M.J. Cuenco Avenue, Cebu City

It is the street formerly named as "Calle de los Martires", meaning the street of martyrs. It is so called then as it is where the blood of hundreds of Cebuano patriots was spilled. Gen. Adolfo Gonzales Montero ordered the killing of members of the KKK and civilians in the aftermath of the Battle of Tres de Abril in 1898. It is the street where Plaza Libertad now called Plaza Independencia is situated.

The former name of "Calle de los Martires" was "Calle Enrile", the Spanish rulers in Cebu named it in honor of the 45th Spanish governor general of the Philippines from 1830 to 1845.

The street named in honor of our martyrs of the revolution was renamed to "Mariano Jesus Cuenco Avenue" in honor of a distinguished son of Cebu. City Ordinance No. 462 enacted on March 23, 1964 on mass motion of the members of the City Council. Don Mariano, was elected twice as Governor of Cebu from 1928 to 1933, and President of the League of Provincial Governors, Congressman for five terms representing the Old 5th District of Cebu, he was the First Cebuano Senate President, Delegate of the 1934 Constitutional Convention and elected as Floor Leader of the convention.

Don Mariano's parents were pioneers of the press, his father was Mariano Albao Cuenco, while his mother, Remedios Lopez Diosomito, was the first woman publisher of the country. M.J. Cuenco edited and published "El Precursor" and was then elected to the Philippine Assembly in 1912 at the age of 26. He was considered one of the most courageous chairmen of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee that led to the discovery of numerous government corruption.

He was also a Cabinet Member and Secretary of the Departments of Public Works and Communications, Agriculture and Commerce. He was also National Economic Coordinator. Don Mariano, finished his pre-law at the San Carlos College now University of San Carlos in 1904  and his law course at the Escuela de Derecho in 1909 and passed the Bar examinations in 1913.

He was born on January 16, 1887 in Carmen, Cebu. He married twice, first to Filomena Barcenilla Alesna, daughter of the couple Evaristo Barcenilla Alesna and Cresencia Ynosencia Sanchez-Villarosa. After he became a widower, he married Rosa Cayetano. He died on February 25, 1964, gallantly serving God and country, a name that echoes in the annals of our history in politics and jurisprudence. His son, Manuel a doctor of medicine, likewise became a governor of Cebu and a cabinet member, his grandson, Antonio, became one of the best and longest serving congressman, his other grandson, Jose became OIC Mayor of Cebu.