The Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines - Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation Commission (AMRSP-JPICC) has appealed to the country's senators and government officials to retain the name of Del Monte Avenue in Quezon City.
The religious organization issued the appeal even as it expressed opposition to Senate Bill 1822 filed by Senator Lito Lapid which seeks to rename the road to Fernando Poe Jr. Avenue.
In a statement dated October 19, the AMRSP said renaming the road Del Monte Avenue to Fernando Poe, Jr, Avenue will "totally obliterate the significance of one of the very first settlements of Quezon City established in 1590: the San Francisco Del Monte, which together with Balintawak and Tirad Pass, now Project 8, are silent witnesses to the unfolding of Philippine history."
It added that the present Minore Basilica de San Pedro Bautista Church, named after the Franciscan priest and saint who established the town settlement of San Francisco Del Monte, was used as a camp by the Chinese rebels during the 1639 Limahong-led uprising.
It also recalled how in 1895, the Franciscan priests abandoned the Church when the Filipino revolutionary forces occupied the Church during the Cry of Balintawak. And in 1898, during the Philippine-American War, the American soldiers occupied the church.
"Renaming Del Monte Avenue, will negate the historical, cultural, religious, and social importance of the first settlement Quezon City, the San Francisco del Monte," AMRSP-JPICC said.
"As religious sisters and priests, we affirm, recognize, and acknowledge the historical contributions of the Order of Friars Minor in the acculturation and indigenization of Christianity in the Philippines," added the group.
To rename Del Monte Avenue, the AMRSP said, is to "start the process of denying 400 years of history that is San Francisco Del Monte, from which Del Monte Avenue is derived."
The AMRSP-JPICC, however, stressed that they are not against honoring the late iconic actor whose "achievements and magnanimity" they said will never be forgotten.
"He has his life and achievements captured on film and in print. Fernando Poe, Jr. shall always be loved by the Filipino people," the group said.
The AMRSP is an association of 361 men and women from various religious congregations in the Philippines.