‘Kalye Impiyerno’ residents want to change name

MANILA,Philippines — It’s not hell on Earth, contrary to the bad rep, and residents want a name change.

In Navotas, residents of “Kalye Impiyerno” or Hell Street are hoping to change the street’s reputation as an escape route of criminals into that of a peaceful, friendly community.

The street name was spray-painted on a concrete wall in a corner leading to a narrow strip between shanties in the slum area.

When The STAR visited the community located near the shoreline of Manila Bay, residents were busy using their cell phones or chatting with neighbors in peace.

Long-time residents said most people in the area are ordinary citizens but the street became a favorite refuge of criminals running from law enforcers and a hub for drug dealers, robbers and terrorists in the 1990s.

Edgar Leongson, who was helping a neighbor fix a damaged roof, claimed that he and his friends gave the place its moniker when they were young.

“Ang mga tao rito, mahaharot lang, puro friendly. Kaya napasama yung kalye kasi yang mga taong gumagawa ng katarantaduhan, dito tumatakbo (People here are easygoing and friendly, but the street became notorious as an escape route of people doing illegal things),” Leongson said.

In December 2013, the street landed in the newspapers after Jay Amar shot dead his former live-in partner, a pregnant 18-year-old woman, and her parents in a fit of jealousy on Friday the 13th.

A fish vendor who chose to remain anonymous said she still gets the creeps recalling the time Amar bought sapsap (fish) from her just hours before he killed his victims.

The last news she heard was that the murder case was dismissed for lack of complainant. Amar, however, was arrested again on a drug case.

The house where the massacre happened has been converted into a common washroom in the community. 

Filipinas Tejano, a friend of the slain mother, said their souls continue to be felt in their community.

For them, the place does not carry a curse despite the gruesome killings. 

She called it unfair for outsiders to call their area hell street.

“Hindi naman kami ganun. Mga dayo lang nagbansag. Unfair sa tainga, pangit pakinggan (We’re not like that. The outsiders made it that way. It’s not nice),” Tejano said.

Barangay San Roque secretary Francis Aguilar said the street has been renamed “Everlasting” to change the community’s notorious reputation linked to criminals passing the area.

Citing elders in the community, Aguilar said the street was also used as a dumping ground for victims of “salvaging” or summary execution during martial law. 

But it looks like it’s not easy to get rid of the street’s old name.

Navotas policemen still call the street Kalye Impiyerno in their police reports about two drug-related killings last year.

Last March 22, Romelyn Sioson, 28, was busy cleaning the house when armed suspects barged in and fired shots at her. She was reportedly pregnant when she was killed.

Daisy Bautista, 39, was found in a pool of blood by her son in their house also on Kalye Impyerno on Dec. 10 last year.

The barangay official said they are hoping to clear the place of drugs and crime as befits its new name, “Everlasting.”