A Glimpse of the Past and Present Governors of Capiz

Capiz Provincial Capitol: Home to the province's great leaders.

Hon. Victor A. Tanco (center), present governor of Capiz, with other
government officials of the province.

Every community needs a leader. He must be a man of wisdom, integrity, strength, honesty and dedication to public service.

Capiz has its share of these breed of leaders. Let us have a glimpse of the people who have held the most prestigious position in the province – the past and present governors of Capiz.

SIMPLICIO JUGO VIDAL (1901 – 1903) was the 1st governor of Capiz. He was a man of integrity and belonged to a respectable family. It was in his term that the Capiceños were in the midst of transition after the liberation from Spain and the brief conflict with the Americans.
The rehabilitation of Capiz was his main concern. He instilled the sense of unity among the Akleanos and Capiceños rather than the divisional aspect brought by the move to separate Aklan from the province of Capiz.

He further made his years of public service more colorful by extending his effort and using his own personal resources in initiating the construction of several buildings that were necessary in his governance.

SIMEON MOBO REYES (1904 – 1906) became the 2nd governor of Capiz. He was a devoted mentor who never dreamed of becoming the highest official of Capiceños. The turning point of his life came when he was appointed chairman of the peaceful negotiators between the Americans and the local revolutionaries.

Among the position he has occupied before he became governor were: provincial secretary of Capiz; representative of the 3rd district (Aklan Section) Capiz, a municipal councilor of Kalibo, presidente municipal (mayor) of Kalibo and later, he became a member of the provincial board for two terms until his retirement.

EMILIANO BALTAZAR ACEVEDO (1906 – 1907) There was no exact date and reason for the governorship of Emiliano Baltazar Acevedo but he acted as Provincial Governor of Capiz for almost two years.

He started his political career when he worked as secretary to a 100 – man designation from Aklan in 1901 which was composed of prominent citizens and headed by Simplicio Jugo Vidal and his brother Don Natalio B. Acevedo.

They passed a petition to the Taft Commission of Capiz for the establishment of Aklan as a distinct province from Capiz. Though the bid was not successful, still it served as an initial move for the establishment of Aklan which finally came on April 14, 1901.

ANTONIO HABANA(1907 – 1909) was the 3rd governor of Capiz. A native of Curatero, Habana was raised diligently by his parents. Among his achievements on his three – year service were the construction of several road networks that led to the improvement of the trade and commerce on Capiz (now Roxas City).

The life of Habana, although unpublicized was difficult to surpass by his successors. He was the Governor, who only wanted to be an agent of change.

JOSE CORTES ALTAVAS (1901 – 1916) was the 4th governor of Capiz. Born to a business – inclined family, Jose at theage of 12 already managed the distillery store of his father. He was popularly known as emperador by his professor and fellow his professor and fellow classmates because he topped every exam he took.

During his governance, he introduced many development projects from Capiz to Aklan and from Capiz Iloilo. After his stint as governor of Capiz, he ran for senator and got elected.

JOSE MIRAFLORES HONTIVEROS (1917 – 1919) became the 5th governor of Capiz. A jurist, public official and statesman, Hontiveros rendered distinguished service which was crowned with notable achievements of far – reaching signifance.

During his term, he devoted his time and efforts to improving the social economic conditions of his constituents. He worked on building roads connecting the towns to the provincial capital and on constructing government buildings for schools and markets, as well as bridges.

MANUEL ACUÑA ROXAS (1919 – 1921) was elected the 6th Governor of Capiz. Later, he became the 3rd and last President of the President of the Philippine Commonwealth in the 1946 and the First President of the Philippines Republic (1946 – 1948). He was a lawyer, parliamentarian, constitutionalist, economist, stateman, soldier and patriot. It was after him that the town Capiz was named when it was declared a charter City in 1951.

In 1919, at the age of 27, Manuel A. Roxas was elected governor of Capiz. Two years later, he won the seat for the first district of Capiz and eventually was elected Speaker of the House by his colleagues in Congress, a position he held for twelve years.

Roxas dedicated his life to the pursuit of freedom for his country and to the welfare of his countrymen.

Along with senate President Protempore Sergio Osmeña, he headed the crusade for full independence of the Philippines in Washington, D.C. for most of the 1920’s in what was popularly known as OSROX Mission.

