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The Cebu City Council has approved an ordinance renaming a street after a deceased popular sports columnist, while members of Cebu media are celebrating the 16th Cebu Press Freedom Week this week.

The council approved Councilor Edgardo Labella’s proposal to rename Acacia St., in Barangay Camputhaw to Manuel N. Oyson Jr. St.

Oyson, acknowledged as the “dean of Cebu’s sports writers,” had served as a sports reporter in various Cebu publications such as the Morning Times, Daily News and Republic Daily in the 1950s.

His sports column “Counterpunch” appeared for more than two decades in Sun.Star Cebu, starting with the paper’s inaugural issue on Nov. 25, 1982. He religiously wrote that column until shortly before his death, in February 2006.

Oyson was also a long-time stringer of the Philippines News Agency (PNA) Cebu Bureau, covering sports.

The Cebu Citizens’ Press Council (CCPC) with the Cebu News Workers’ Foundation (Cenewof) and the Cebu Press Freedom Week Inc. (CPFW) had requested the City Council to name a street after Oyson.

Through the years, the organizations have encouraged renaming some streets in Cebu City, Mandaue City and Talisay City where deceased deserving journalists once resided, in their honor.

In his ordinance, Labella said that Oyson, in his columns and stories, encouraged the development of sports in and among the barangays to help combat illegal drugs.

A resident of Barangay Camputhaw, Oyson also helped promote cultural shows as president of a local organization of journalists and sports tournaments that encouraged local sports such as “arnis” and eskrima.”

Oyson was credited with co-founding the Cebu Sportswriters Association and was a founding member of the All-Cebu Spots Awards in 1977 and Cebu Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.

According to Labella, the awards project in which Oyson was fully involved has been a pet undertaking of the City Government.

Apart from serving as a sports columnist, Atty. Oyson also served the government as Commission on Elections 7 assistant director.

”Oyson was a government official, a journalist and a sportsman whose contribution to his community and country made him a pride of Cebu City worthy of recognition,” said Labella. (PNA)

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