Sarabia Optical celebrates 100 years of service
Old optical instruments on display at
Museo Iloilo
As a lad of ten during the early 1900s, Dr. Salvador Sarabia Sr., recalls walking a few blocks down the streets of Manila to deliver eyeglasses specially made by his father for Presidents Manuel Quezon and Sergio Osmeña. He also recalls tagging along as his father lunched with President Emilio Aguinaldo in Cavite or with senators and congressmen of the Philippine Commonwealth at the famed Tom Dixie Restaurant in Escolta.
Antonio Sarabia with grandchildren.
Dr. Salvador Sarabia Sr., was probably among the handful of Filipinos who have personally met all the presidents of the Philippines from Aguinaldo down to Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. And all these because his father, Dr. Federico Sarabia Sr., was the First Filipino Optometrist whose Sarabia Optical clinic celebrates today 100 years of service to the Filipino people, especially their leaders.
Gina Sarabia-Espino (2nd from left) with
other members of the family.
Sarabia Optical was first established right here in Iloilo City in 1906 when a young Dr. Federico Sarabia and his newly-wedded wife set up home and clinic at a chalet along the corner of Valeria and Ledesma Streets. About a couple of years later, the couple would move to Manila where Dr. Sarabia would quickly establish his reputation as an eye doctor to the prominent personalities of his time. A part of the Rizal Memorabilia at Fort Santiago is a pair of glasses worn by Dr. Jose Rizal's sister, Doña Trining. The eyeglasses is clearly marked "anteojos de Federico Sarabia."
Msgr. Angel Lagdameo, Mayor
Jerry Treñas and Rep. Raul Gonzalez, Jr.
Sarabia Optical's distinguished history, which closely parallels important events in the nation's life, is chronicled in a display at the Museo Iloilo where the Sarabia family holds a commemorative centennial celebration today. The optical firm's illustrious past and its inimitable growth is even made more luminous in Dr. Salvador Sarabia Sr.'s autobiography, A Father's Legacy -- A Lasting Heritage for My Children, which is also being launched today in a Special Centennial Edition.
Fourth generation Sarabia
In his lifetime, Dr. Federico Sarabia established his clinics not only in Manila and Iloilo but also in Bacolod, Cebu, Davao, and Roxas City. Today, there are over 30 Sarabia Optical clinics across the country as his progeny -- five of his 13 children and more than a handful of his grandchildren, are continuing the family tradition as eye doctors to the nation -- even to Presidents Corazon Aquino, Joseph Estrada, Fidel Ramos, and Gloria Arroyo.
Today members of the Sarabia clan from Iloilo, Manila, Bacolod, and from the United States are gathering here to reestablish their roots and celebrate a grand and glorious past. As well, they will be giving back to the community as the family's eye doctors conduct free clinics for the city's indigents.
The tradition continues. The legacy lives on.