REMEMBERING CEBU: AMERICAN CONSUL'S WIFE
by Margaret Sullivan
Writer and artist Margaret Sullivan lived in Cebu 50 plus years ago. Her connections there have continued as she returned to cover Aquino elections in the 80s and was Executive Director of the Philippine Centennial Foundation in the 90s. Much of this included in “Fragments From a Mobile Life.”
How does one begin to write about living in Cebu where we arrived 52 years ago—a place with people tucked permanently in your heart? I could fill a book.
From August 1971 to June 1974, my husband, Dan, was the American Consul in Cebu. The Consulate, a small suite of offices on the third floor of the Phil-Am Life Building, was the branch of the Embassy in Manila. As Consul, Dan was the official face of the United States in the Visayas and Mindanao.
He, and, therefore, we, were in a succession of Consuls and Vice Consuls who came, stayed a while, and moved elsewhere. Marisol Borromeo Putong, the long-time secretary provided continuity, and in reality was the Consulate. Marisol knew everyone. Without her, the Consulate could not have functioned.
