Roseller T. Lim
{{Short description|Filipino politician (1915–1976)}}
{{About|the Filipino politician|the town named after him|Roseller Lim, Zamboanga Sibugay}}{{Philippine name|Tarroza|Lim}}
{{family name hatnote|Lim (林)|lang=Chinese}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = The Honourable
| honorific_suffix =
| name = Roseller T. Lim
| image = Roseller Lim.jpg
| imagesize =
| smallimage =
| caption =
| order =
| office = Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals of the Philippines
| order1 =
| office1 = Senator of the Philippines
| order2 =
| office2 = Member of the House of Representatives from Zamboanga del Sur's at-large district
| predecessor2 = District established
| successor2 = Canuto M.S. Enerio
| birth_date = {{birth date|mf=y|1915|02|09}}
| birth_place = Zamboanga, Zamboanga Province, Philippine Islands
| death_date = {{death date and age|1976|07|05|1915|02|09|mf=y}}
| death_place = Makati, Philippines{{cite web|url=https://www.geni.com/people/Roseller-Lim/6000000187672321896|title=Roseller Lim|website=Geni.com|accessdate=December 19, 2023}}
| nationality = Filipino
| party = Liberal (1965–1976)
| spouse = Amy Schuck
| relations =
| children = 5
| residence =
| alma_mater = Silliman University (AA, LL.B)
| occupation =
| profession = Lawyer
| signature =
| website =
| footnotes =
| office3 = Member of the House of Representatives from Zamboanga's at-large district
| term_start3 = December 30, 1949
| term_end3 = December 30, 1953
| termstart2 = December 30, 1953
| termend2 = December 30, 1955
| termstart1 = December 30, 1955
| termend1 = December 30, 1963
| termstart = 1973
| termend = July 5, 1976
| appointer = Ferdinand Marcos
| predecessor3 = Juan S. Alano
| successor3 = District abolished
| otherparty = Nacionalista (1949–1965)
}}
Roseller Tarroza Lim (February 9, 1915 – July 5, 1976) was a Filipino politician who served as a member of the Senate and House of Representatives from 1949 to 1963. He also served as Court of Appeals Justice from his appointment in 1973 until his death. Lim was known as the "Great Filibuster," after he filibustered for more than 18 hours in an attempt to prevent the election of Ferdinand Marcos as President of the Senate.{{cite web|url=http://www.zamboanga.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1711&Itemid=46|title=Mayor leads Dia de Roseller T. Lim|date=February 11, 2009|publisher=Zamboanga City Public Information Office|accessdate=February 22, 2010}}{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Ulc1AAAAIBAJ&sjid=iSUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2734%2C720400 |last=Mustafa |first=Noralyn. |title=Roseller T. Lim – He filibustered for 18 hours to stop Marcos but...| newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer |date=June 18, 2004 |accessdate=March 7, 2013}}
Personal life
Roseller Lim was born to Antonio Lim and Mercedes Tarroza. He graduated from the Ateneo de Zamboanga High School as valedictorian in 1932. He earned his Associate in Arts (AA) program in History & law degree from Silliman University in 1940 and passed the bar the same year. He married Amy Mustafa Schuck of Jolo, Sulu and had five children — Rosamy, Mercibel, Victoria, Roseller Jr., and Amy.[http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/zam/2007/02/09/news/city.honors.roseller.lim.friday.html "City honors Roseller Lim"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609192852/http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/zam/2007/02/09/news/city.honors.roseller.lim.friday.html|date=2011-06-09}}. Sun.Star. Retrieved 2010-05-18.{{Cite web |last=Casas |first=John Dave N. |date=2014-02-08 |title=City remembers Zamboangueño senator |url=https://www.sunstar.com.ph/more-articles/city-remembers-zamboangueno-senator |access-date=2024-06-20 |website=SunStar Publishing Inc. |language=en}}
Political career
Lim, a Nacionalista, he was first elected as representative of the Lone District of Zamboanga in 1949. In his first term in office, he authored the law that divided the province of Zamboanga into the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur. He won another term in 1953, this time as representative of the newly established Lone District of Zamboanga del Sur. Halfway through his term, he ran and won as senator in 1955, to complete the unexpired two years of the Senate term of Carlos P. Garcia, who was elected Vice President in 1953. Lim was instrumental in the election of the Philippines into the International Labour Organization governing body in 1957.Sun Star Zamboanga. "City honors Roseller Lim Friday," February 9, 2007. (Accessed on February 22, 2010).{{cite web |url=http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/zam/2007/02/09/news/city.honors.roseller.lim.friday.html |title="/>
=Later career=
When Marcos bolted from the Liberals to the Nacionalistas to run as president in the 1965 election, Lim supported President Diosdado Macapagal of the rival Liberal Party. When Marcos won the election, Lim transferred to the Liberals. In 1970, Lim was elected to the 1971 constitutional convention. In 1973, Marcos appointed Lim to the Court of Appeals.
Legacy
Roseller Lim was the first and only politician from Zamboanga to be elected to the Philippine Senate.
On March 16, 1982, President Ferdinand Marcos signed Batas Pambansa No. 183 creating the municipality of Roseller T. Lim in the province of Zamboanga del Sur (now in Zamboanga Sibugay) in honor of Lim.{{cite PH act|chamber=BP|number=183|url=https://lawlibrary.chanrobles.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=67617:batas-pambansa-bilang-183&catid=90&Itemid=740|title=An Act Creating the Municipality of Roseller Lim in the Province of Zamboanga Del Sur|date=March 16, 1982|accessdate=December 19, 2023|publisher=Chan Robles Virtual Law Library}}[http://www.zamboanga.com/z/index.php?title=Roseller_T._Lim,_Zamboanga_Sibugay,_Philippines] (Accessed on August 5, 2011) A boulevard in Zamboanga City, which provides a view of Basilan Strait and the Sulu Sea beginning from the city proper to the industrial complex of the city, was named after the latter.
In 2006, the Zamboanga City Council designated February 9 as Día de Roseller T. Lim or Roseller T. Lim Day and a bronze monument was erected at the rotunda of Normal Road and the R. T. Lim Boulevard.
References
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Category:Senators of the 5th Congress of the Philippines
Category:Senators of the 4th Congress of the Philippines
Category:Senators of the 3rd Congress of the Philippines
Category:Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Zamboanga del Sur
Category:Silliman University alumni
Category:Nacionalista Party politicians
Category:People from Zamboanga City
Category:Liberal Party (Philippines) politicians
Category:Justices of the Court of Appeals of the Philippines
Category:20th-century Filipino judges
Category:Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Zamboanga (province)