A Chinese Makes Good In Cebu

Exactly 70 years ago of February 25, the Filipino-Chinese community in Cebu mourned the passing of distinguished entrepreneur and philanthropist Inocencio A. Lim Chiu. Married to Susana Rama, sister of Rep. Vicente Rama, Lim Chiu came to Cebu from Amoy in 1889 to help in the store of his cousin, Lim Eng Kee, and went on to make a name for himself in the local Chinese community.

In 1912, together with Chinese compatriot Cayetano “Yana” Alburo, he opened the first corn mill in Cebu. That same year also saw him and Alburo founding the local branch of the Kuomintang Party, for which Dr. Sun Yat Sen’s son, Sun Fo, came over to personally congratulate him. Perhaps his most lasting legacy is the co-founding of the Cebu Chinese School in 1918 (which later merged with Sun Yat Sen High School to form Cebu Eastern College). The college’s main campus on Leon Kilat Street stands on a piece of property he donated.

As a philanthropist, Lim Chiu led in efforts to raise money to help ease the famine brought about by the overflowing banks of the Yangtze river in China. He also sat on the board of the Cebu Chinese Hospital (now Chong Hua Hospital). A successful businessman, Lim Chiu also owned the most modern theater of its time, the Cine Magallanes. At the age of 53, he died from Stomach Cancer at his house in Sikatuna, with his wife and children around him.

- Ybarra