LEGAZPI CITY—After the city government ignored for 31 long years an approved resolution that named a street in honor of a highly respected philanthropist and distinguished educator, a balikbayan was surprised when a prominent name covered by the neglected and forgotten city resolution most city residents have been waiting for appeared in a map she bought in a book store.
Last week, the city government finally renamed Gov. Forbes Street to Don Erquiaga Street.
Balikbayan Mary Doughty, 70, one of the proud student-pioneers of Legazpi College who eventually became Don Erquiaga staff in school lamented after learning that despite the city resolution that named a street in honor of Don Buenaventura Erquiaga, an Albay official map she bought last week already contained the name of Don Buenaventura Erquiaga Street. The map she bought at the National Book Store was printed in 2010, said the balikbayan.
The source of the map was the provincial Tourism Office since municipal and city ordinances and resolutions are subject to validation by the provincial board and to approval of the governor.
On September 6, this year, Saturnino Velasco, president of the Albay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, wrote Rosal reminding him of the virtually ignored resolution that has been languishing for 31 long years unimplemented. Erquiaga, according to records, was an outstanding ACCI president for several terms.
In Legazpi City Resolution 36-85, signed by then-mayor Gregorio Imperial on June 19, 1985, the city council unanimously approved the renaming of Gov. Forbes Street to Don Buenaventura Erquiaga Street in honor of a person described by Legazpeos as a great philanthropist especially to the marginalized and poor Filipinos.
In 1987, Imperial died and was succeeded by four other mayors, including incumbent Mayor Noel Rosal who was elected to his post in 2002. In 2010, he was succeeded by his wife Geraldine and he was reelected to his post in 2013.
A long-time resident of Legazpi, Don Erquiaga founded the first Legazpi City College in 1942 to provide the people of Catanduanes, Albay, Sorsogon, and Catanduanes college education nearer than Manila. The Legazpi College is now the known and highly sought Aquinas University of Legazpi, an affiliate of the University of Santo Thomas.
It will be recalled that the city government and the provincial board came under fire after
the city hastily approved an ordinance that renames Fifth Street in honor of a barangay chairman who died 10 years ago.
Said barangay chairman Jose L. Lee is the father of the former Legazpi barangay council league president and political follower of Rosal. The resolution to honor Jose L. Lee was authored by former city councilor and now provincial board member Roly Rosal, younger brother of the mayor.
During the deliberation of the resolution to honor the late barangay captain, former ACCI president Marcial Tuanqui said he provided the city council at least five other unforgotten prominent Legazpeos with very distinguished records but the city council decided to rush the renaming of Fifth Street to Jose L. Lee Street.
Controversy, however, arose after the National Historical Commission of the Philippines issued statement that the resolution renaming the Fifth Street to Jose L. Lee Street as illegal for not observing the procedures provided by law. As a result of this, several others approved resolutions signed by the Rosal administration renaming and naming streets in the city and were leaked, among them the
Tahao road renamed as Imelda Roces Avenue in honor of the late Mayor Imelda Roces whose
son was Rosal vice mayor Vittorio Roces (2010 – 2016).
According to the leaked documents, the recognition bestowed on Mayor Roces was short of the
10-year requirement period after death.
