ALBERTO Q. UBAY. A native of Merida Leyte, Alberto Q.

Ubay was
Governor, Congressman and Jurist in all his years of service in government.
His quest for education was no bed of roses, so to speak. He was a
selfmade man finishing, his elementary studies in Pilar Cebu, his high
school and pre-law studies at Silliman University in Dumaguete, and earned
his degree in Law from the Philippines Law School in Manila. He graduated
in 1935 and passed the Bar in that same year. He served 16 years (19531969) in the House of Congress. In 1959, he was elected Governor of
Zamboanga del Norte but opted to continue his term in Congress, hence,
Vice-Governor elect Guadalupe Adaza assumed his position as Governor.
While in Congress, he was Chairman of the Judiciary Committee for 8
consecutive years, for which he was cited as one of the Most Outstanding
Congressmen during his term of office. His dedication to government
service did not go unnoticed. On November 12, 1980, the City Government
of Dapitan presented him the Award of Distinction in recognition of his
dynamic, and tested leadership, uncorruptible honestly. The Integrated
bar of the Philippines, Caloocan Chapter awarded him as the most
Outstanding Judge of the Court of First Instance of Caloocan, Malabon and
Navotas, Metro Manila in 1980. In 1981, Silliman University conferred to
him the Silliman Award in the Field of Public Service in recognition of his
sterling qualities as Governor, Congressman, and Jurist, and for his long
dedicated public service characterized by numerous contributions to the
commonweal.
GUADALUPE C. ADAZA. The eldest of the ten children of Leoncio Cadavedo
Adaza and Maria Dalman Carreon, she started to manifest the attributes of
a leader when as a young student of the Philippine Womens University
(PWU), she strongly lobbied before the legislative the retention of Jose
Rizal Memorial Hospital in Dapitan. She was a role model to many Filipino
women of her time when she became the first Filipina applying for
homesteads in the Moroland. She started her political career when she ran
for the third member of the Provincial Board in 1937 and won. She held
the position for 2 terms becoming the first woman board member. She
was then catapulted to the governorship when President Ramon
Magsaysay appointed her Governor in 1955 after Governor Azcuna was

suspended for 3 months, becoming the first woman governor of the

country, and of the province. In the 1959 election she was elected ViceGovernor. And by a twist of fate she assumed office as Provincial Governor
in 1960, when Governor-elect Alberto Q. Ubay, chose to continue serving
the province as Congressman. To this day Governor Guadalupe C. Adaza
remains the one and only lady governor the Province of Zamboanga del
Norte ever had

FELIPE B. AZCUNA. Governor Azcuna was considered a political superstar

during his time. He continues to be the pride of Katipunan until now, his
birthplace. Articulate and very talented, he graduated from his law studies
as the class valedictorian, and went on to bag fourth place in the 1937 Bar
Examinations, an honor shared by his son, Adolf Azcuna, when he took the
Bar Examinations. Cut out for a political Career, he started at a very young
age of 28 when he got elected Provincial Board Member. He got elected
governor of Zamboanga province elections held in 1940, 1948 and 1951.
When Zamboanga Province was divided into 2 provinces, Governor Azcuna
who was then Governor of the whole Zamboanga, was appointed Governor
of the newly created province Zamboanga del Norte by President Elpidio
Quirino. This was followed by another stint as governor in 1964-1965, In
1969, he was elected Congressman, representing the lone district of
Zamboanga del Norte until the House of Congress was abolished in 1972
when Martial Law was declared by then President Marcos.
On January 24, 1948, Labason was created into a municipality by virtue of
the Executive Order No. 79, dated August 12, 1947. Included in this
Executive Order is the creation of Barangays of Dansalan, Kipit and
Patawag under Labasons jurisdiction.
Gil Sanchez, Sr. was appointed as the first Mayor of the town,
with Constancio Galon as his Vice-Mayor. The Honorable Gil Sanchez, Sr.
started the foundation of development for Labason.

Town planning, laying out of roads and creation of new barangays

were undertaken during his term. He also facilitated the opening and reopening of some schools.
In 1952, a Cadastral Survey for the Municipality was undertaken
by Certeza Surveying Company under the Economic Development
Authority (ECA) project 6 and 7. In accordance to the resolution dated
October 1, 1952, Mayor Sanchez was given the authority by the Municipal
Council to send circular letters to all the mayors of the congested
provinces of Luzon, Visayas and other parts of Mindanao in order to
disseminate information on the opportunity of acquiring lands in this
portion of the archipelago. As a result of such action, people from Luzon,
Visayas and other parts of Mindanao came to settle to this municipality.
The lands in the town proper were subdivided, and encouraged the
people to own lots and to develop them. Business started to sprout and
more people begun to engage in commercial activities. It was then the
first pace of Labasons journey towards development.
During the elections in 1956, Generoso Tokong was the elected
Mayor, together with Leoncio Bihag as the Vice-Mayor. They continued
the unfinished projects of the past administration and introduced new
improvements. One of which is the construction of the temporary market
and Municipal building. He was re-elected in the 1960m\ polls and Atty.
Primitivo Abarquez, Jr. was his Vice-Mayor during his term.