Baguio executives nix renaming Session Road after Cory

BAGUIO CITY , Philippines  – City officials have rejected a proposal to rename Session Road, Baguio’s main business thoroughfare, after former President Corazon Aquino who died last August.

An accompanying proposal for the construction of a bust of the late President at the site where the concrete pine tree on Session Road currently stands was also rejected.

Also, a separate proposal of councilor Richard Cariño for the renaming of the Father Carlu loop at the Baguio Cathedral compound as Corazon C. Aquino Street was thumbed down.

The Father Carlu loop and Session Road both have historic meaning to Baguio.  

Session Road was so named after members of the first Philippine Commission walked their way to the Baden Powell building where they held their very first sessions in Baguio.

It was during these sessions when the commission officially named Baguio as the country’s summer capital.

The Father Carlu loop, on the other hand, derived its name from Fr. Florimund Carlu, the rector mission of Baguio in 1913.

A chapel built at the turn of the 20th century slowly expanded during Carlu’s stint to become the Cathedral of Perpetual Atonement, which is more popularly known as the Baguio Cathedral.

The city council’s Committee on Education, Culture and Historical Research headed by councilor Fred Bagbagen recommended the approval of the two proposals.

Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr., however, himself rejected them, citing the need to preserve the historic significance of both Session Road and the Father Carlu loop.