Residents of Silliman Ave. Extension are asking Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria to overturn a City Council Resolution re-naming their street to Fermin Santos St.
In a petition dated June 29, the residents said they were shocked when they saw the new street name, as it appeared “too suddenly and without notice”.
The residents also expressed dismay as their views and opinions were not heard in making this change. They said they are concerned that this move, which would affect their daily personal and community lives, should be done with consultation and due process.
News of the name change, which was made on May 6 through Resolution No. 139, circulated on social media only last week, or two months after the Resolution was approved.
It was widely-criticized by members of the Silliman community worldwide, who thought the Resolution renamed Silliman Ave. to Fermin Santos St.
Santos was the longest-serving campus administrator of the East Visayan School of Arts & Trades (EVSAT), now the Negros Oriental State University, prior to his retirement in 1975.
Councilor Nilo Sayson, who authored the Resolution, clarified that Fermin Santos St. only actually starts from Real Street (now Veterans Ave.) going west to UCCP.
“Silliman Ave. starts from Km 0 going south and turning left towards Rizal Boulevard, but the name Silliman Ave. is not being used from Km 0 to [the corner of] PNB because that is a national highway,” he explained.
Sayson said there is actually no law that has ever named the road from Philamlife building going to UCCP as “Silliman Ave. Extension”.
Lawyer Arthur Tolcidas, secretary to the Sangguniang Panglunsod, confirmed he could not find a law in the City Council archives naming Silliman Ave. and Silliman Ave. Extension.
Lawyer Aldo Munoz, a resident of Silliman Ave. Extension, branded it a “stupid idea” to believe that Silliman Ave. starting from the boulevard ends at Cervantes St.
“They [the City Councilors] ought to have more guts. They are actually bullying the [Silliman Ave.] Extension residents. They think they can handle us. Why not just rename the entire street and taste the backlash from the whole Silliman community?” he posted on Facebook.
Another FB user, Rhea Alo Ranola, also asked if there was a real need to change street names. “It also confuses commuters/pedicab drivers,” she said, adding that the Council “should not fix what ain’t broke”.
Dr. Beryl Muñoz, also a Silliman Ave. Extension resident, said the Council should think of how to solve garbage and traffic problems, instead of changing street names.
Former City Councilor and now Provincial Board Member Erwin Macias, who used to live on Silliman Ave. Extension, said he was also surprised to learn of the naming of Fermin Santos St. “(I’m) not with the City [Council] now but will raise these concerns with the City Councilors,” he assured.
