President Roxas St., Cebu City
On July 10, 1967 the Cebu City Council on motion of then Councilor Eulogio Enriquez Borres (who also later served as City Mayor) enacted City Ordinance No. 594. The ordinance entitled: "An Ordinance naming certain unnamed streets in Gochan Subdivision, District of Mabolo, City of Cebu, and for other purposes." The ordinance is the so-called "Presidents Streets". Among the streets named are Presidents Magsaysay, Quezon and Roxas.
The "President Roxas Street" is the street starting at the top of the park of the Gochan Subdivision, running southeast parallel to President Quezon St.
Roxas, who was born on January 1, 1892 was the son of Gerardo Roxas Sr. and Rosario Acuna. Manuel married Trinidad de Leon and they had the following children: Ma. Rosario who married Vicente Roxas and Gerardo Manuel "Gerry" married Judy Araneta. Manuel A. Roxas was no stranger to Cebu. When he was appointed executive secretary of President Manuel Quezon prior to the latter's departure from the Philippines to establish the exiled government of the country when the Japanese invaded our nation one of the things he did was conduct an inspection in Cebu.
It was acting president Roxas (in lieu of the absence of President Quezon and Vice President Osmeña in the country) in his inspection in Cebu for war preparations that he appointed Engineer Joaquin Panis (a street is named after him in Banilad, the road that branches on the right side from Gov. Manuel Cuenco Avenue) as director of Public Works of all unoccupied territories in the Visayas and Mindanao.
Roxas who visited Cebu on April 1, 1942, who was Secretary of Finance of Quezon's Cabinet, gave instructions to Cebu Governor Hilario Abellana on how the government's money and emergency notes be handled. It was on April 10, 1942 that the Japanese commenced their operations to invade Cebu after Manila had fallen.
Roxas who was a Lieutenant Colonel of the U.S. Army Forces in the Far East was left in the Philippines as he refused to join President Quezon and Vice President Osmeña before the Japanese Invasion. After visiting Cebu and other areas in the Visayas he went to Mindanao to direct the operations of the government.
Roxas was captured by the Japanese Army in Malaybalay, Bukidnon in 1942. The capture of Roxas was delayed and one of the causes of the execution of Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos who was captured in Barili, Cebu on April 11, 1942 refused to cooperate with the Japanese and tell the whereabouts of Roxas.
Another Visayan who gave his life to the country and not to put Roxas' life in peril was Don Jose Fortich Ozamiz, the first appointed and elected Governor of Misamis Occidental and the only person from the province who was elected in the senate. Ozamiz refused to reveal the leaders of the resistance movement after he was caught that he was working with the guerillas. Ozamiz died without the Japanese knowing that Roxas was the leader of the resistance movement.
Roxas, after his arrest in Mindanao was brought to Manila and was forced to work under the administration of the puppet government of President Jose P. Laurel. Roxas was appointed as the Chief of the Economic Planning Board. Roxas was also appointed by Laurel as Chief of BIBA or the Bigasang Bayan, a food agency.
Roxas who was Councilor of Capiz (now Roxas City) in 1917 became Senator of the Republic in 1941. He with then Senator Elpidio Quirino passed a resolution in 1945 in the senate calling for an election after the war, thus the election scheduled on April 23, 1945.
Roxas won in that election, however in Cebu he lost to Don Sergio Osmeña, who got 98,700 votes as against his 53,848 votes.
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