Dr. Resil B. Mojares and Dr. Erlinda K. Alburo, past and current director, respectively, of the Cebuano Studies Center, have been tapped to lead a special project to write the definitive history of each of the 45 towns and eight cities of Cebu under the auspices of the Cebu provincial government during this second term of Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia. 

The Cebu Provincial Board, upon request by Gov. Garcia, created three weeks ago a special committee to oversee the writing and publication of Cebu town/city histories with Hon. Agnes Magpale and Dr. Mojares as co-chairs.

The committee envisions the production of at least 200 pages of print-ready manuscripts within 26 months. Each manuscript is to be penned by a writer who must preferably reside or come from the town whose history he or she is expected to write about. 

Other than Mojares and Alburo, four other editors will help in the work of the 53 writers. These are Pascual Emelio Pascual, Jose Eleazar R. Bersales, Dr. Madrilena dela Cerna, and Dr. Jocelyn Gerra. Pascual chairs the Department of History while Bersales is chair of the Deparment of Sociology and Anthropology. Dela Cerna, on the other hand, heads the UP Cebu Visayas Studies Center while Gerra heads the Cultural Heritage Program of Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc.

The project is expected to be managed by history professor Rene Alburo. 

Insitutionally, the Cebuano Studies Center and the Department of History are being tapped for the project to be supported with an information management system by RAFI. A liaison officer from the Cebu provincial government is expected to be appointed to coordinate between the provincial government and USC.

Three researchers, all from the Department of History, will begin gathering materials in local, national and international libraries and archives as soon as the project gets into full swing. These are Nestor Pacana, Delilah Labajo and Trizer Dale Mansueto.

Nearly 12 million pesos have been approved in principle for the project comprising a shared contribution of P500,000 pesos from the budget of the Governor, P300,000 from the Vice-Governor, P200,000 from each member of the Cebu Provincial Board to be given in two tranches of P100,000 per year. Each municipal/city mayor will also be asked to shell out P50,000 as local government counterpart.

Another meeting is set on August 29 to finalize the project.