Plaridel Street in Mandaue City

Unknown to many, the Plaridel Street in Mandaue City has already been renamed. It is the street from corner Ouano Avenue in Brgy. Centro up to the foot of the Cansaga Bay Bridge in Barangay Paknaan.

It has been renamed as “Mayor Demetrio M. Cortes Avenue”. Demetrio served as number one Municipal Councilor of Mandaue from 1960 to 1963. Demetrio then won as Municipal Mayor from 1964, and served up to 1969, and as City Mayor from 1969 up to 1986.

Demetrio transformed Mandaue from an ordinary municipality into an urbanized city. He was the last Municipal Mayor and the first City Mayor of Mandaue, thus he is acknowledged as the “Father of Mandaue City”.

During his leadership of Mandaue, numerous commercial and industrial establishments rose in the early years of its cityhood, quickly gaining the name as the “Industrial City of the South” and the title “Makati of the South”.

The Mandaue City Council on August 3, 2011 on motion of Councilors Diosdao P. Suico and Nenita Ceniza-Layese enacted Ordinance No. 12-2011-642 renaming Plaridel St. to Mayor Demetrio M. Cortes Avenue. There is no other existing public road, school, bridge or any structure named after Mayor Demetrio for him to be remembered and honored for his long and dedicated public service.

Mayor Jonas C. Cortes, heir of the great man, after the City Council submitted the ordinance for his approval, did not sign it. Many believed it was because of delicadeza, another hallmark of statesmanship. However, by operation of law pursuant to Section 54 of Republic Act 7160, it was deemed approved on September 6, 2011. Finally, after a quarter of a century, a street was named after the “Father of Mandaue City.”