IDENTIFY YOUR ANCESTORS

IDENTIFY YOUR ANCESTORS. The handwriting on the above photo of Naval municipal officials tells this was taken in front of the old municipal building around 1940-1941. The elective officials then were Restituto D. Copuaco, municipal president (seated at center, with bow tie and cane?); Isaias Icain, vice-president; Graciano Farma, Pablo Caneja, Benjamin Opeña, Absalon Sablada, Cayetano Lucente, and Marcelino Saberon, councilors. The municipal secretary was Generoso Mocorro. The webmaster has identified the lone woman, the late Mrs. Cayetana D. Bernardes (seated, left), and the late war-time mayor Isaias Icain (seated beside Bernardes). Absalon Sablada seems to be the one wearing sunglasses, seated third from right. Please help identify the others. It appears that the fiesta of our town was transferred to January during the tenure (1936-41) of Mayor Copuaco, who was not a native of our town. Anybody with information about him? How did he gain prominence here? He seems responsible for filtering out, or at least suppressing the local display of pride in, the national and global feat of Ceferino Garcia, the Navalian boxer of the "bolo punch" fame, who was in the limelight from 1937-40. The photo was provided courtesy of the Naval Municipal Planning and Development Office. Left click your computer mouse on the photo to see a larger picture.
by: Prof. Rolando Borrinaga