlos Polestico Garcia (; November 4, 1896 – June 14, 1971), often referred to by his initials CPG, was a Filipino teacher, poet, orator, lawyer, public official, political economist, guerrilla and Commonwealth military leader who was the ...

, whom Macapagal defeated in the 1961 elections.

Later years

He died on October 18, 1970.

Historical commemoration

* Governor M. Cuenco Avenue that stretches from Archbishop Reyes Avenue to the Mahiga Bridge was named in his honor by virtue of City Ordinance No. 869.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuenco, Manuel A. 1907 births 1970 deaths Governors of Cebu Secretaries of health of the Philippines Macapagal administration cabinet members University of Santo Tomas alumni People from Cebu Cuenco family Visayan people