RAFAEL ACUÑA (1920 – 1932) became the 7th governor of Capiz for three successive terms. He finished his Dramatic Arts from Spain. “Peping’ as he was fondly called by his politician friends, started his public service and political career when he was chosen representative to the second Philippines Assembly in 1914 and later as Governor of Agusan Province in 1917 – 1921.
Peping went back to Capiz and run for governor and won in the 1922 election.

Rafel Acuña’s governance was marked with various accomplishments and developmental projects. Capiz province remained a peaceful place to live in during his terms.

GABRIEL (KUROKI) HERNANDEZ became the 8th governor of Capiz (1932 – 1942). He was later on re-appointed in 1945 – 1946.

Popularly known as “Kuroki’ to his relatives, friends and constituents, his courage and intense love for freedom very well described him.

He stubbornly refused to serve the enemy during ark days of the Japanese occupation by escaping at one time, to Sibuyan Island to elude the Japanese.

In his quest to help his fellow Capiceños from Japanese atrocities and to finally liberate Capiz, he continued lending them a hand by continuously sending foods and other sustenance and ammunitions to the Filipino soldiers and the outnumbered and beleaguered Americans while in Sibuyan Island.

CORNELTO T. VILLAREAL SR. (1942 – 1945) was 9th governor of Capiz. He was a native of Burias, Mambusao, Capiz where he honed his intellectual processes and strengthened his moral fiber.

Being from the rural backwoods, Cornelio Villareal Sr. understood the plight of those who had to struggle for an education.

The miserable plight of the poor, who used to be helpless and threatened into silence by the coercive force of the powerful, drove him to defend their rights in court. He saw to it that ordinary citizens would have “a day in court.”

LUDOVICO ADVINCULA HIDROSOLLO (1948 – 1951) was the 10th governor of Capiz. For the Dumaraonons, he was a man who engaged in various forms of endeavor, in public service and humanitarian concern.

Ludovico served as interpreter between American soldiers and his town folk during his adulthood. He became the first Filipino teacher in Dumarao under the Americans, which led him to be promoted as supervising techer in Ilog, Negros Occidental.

He ran for governor of Capiz and won in the 1947 election. After he won, he kept himself busy by serving in various capacities until he retired in 1954. he also received the highest honor an academic institution could give, the Honorary Degree as Doctor of Law from his Alma mater, the Michigan State University.

EDUARDO VIDAL ABALO SR. (1952 – 1956) became the 11th governor of Capiz. His inherent traits of dedication and leadership made him a notable person thus becoming one of Capiz great sons.

Before he was elected governor, he first served as Mayor of Capiz (now Roxas City) and as Provincial Board Member. He had accomplished a lot of projects. One of it was the construction of the concrete provincial jail (now Capiz Rehabilation Center0 brought safety to its inmates. During his entire term, he was more concerned with how the money of the province was spent. He saw to it that all projects were being implemented and the expenses were properly accounted up to the last centavo. After his retirement, he engaged himself in farming.

JOSE A. DINGALASAN (1956 – 1959) became the 12th governor of Capiz at the age of 43. Dingalasan was known for his belief that, “Every man is blessed with skills and wisdom. If he uses these gifts for the good to which it was intended, chances are he is likely to succeed or excel. Otherwise, he is likely to scrumb or fail.” This adage led himto be successful in his chosen career.
Under his governance, he implemented various projects like concreting the provincial road network in order to make it easier for farmers to transport their products. He also encouraged the farmers to increase their production. During the big fire that raged Roxas City in the late 1950’s, he envisioned a better fire prevention program for the province and he also gave priority to the housing project, which provided shelter for those who needed it.

The name Jose Dinglasan was marked, with various accomplishments and projects that helped shape the province of Capiz. After his retirement, he spent his peaceful and fruitful life with his wife “Marsing” and his children.

ATILA OXILIO “Oxiong” ACEVEDO BALGOS (1960 – 1962) was the 13th governor of Capiz.
During his term as governor he accomplished many projects. He was the instrument in the establishment of Camp Peralta in Jamindan, Capiz. He was also responsible for the re-opening of the expansion of the Cotabato Court to become a part of the Capiz High School now Capiz national High School. In the 1962 West Visayas Meet, he was the one who led the province of Capiz to victory. He was also the one who donated the land in Agbalo, Panay, Capiz where the Don Felix Balgos Memorial School was built.

