The Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines has joined calls against a proposal in Congress to rename a historical landmark in the national capital.
Senator Manuel “Lito” Lapid, a former movie actor, earlier filed a bill renaming San Francisco del Monte Avenue in the capital’s Quezon City to Fernando Poe Jr. Avenue.
In a statement, AMRSP said the renaming of the street will “totally obliterate the significance of one of the very first settlements of Quezon City established in 1590.”
San Francisco Del Monte, together with Balintawak and Tirad Pass, are silent witnesses to the unfolding of Philippine history, said the religious group.
The AMRSP said the present Minore Basilica de San Pedro Bautista Church, named after the Franciscan priest and saint who established the settlement of San Francisco Del Monte, was used as a camp by Chinese rebels during the 1639 uprising.
The religious group also recalled how in 1895 Franciscan priests abandoned the church, when Filipino revolutionary forces occupied it during the “Cry of Balintawak.”
In 1898, during the Philippine-American War, American soldiers also occupied the church.
“As religious sisters and priests, we affirm, recognize, and acknowledge the historical contributions of the Order of Friars Minor in the acculturation and indigenization of Christianity in the Philippines,” read the AMRSP statement.
The group said that to rename Del Monte Avenue is to “start the process of denying 400 years of history that is San Francisco Del Monte, from which Del Monte Avenue is derived.”
The AMRSP, however, stressed that they are not against honoring the late iconic actor whose “achievements and magnanimity” they said will never be forgotten.
“He has his life and achievements captured on film and in print. Fernando Poe Jr. shall always be loved by the Filipino people,” the group said.
The AMRSP is an association of 361 men and women religious congregations in the Philippines.
