The then Doña Pepang Avenue of Cebu City

The JONES AVENUE which is presently named as PRES. SERGIO OSMEÑA BOULEVARD was previously renamed as “Doña Pepang Avenue”.

Jones Avenue, named after William Atkinson Jones, the Congressman representing the State of Virginia, United States, who sponsored the bill known as “Jones Law” or the Philippine Autonomy Law of 1916, was renamed as Doña Pepang Avenue. The Cebu City Council on motion of Councilor Luis V. Diores (who later became Vice Mayor of Cebu City) seconded by Councilor Eulogio E. Borres (who became Mayor of Cebu City) enacted City Ordinance No. 284 renaming Jones Avenue. The ordinance was enacted on Mar. 29, 1960.

Doña Pepang was the wife of Don Sergio Osmeña, who before becoming President was Provincial Fiscal of Cebu, Governor of Cebu, Assemblyman representing the old 2nd District of Cebu and Speaker of the First Philippines Assembly.

The justification of the city council on why the street was named after her was that “behind the rise and fall of every man, there is always a woman behind it”. Doña Pepang, aside from the being the wife of Don Sergio Osmeña, the foremost Filipino leader when Pres. Manuel Quezon died, gave us a son, in the person of Sergio Osmeña Jr. fondly called Serging.

Doña Pepang gave birth to Sergio Osmeña Jr. on Dec. 4, 1916, and she died in her residence located along Jones Avenue (now the intersection of Osmeña Boulevard and Lapu-Lapu Street) on Jan. 18, 1919.

A large portion of the “Jones Avenue” which is actually named as Osmeña Boulevard was donated to the Province and City of Cebu and came from the estate of Doña Pepang Osmeña. The memory of Congressman Jones has been already aptly honored by the naming of “Jones Bridge” in the City of Manila, the capital of the country.

The prevailing law at that time on the naming and renaming of streets was Republic Act 2264, approved by the Philippine Congress on June 19, 1959, empowering the Municipal Boards of Chartered Cities to change the names of public streets located within the boundaries of the city not oftener than once every ten years.