Family, relatives and friends view for the last time the remains of Cebu Provincial Board Member and former Mandaue City Mayor Thadeo “Teddy” Ouano during the Requiem Mass at the St. Joseph’s Shrine in Mandaue City. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
Amahan Manatad, 57, is not related to the family but his grief is no less deep than those of the loved ones left behind by Cebu Provincial Board Member Thadeo “Teddy” Ouano.
For more than 30 years, Manatad has been a loyal follower of the Ouano family. He supported Teddy’s father, the late Alfredo “Pidong” Ouano, the grand old man of Mandaue City’s politics.
“I’ve been a supporter of Ouanos since I was 18 years old. I know Teddy personally and, like what others had said, he was strict. But I know he had a good heart,” said Manatad, a former barangay captain of Labogon and now the first councilman of the same barangay.
“Nawagtangan ug haligi ang Mandaue. Para nako usa silang anhing Pidong ug si Teddy sa kalambuan ug unsa ang Mandaue karon (Mandaue has lost a pillar. For me, Mandaue would not have been as progressive as it is today if not for leaders like the late Pidong and Teddy),” he said.
Manatad was among hundreds of Mandauehanon who paid their last respects to Teddy as he was laid to rest yesterday.
Many lined the streets at around 7 a.m. yesterday to watch as Ouano’s remains, encased in a bone-white brass coffin, was transported on a hearse with the funeral cortège following on foot, from his residence in Barangay Opao, Mandaue City to the National Shrine of St. Joseph for the 8:30 a.m. Requiem Mass.
The church was filled with while-clad members of the Ouano clan, their friends and supporters were also in white, and even those from the opposite political camps.
Political allies and opponents stood side by side during the Mass, blurring political lines as they paid their respects to a former colleague and mayor of the city.
Later during the eulogy, some personalities were given a chance to talk before the assembled mourners.
One of them was Winston Garcia, Teddy’s political ally and gubernatorial candidate of One Cebu, who called Ouano a true friend and ally. “If Teddy promises support, he means it,” he said.
School cadets from the University of Cebu-Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue (UCLM) carry the coffin containing the remains of Cebu sixth district Provincial Board Member and former Mandaue City Mayor Thadeo Ouano for the short procession from the St. Joseph Shrine to the Mandaue City Hall grounds for a brief ceremony to honor the departed son of the city. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
Cebu’s third district Rep. Gwen Garcia, Winston’s sister, remembered Ouano as a true public servant who honored his political commitments to his allies.
“I’m so much thankful for his support especially when I run for governor in 2004. Despite being a political neophyte, untested and inexperienced, he stood beside me,” she said.
Vice-presidential candidate Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano (United Nationalist Alliance), who came to Cebu just to attend Ouano’s funeral, said he knew Teddy a long way back as both their fathers, the late Pidong and the late Sen. Rene Cayetano, were good friends.
“Let’s not forget their kindness, their contribution, their being a good neighbor and friend,” Cayetano said.
Rey Martinez, a former staff of the Ouanos who now works for Cayetano, recalled that the last conversation he had with Teddy revolved around helping Lollipop’s mayoral candidacy.
Sixth District Rep. Luigi Quisumbing, who attended the Mass, said despite his political differences with Teddy, they remained friends and recognized his contributions to the development of Mandaue City.
“I want to just put aside (our) differences and pay tribute, bid goodbye to a good friend,” Quisumbing said.
Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes also said that while he is considered a political rival of the Ouanos, he never considered them his enemies.
“As city mayor and official of Mandaue City and a friend to the Ouanos, I salute Mano Teddy’s contribution as mayor of this city and as a member of the (Cebu provincial board). I sympathize with the family and the City Council has given him recognition,” Cortes said.
Ouano passed away on Feb. 26 from complications of prostate cancer and diabetes.
He was 69. Ouano served three terms as Mandaue City mayor from 1998 to 2007 before he was elected in 2010 to the Provincial Board as representative of the 6th congressional district.
Emmarie “Lollipop” Ouano Dizon, Teddy’s daughter who is now running for mayor of the city, reminisced between sobs how she not only lost a father but also a friend, a mentor and a political adviser.
“Pa, you made me the person I am today and I thank you very much,” she said. “I felt so abandoned. Nawala si Papa nga maoy naghatag nako ug inspirasyon (I lost a father who was my inspiration). But I have to move on. (You are now the ones who are giving me) the strength to move on,” she said.
Lollipop then thanked their supporters who have always stood by her father and the Ouano family.
Linda Ouano, Teddy’s widow, said most people were afraid of her husband but what they did not know was that he had a big heart.
“Tuod, isog kaayo ang nawong ni Teddy (It’s true, Teddy looked stern). But behind his image, he was a man with a good heart. Ted, my love for you is beyond words beyond distance and beyond life. Bye for now. Until we meet again… in God’s time,” the 69-year-old Linda said to her husband of 47 years.
After the Mass ended sometime after 11 a.m., the funeral cortège brought Ouano’s remains to the Mandaue City Hall grounds, located just across the St. Joseph Church, where members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines rendered a 21-gun salute. Ouano was a military reservist.
The funeral cortège then motored to the St. Peter Chapels on New Imus Street, Barangay Lorega, Cebu City where Ouano’s remains was cremated.
The urn that holds Ouano’s ashes was brought back to his home before 8 p.m. last night, according to Lollipop.
Teddy, the eldest of 11 children, had three children with Linda, namely, Emmarie, Alfie and Thadeo Jr.
Teddy started his political career in 1998 when he run as mayor of Mandaue City. He won three consecutive terms. He was then a member of the Lakas Party.
Ededio Bustillo, the spokesperson of the Ouano family, spoke of Teddy’s many contributions: As mayor, he built the Mandaue City District Hospital; and as provincial board member (2010 to present), Teddy was responsible for the passage of the Provincial Environment Code. He was also responsible for the strengthening of the province’s laws against illegal fishing.
Teddy was seeking a third term in the provincial board when he left the administration Liberal Party and joined One Cebu.