After he retired from government service and politics, he developed most of his time in joining different civic activities such as being the President of the Boys Scouts of the Philippines, Capiz Chapter, VFP commander of Capiz and many others. Until the time of his death on February 8, 1990 he maintained his good standing as a leader of the different civic organizations.

FILOMINO SAPROSA VILLANUEVA (1962 – 1965) became the 14th governor of Capiz. He was a mayor for four successful terms (1948 – 1964) an engineer by profession and a businessman who engaged in fishpond venture.

During his governance, statues were built in several municipal plazas. A number of steel gates were also donated by Villanueva in order to protect government properties all over the province. He did not claim his salary as governor of the province; instead, he donated it back to the province to finance other worthwhile projects.

ANTONIO JAYMALEN REYES SR. (1965 – 1967) was the 15th governor of Capiz. During his term, he received an award from the National Press Club for being an outstanding governor.
He had accomplished a lot of projects during his reign. Some of them were the construction of the former provincial health building likewise, there was no budget deficit during his term, instead, collection of revenues was intensified and improvement and proper maintenance of all provincial hospitals, the Capiz High School and all other government entities were given priorities.
After all political career he returned and engaged himself in warming which was his first love.

CORNELIO VILLAREAL JR. (1968 – 1987) was the 16th governor of Capiz. Cornelio Villareal Jr. was the man who initiated the celebration of Halaran Festival.

His strong spiritual belief and strict moral values led him to conceptualize this festivity to make every Capiceños respect and preserve his own cultural heritage. The celebration began as a thanksgiving activity and later became a major provincial affair in the life of Capiceños.

JOSE E. BORDA (1988 – 1992) became the 17th governor of Capiz A licensed civil engineer, Jose E. Borda or popularly known to the people close to him as “Ting” gave priority to the development of infrastructure projects in the entire province. The rehabilitation of the provincial roads and bridges became a big help to the farmers in transporting the products.

Uplifting the trade and commerce in the province was also his concern. The provincial capitol building was also renovated during his term, including the upgrading of the office equipment and the purchase of computers for the government office.

The Halaran celebrations during his term were full of media exposure, because the invited media practitioners from both the regional and national levels. That put Capiz on several pages of the Philippines journals and dailies.

ESTEBAN ESPINOSA CONTRERAS (1992 – 1998) was the 18th governor of Capiz. Being a doctor of medicine had made Esteban Espinosa Contreras close to the heart of the barrio folks even in the remotest barangay in different towns of the province.

Due to his sympathy and concern for the poor, he went to far-flung areas and barangays to render medical service and give medicine at his own expense.

In his term as governor, he was more concerned on giving free medical services to the people of Capiz, as well as on improving farming.

VICENTE BILLONES BERMEJO (1998 – 2007) is the 19th and the present governor of Capiz. He assumed his office in June 1998 and was tagged with is famous quote, “Serving best what is best of Capiz.”

Despite the inadequate financial resources of Capiz, he still tried to uplift the situation in the Province.

Among his accomplishments are the rehabilitation of Roxas Memorial General Hospital and some other government hospitals in Bailan, Dao, Tapaz, Dumarao, Jamindan and Pilar. He also worked on the improvement of agricultural productivity by extending help to the fisher folks by providing loans for milkfish fingerlings and other types of fish fingerlings.

But most of all, through his administration and in cooperation with Mayor Antonio del Rosario, Roxas City was put to fame by winning the cleanest and greenest component city in region VI for three consecutive years and also placed Capiz as the second cleanest and greenest province in the region this year.

VICTOR ARANCILLO TANCO, SR. (2007- PRESENT) is the 20th governor of the province. He was hailed from the municipality of Dumarao, where he served as mayor for eighteen years (1980-1998), before he was elected vice-governor (1998-2007), and eventually, governor of the province. Tanco is famous for his signature smile and approachable character, which indeed endears him to much of the Capicenos.

Governor Tanco's administration centers in developing Capiz as a cultural and tourism hub not just of Western Visayas, but of the Philippines, without diverging attention in developing the country's resources for the better, attending the needs of the locals, especially the indigenous groups, living in the mountains, and projecting the province's positive image in the national and international arenas.