Leandro Aballe Tojong (March 13, 1905 – December 20, 1980) was a Filipino

Visayan Visayans ( Cebuano: ''mga Bisayà'' ) are a Philippine ethnolinguistic family group or metaethnicity native to the Visayas, to the southernmost islands south of Luzon, and to a significant portion of Mindanao. They are composed of numerous di ...

physician, patriot, and politician from

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. He held the rank of Captain in the resistance movement against the

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, and later became

Mayor of Cebu City The ''Mayor of Cebu City'' () is the chief executive of the government of Cebu City in the Philippines. The mayor leads the city's departments in executing ordinances and delivering public services. The mayorship is a three-year term and each ma ...

(1945–1946), and a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

(1946–1953).

Early life

Leandro Aballe Tojong was born in

Ginatilan Ginatilan, officially the Municipality of Ginatilan (; ), is a municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 16,906 people. Geography Ginatilan is bordered to the north by the town of M ...

on March 13, 1905.

Career

A medical doctor by profession, Leandro Tojong established a hospital that was named after him.

City Council

Tojong was one of the members of the council who were sworn into office by then Secretary of Interior,

Elpidio Quirino Elpidio Rivera Quirino (; November 16, 1890 – February 29, 1956) was a Philippine nationality law, Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 6th President of the Philippines from 1948 to 1953. A lawyer by profession, Quirino entered p ...

, upon the inauguration of the new Cebu City Charter on February 24, 1937. On December 14, 1937, he was a member of the first elected Cebu City Council. He was again elected to the Council for another term on December 10, 1940.

World War II

During

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 ...

, he was part of the resistance movement and given the rank of captain. His designation was at the 87th Regiment, 3rd Battalion's base hospital in Barili and Dumanjug. Later, he was commissioned as the unit's Assistant Civil Affairs Officer.

Post-war

After the war, Leandro Tojong was the first Mayor of Cebu City appointed after the war by

Sergio Osmeña Sergio Osmeña Sr. (, ; zh, c=吳文釗, poj=Gô͘ Bûn-chiau; September 9, 1878 – October 19, 1961) was a Filipino people, Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the List of presidents of the Philippines, fourth president of the Ph ...

in 1945, succeeding Juan Zamora. He was replaced later by Nicolas Escario a year after. In 1946, he was voted as member of the 1st Congress of the Republic in 1946 for old 5th legislative district of Cebu, which was composed of the towns of Alegria, Badian, Boljoon,

Malabuyoc Malabuyoc, officially the Municipality of Malabuyoc (; ), is a municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 19,770 people. History According to a popular story, once Malabuyoc grew plent ...

Moalboal Moalboal (), officially the Municipality of Moalboal (; ), is a municipality in the Philippine province of Cebu. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 36,930 people. Pescador Island, a popular tourist attraction, is part of th ...

Oslob Oslob, officially the Municipality of Oslob (; ), is a municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 29,264 people. Geography Oslob is bordered to the north by the town of Boljoon, to ...

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, and Santander. On January 13, 1947, 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 Member of the National Defense Committee of the House of Representatives when the Council of National Defense was created. As a candidate for the

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, he was elected Congressman of the 2nd Congress of the Republic for the old 2nd district that comprised the municipalities of Cebu,

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, Opon (now

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), Cordova, Compostela and

Consolacion Consolacion, officially the Municipality of Consolacion (; ), 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 148,012 people. ...

in 1949. He served until 1953. However, he was unseated by the Vicente Logarta of the

Nacionalista Party The Nacionalista Party (Filipino language, Filipino and Spanish language in the Philippines, Spanish: ''Partido Nacionalista''; , NP) is a political party in the Philippines which is the oldest existing party in the country and in Southeast Asi ...

by virtue of the ruling by the House Electoral Tribunal on December 6, 1952. Tojong later constructed and managed the famous "Tojong Hospital" along Governor Dionisio Jakosalem Street. He died on December 20, 1980, at the age of 75.

Historical commemoration

* Dr. Leandro Tojong Street in Lahug, Cebu City was named in his honor by virtue of City Ordinance No. 1194 enacted in 1985.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tojong, Leandro 1905 births 1980 deaths 20th-century Filipino medical doctors Filipino military personnel of World War II Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Cebu Filipino city and municipal councilors Mayors of Cebu City