COURTESY CALL — House Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez (left) welcomes National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Eric Distor (right) and Deputy Director Jae “Doy” Dalairas (2nd right) during a courtesy call and short meeting at the House of Representatives. Photo by VER NOVENO
Solons to Romualdez: We back FPJ avenue bill
HOUSE leaders have informed House committee on rules chairman and Majority Leader Rep. Martin G. Romualdez of their full concurrence with the Senate decision renaming Roosevelt Avenue in Quezon City after the late movie icon Fernando Poe, Jr.
“This is to respectfully inform the good Chairman of the committee on rules that we concur with the amendments made by the Senate on September 13, 2021 re House Bill (HB) 7499 (In substitution of House Bill Nos. 3958 and 3963,” Quezon City Reps. Precious Hipolito Castelo, Jose Christopher Y. Belmonte, and Allan Benedict Reyes, Romblon Rep. Eleandro Jesus “Budoy” Madrona, Deputy Speaker and Bagong Henerasyon (BH) party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera and TGP party-list Rep. Jose “Bong” J. Teves, Jr. said in their letter to Romualdez, representative of the 1st District of Leyte.
The House of Representatives and the Senate have approved the measure on third and final reading.
The lawmakers were referring to “An Act Renaming Del Monte Avenue, Traversing Barangays Nayong Kanluran, Paltok, Paraiso, Del Monte, Damayan, Masambong, Talayan, Manresa, Siena, St. Peter, San Jose, N.S. Amoranto, Located in Legislative District 1 of Quezon City, as Fernando Poe Jr. Avenue.”
Following the amendments, the bill’s title is now “An Act Renaming Roosevelt Avenue Located in Legislative District 1 of Quezon City as Fernando Poe Jr. Avenue.”
“We interpose no objection to the amendments made by the Senate regarding House Bill 7499 renaming Del Monte Avenue to Fernando Poe Jr. Avenue,” said Herrera.
As one of the authors of the bill, Herrera said she sees nothing wrong with the Senate replacing Del Monte Avenue with Roosevelt Avenue.
Several lawmakers mostly from Quezon City, wanted to name a road after Poe in recognition of his immense contribution to Philippine movies.
Hailed as the “King of Philippine movies,” Poe starred in nearly 300 films during his 46-year movie career, some of these films he directed himself, produced and wrote.
Poe was posthumously declared National Artist of the Philippines for Film in 2006, two years after his death.
They believe Poe’s legacy lives on in his film company, FPJ Productions, which is located on Del Monte Avenue, thus they originally wanted the road to be named after him.
Poe’s ancestral home is located along Roosevelt Avenue.
Herrera believes Poe was “a Filipino icon deserving of recognition.”
“His (Poe) achievements in Philippine cinema truly developed the status of acting and filmmaking in the country, so much so that he was bestowed membership among the Order of National Artists of the Philippines,” Herrera said.
