ILOILO CITY -- A big hall at the seventh floor of the Iloilo City Hall will be named Graciano Lopez Jaena Hall in honor of the Ilonggo hero.
The hall is situated adjacent to the city mayor’s office and was once used as holding area for residents asking for various assistance from the city government.
“The place is underutilized because it is too big,” Mayor Jose Espinosa III said Monday.
The mayor added that he pitied Lopez Jaena for two reasons. First, he is the only national hero whose celebration is just done in Iloilo City and second, he was not included in the list of heroes to be displayed in public places.
“In our way of honoring him, we will name it as Graciano Lopez Jaena Hall,” he said.
The hall will then serve as venue for meetings and other functions of the city mayor.
Lopez Jaena was the first editor of "La Solidaridad", the newspaper that fought for Philippine representation in Spain.
In March this year, the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) passed an ordinance declaring February 15 as “Mass Media Day” in Iloilo City to commemorate the establishment of the paper in Spain on February 15, 1889.
Currently, the only landmark that reminds Ilonggos of the Filipino hero is the statue of Lopez Jaena at the center of the Jaro Plaza.
Republic Act No 6155 also declares every 18th of December as official public holiday in the province and city of Iloilo to allow Ilonggos to commemorate the birth anniversary of Lopez Jaena. (PNA)
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