Those traversing Roosevelt Avenue in Quezon City will now have to call it Fernando Poe Jr. Avenue.
That’s because President Rodrigo Duterte recently signed into law Republic Act No. 11608. According to the Philippine News Agency, “the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will issue the necessary rules, orders, and circulars to implement the provisions of this Act within 60 days from its effectivity.”
In case you’re wondering why the avenue is now named after FPJ, it’s because that’s where the actor’s ancestral home is located.
His daughter, Sen. Grace Poe, shared a message on Facebook: “Para sa bawat Pilipino na dadaan sa FPJ Avenue, umaasa kaming magsisilbi itong pisikal na paalala na walang pangarap ang masyadong malaki at walang layunin na hindi kayang maabot.”
She added, “Nawa’y magsilbing ehemplo ng katatagan, pagpupunyagi at pag-asa ang buhay ni FPJ sa ating mga kababayan. Nagpapasalamat ako at ang aking pamilya sa batas na ito.”
Poe, dubbed Da King, is an actor whose career spanned 46 years and around 300 movies. Some of his memorable films include Ang Panday, Ang Probinsyano, Isang Bala Ka Lang, Isusumbong Kita sa Tatay Ko…, and more.
He passed away in 2004 at the age of 65.
In 2006, Poe was declared a National Artist for Cinema. According to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), he was a “cultural icon of tremendous audience impact and cinema artist and craftsman–as actor, director, writer and producer.”
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