Miguel Garces Raffiñan (born May 13, 1891, date of death unknown) 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 ...

lawyer, politician and mayor 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 The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. He was mayor of

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu, is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 964,169 people, making ...

(1947–1951) and Congressman of Cebu's 6th District (1916–1922, 1931–1934, 1939–1941).

Early life

Miguel Raffiñan, son of Filomeno Raffiñan and Honorata Garces, was born on May 13, 1891. He attended

University of San Carlos The University of San Carlos (USC or colloquially San Carlos) is a private, Catholic, research, coeducational basic and higher education institution administered by the Philippine Southern Province of the Society of the Divine Word missionarie ...

and acquired a bachelor's degree and became a lawyer on October 2, 1917. He married Visitacion Paras Abad of

Barili Barili, officially the Municipality of Barili (; ), is a municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 80,715 people. History The word ''barili'' comes from the name of a local grass c ...

, Cebu.

Career

Journalism

He wrote for the Spanish dailies ''El Precursor'', a newspaper founded by

Mariano Jesus Cuenco Mariano is a masculine name from the Romance languages, corresponding to the feminine Mariana. It is an Italian, Spanish and Portuguese variant of the Roman Marianus which derived from Marius, and Marius derived from the Roman god Mars (see als ...

, and ''La Revolucion'', a daily founded by

Filemon Sotto Filemón Yap Sotto (; November 22, 1872 – October 10, 1966) was a Filipino lawyer, legislator, and politician from Cebu, Philippines. He was a newspaper publisher and founded the periodicals ''El Imperial'', ''Ang Kaluwasan'', ''La Opinion,'' ...

Congressman

He was elected Congressman for Cebu's old 6th district in the

4th Philippine Legislature The 4th Philippine Legislature was the meeting of the legislature of the Philippine Islands under the sovereign control of the United States from October 16, 1916, to March 8, 1919. Sessions Legislation The Fourth Philippine Legislature pas ...

in 1916 and reelected again in

5th Philippine Legislature The 5th Philippine Legislature was the meeting of the legislature of the Philippines under the sovereign control of the United States from 1919 to 1922. Sessions Leadership Senate * President: Manuel L. Quezon ( 5th District, Naciona ...

in 1919 and served until 1922. In 1931, he ran and won again as representative in the same congressional district in the

9th Philippine Legislature The 9th Philippine Legislature was the meeting of the legislature of the Philippines under the sovereign control of the United States from 1931 to 1934. Sessions Leadership Senate * President: Manuel L. Quezon ( 5th District, Nacional ...

and won again in 1939 elections where he served in the 2nd National Assembly until 1941. The 6th congressional district then was composed of the towns of Aloguinsan, Barili,

Dumanjug Dumanjug, officially the Municipality of Dumanjug (; ), is a municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 57,823 people. Dumanjug is also known as "The Land of Golden Friendship". Geo ...

Pinamungajan Pinamungajan, officially the Municipality of Pinamungajan (; ), is a municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 75,131 people. The town patroness is Saint Monica, mother of one of the ...

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...

, and

Ronda Ronda () is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Málaga, within the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its population is about 35,000. Ronda is known for its cliffside location and a deep canyon that ca ...

World War II

Raffiñan participated in the resistance movement 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 ...

and led the people of Barili in the fight against the Japanese colonizers. The guerilla force in Barili was formed by Lieutenant Aguasin and Domingo Gutang on September 27, 1942.

Mayor

On September 6, 1947, he became mayor of Cebu City until 1951, succeeding Dr. Luis Espina. During his term, he was responsible in the repair and reconstruction of the four-story, colonnaded Cebu City Hall with War Damage Funds. Additionally, the first radio telephone circuit established between

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

and Cebu was inaugurated on March 1, 1950, under the term of then President

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 ...

, with the first official three-minute conversation between then former President Sergio Osmeña and Raffiñan. In 1947, the city council passed an ordinance exacting fees on each ticket sold in local theaters. Theater owners filed a complaint against the city in court with Raffiñan, then city treasurer Anatolio Ynclino, and acting city treasurer Jesus E. Zabate as respondents. On February 18, 1956, the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

ruled that the city did not have the power to enforce the ordinance and denied the demand of plaintiffs to recover the fees that were already collected. Raffiñan would later be replaced by Pedro Elizalde as mayor.

Legal practice

As a lawyer, he represented the Sampaguita Shoe and Slipper Factory in a suit against the Bureau of Customs and the Court of Tax Appeals that was decided by the Supreme Court.

Historical commemoration

* Previously known as San Jose Street, the Miguel Raffiñan Street in Cebu City was named in his honor by virtue of City Ordinance No. 553 enacted on August 26, 1965.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raffinan, Miguel 1891 births Year of death missing University of San Carlos alumni Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Cebu Members of the National Assembly of the Philippines Members of the Philippine Legislature 20th-century Filipino lawyers