The Republic of Cebu is a political idea of separating the province of Cebu from the rest of the Philippines, and a cultural reaction to what a number of Cebuanos view as "Tagalism" in the current curriculum of the government's Department of Education.
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Cebu has always maintained its relative autonomy from the central government even during the Spanish regime. Originally the Spaniards designated Cebu as the capital of Las Islas Felipinas, but due to food shortages and noncooperation of the natives (who choose to go to the mountains instead of being subservient to the conquistadores), the Spaniards moved to Panay, and later to Manila.
During the 1896 Philippine Revolution against Spain, Cebuano elite supported Spanish rule and even hampered the efforts of Manila-based nationalists. The revolution came much later to Cebu, in 1898, and although the Cebuano nationalists under General Maxilom pledged allegiance to the government of Emilio Aguinaldo, they did not implement a key instruction from Aguinaldo's Secretary of War, General Luna. However, and most notably, Maxilom and his men were some of the last of the Katipunan to surrender to the Americans, even as his fellow revolutionaries in Manila and Cebu were starting to capitulate and collaborate with the new colonial power.[1]. Indeed, the battles in Cebu proved some of the costliest of the Philippine-American War; it was only in 1906 when Cebuano nationalists finally surrendered to American forces when the Americans resorted to burning of towns and reconcentration of persons.
During the Marcos presidency, Cebu was also known as a hotbed of protest, along with Zamboanga. Although Eduardo Gullas (who was aligned with Marcos) was governor from 1976 to 1986, known opposition figure Hilario Davide, Jr. was also active.
During the governorship of Emilio Osmeña typhoon Ruping hit Cebu and devastated the trade-based economy and threatened the collapse of food supply, as Cebu is heavily reliant on the rest of the Philippines when it comes to food production. Desperate pleas to the national government for help was met with outright refusal since it was also busy rebuilding Luzon. The motto "Cebu is down but not out, and we can stand on our own" became a battle cry for Cebuano leaders. CEBOOM was born.
Lito Osmeña touted the idea of proclaiming Cebu as an independent republic from the Philippines, but never really took steps to effect such a change except in the area of economic strength. Today Cebu remains the top-grossing province of the Philippines.
In 2005, when talks of toppling Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from power was ripe in Manila, Cebu governor Gwen Garcia and governors from other provinces in the Visayas issued proclamations that their provinces will separate from the Philippines if Arroyo is removed from power.
A number of Cebuanos have expressed concerns regarding what they view as Manila-centric education curriculum promoted by the government's Department of Education. Cebuano language, history, and culture is not taught in schools except as peripheral to that of the national scope.
During the 1971 Constitutional Convention Cebuano delegates were instrumental in forging the unrealistic and impossible "amalgam" concept of a national language. During the 1986 Constitutional Commission, appointed delegates for Cebu compromised on the language provision. The same provision was later used by "Tagalists" to push the increase of contact time for Filipino.
Cebu Governor Lito Osmeña filed protests at the Regional Trial Court against the instruction from the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) to use Filipino as the official medium of instruction. The court maintained Cebu's right to stop the implementation of the order. DECS appealed, but in 1998, the Cebu government dropped the case due to pressures from then-President Joseph Estrada.