It took over 100 years but former president Sergio Osmeña Sr.’s real father has finally been revealed thanks to DNA testing.
The identity of Cebu’s Grand Old Man’s father was something shrouded in mystery. Historical documents narrowed it down to two possible individuals: Don Pedro Lee Gotiaoco, a Chinese tycoon, and Don Antonio Sanson, a Chinese businessman.
A project by renowned forensic genealogist Dr. Tedd Lucero Sales found that Osmeña’s father was not Gotiaoco, as many people believed, but Sanson. The late president’s descendants, including Annabelle Osmeña Aboitiz and Maria Lourdes Bernardo, started the search for his real paternity.
ICYDK, Osmeña was the illegitimate son of Juana Osmeña y Sucio, who was from a prominent family. He was born in 1878 while Juana was just 16 years old.
“As we all know, his paternity has always been shrouded in mystery and is a historical question that comes to linger. The results of the [Y]-DNA test are in and they are conclusive,” Aboitiz said. She added that the results were shared to correct history.
The family made the official announcement at Casino Español de Cebu last June 2.
How did they do a DNA test?
To find out Osmeña’s paternity, Lucero took Y-DNA samples from males from the Osmeña, Gotiaoco, and Sanson clans. Some of these donors included former mayor Tomas Osmeña, former senator Sergio Osmeña Jr., Pedro Go, and Ronnie Sanson.
The Osmeña-Gotiaoco DNA only saw nine of the 23 markers matching, indicating a non-genetic connection. Meanwhile, the Osmeña-Sanson comparison saw a 100% match on all markers.
Born from a prominent family of merchants, businessmen, and landowners, Antonio Sanson was a wealthy Chinese mestizo in Cebu. He was already married—some archived documents even say he married three different women.
Osmeña was the fourth president of the Philippines, holding office from 1994 to 1996. He was the first Visayan president. Cebu’s Grand Old Man died at the age of 83 in 1961.
banner photo from: Britannica
