Naga names avenue after Ninoy, Cory

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – In a continuing recognition of the heroism of the Aquino couple, officials of Naga City in Camarines Sur have named, through a formal resolution, the city proper’s major thoroughfare as Benigno and Corazon Aquino Avenue.

Naga City Vice Mayor Gabby Bordado said the move not only recognizes the contributions of the late former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. and his wife, former President Corazon “Cory” Aquino, that led to the restoration of democracy in the country, but also because of the passage during her term of the Local Government Code that gave local government units (LGUs) more power and autonomy.

“Of course, we would like to remember the Aquino couple for their contributions that restored our lost freedom. But we wish to remember them, too, for giving LGUs more autonomy and power to run their own affairs that have catapulted them to progress,” Bordado said.

Naga is the only chartered city in Bicol, thus its residents no longer vote for the governor of Camarines Sur.

Bordado said though that the naming of their major thoroughfare after Ninoy and Cory is just their simple contribution to perpetuate the couple’s legacy.

In 1984, a year after Ninoy’s assassination, Pedro Marcellana Jr., then the mayor of Daraga, Albay and a Liberal Party member, renamed the Daraga Park as Benigno Aquino Jr. Park.

It was at the park where Cory launched her first campaign sortie during the 1986 snap elections against then President Ferdinand Marcos. She scored a landslide victory in the Bicol region than elsewhere in the country.