Baguio City Commemorates Filipino-American Friendship Day on 4th of July
The City of Baguio held a simple wreath-laying ceremony today, 4 July 2020, as a tribute to the last American Mayor of Baguio City in commemoration of the Filipino-American Friendship Day.
This year’s Filipino-American Friendship Day is for honoring the American Builders of Baguio and Mayor Eusebius Julius Halsema. It was held at the Baguio City Public Cemetery at 8:00 AM.
Who is Mayor Eusebius Julius Halsema
Long story short, Halsema was the mayor of Baguio City from 1920 to 1937. But before it came to that, he was then a real estate planner at Los Angeles, California.
However, since he was unable to earn a decent living there due to the recession of 1907-1908, he took the civil service examination as an engineer for the Philippine Government’s Bureau of Public Works together with his partner. In October 1908, they arrived in the islands.
Halsema was then assigned to Cebu, then transferred to San Fernando, Pampanga, and in 1916 in Manila. But during the first World War, Halsema and other American engineers of the Bureau of Public Works volunteered as officers in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Halsema as Mayor of Baguio City
And in 1919, he finally returned to the Philippines and at the end of the year, he was sent to Baguio to serve as mayor and city engineer. He then also became the district engineer of Benguet. He held the said positions for the next 17 years. Under the direction of Mayor Eusebius Julius Halsema, from a village consists of 5,000 people, Baguio City gradually transformed to a prosperous city of 25,000 with paved roads and an air link.
The Halsema Highway
He also built the Mountain Trail which is now known as the Halsema Highway with the cooperation of the people along its route. Halsema Highway is a road to Bontoc and was opened in the year 1930.
Halsema in Baguio Cemetery
During the bombing of Baguio on March 15, 1945, he was killed. Halsema and his wife are buried in the Baguio cemetery.
This is the gist of the History and Biography of Eusebius Julius Halsema written by his son James (Jim) J. Halsema and was published in halsema.org which was last updated on November 21, 2004.
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