Justo filed a proposed resolution to change the name of San Juan street in the city’s first district to Sarah Jane Salazar street in honor of the controversial AIDS victim.
Salazar was one of the first people infected with the AIDS virus to come out in the open which, Justo said, was instrumental in raising awareness of the "killer disease" among Filipinos.
This brave act, according to Justo, merits her being regarded a national hero.
The councilor, who is reported to be eyeing the city’s lone congressional district, had earlier pushed for a monument to be built in honor of Salazar.
The monument he proposed to erect at the corner of Buendia and F.B. Harrison, was a life-sized statue of the AIDS victim embracing a ten-foot stone penis with young men surrounding her.
His colleagues at the city council rejected the proposal. They said they would consider the proposal if approved by the National Historical Institute (NHI).
The NHI rejected Justo’s proposal.
Like the monument, the street renaming failed to get the support of Justo’s colleagues, some of whom voiced strong opposition to the proposal.
Last Friday, Justo led a rally in the city to observe World AIDS Awareness Day. The rally earned media attention since a woman wearing only skimpy underpants with her breasts covered only with red paint was the attraction.
The woman was reportedly a sexy starlet working in one of the city’s nightclubs. The ‘media-savvy’ alderman owns an employment agency ‘exporting’ women to Japan as ‘entertainers’ and ‘cultural dancers.’