Tomas Francisco Ferrer took over as Mayor of Zamboanga City in 1961 when Mayor Cesar Climaco decided to run for the Senate. He was to be the city’s chief executive until 1963.
Ferrer was born on March 3, 1906, in the barrio of Canelar. His parents were Pedro Francisco and Enrica Ferrer. Tom, as he was fondly called, chose to adopt the family name of his mother. Tom grew up together with a half-brother and three half-sisters. He started his elementary schooling at the barrio school in Recodo and later transferred to the
The former Teodora Ledesma of the prominent Ledesma family of Bolong does not exactly remember how she met the debonair young man, who came back from
Ferrer began his political career in 1947 against the wishes of his wife. He was so popular he could not help getting into politics. Tom won a council seat and served with such vitality that he was elected for a second term.
When elections were held in 1955 for the mayoralty, the very first time that the position would be subject to the ballot, Cesar C. Climaco invited Tom to be his running mate as the candidate for Vice Mayor. Believing in the idealism of Cesar, Tomas Ferrer agreed, becoming the first elected vice mayor of the city of
When Climaco ran for the senate, Vice Mayor Ferrer succeeded him as mayor. He would serve as
