Vicente Sotto (Cebuano Hero)

Vicente Sotto was born in Cebu City in 1881 to Manileño parents, Sotto is remembered as the “Father of Cebuano Language and Letters,” and for his vigilant stance on Philippine independence. In 1899, he (aged 22) and his brother, Filemon Sotto, published the newspapers La Justicia and El Nacional, which criticized American occupation of the Philippines.

Both publications were ordered suspended and he was imprisoned in Fort San Pedro. Thus, his pen name “Taga Kotta” which means “resident of the fort.” In 1901, the maiden issue of his newspaper Ang Suga (The Light) which contained “Maming,” the first published Cebuano short story, came out.

Sotto was elected mayor of Cebu in 1907 but fled to avoid facing a kidnapping suit. He returned in 1914 and began publishing The Independent in Manila the following year. A special edition of the journal was released in Paris in 1929. Its contents prodded an American senator to file a resolution to grant the Philippines immediate independence.

Vicente Sotto served as representative of the second district of Cebu from 1922 to 1925. He was elected to the Senate after World War II.

Sources:  got it from a recent "Mga Bayani sa Sugbu" Exhibit from the CASA GORORDO MUSEUM, CEBU.
Vicente Sotto (Cebuano Hero) Vicente Sotto (Cebuano Hero) Reviewed by Vernon Joseph Go on Thursday, September 15, 2011 Rating: 5

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