Vicente Rama Street, Cebu City

It is the street formerly named as Calamba, which starts at the corner of Natalio Bacalso Avenue in barangay Calamba and ends at the corner of R. Duterte Street and M. Velez Street in barangay Guadalupe.

The Cebu City council on February 29, 1960 on motion of Councilor Luis V. Diores enacted City Ordinance No. 275 renaming Calamba Street to Vicente Rama Street, the Father of Cebu City for having authored the Charter of the City of Cebu.

Don Vicente, born on June 6, 1887, fondly called by friends as Nyong Inting, was the son of Bernabe Raffinan and Engelberta Rama. His mother (Engelberta, nicknamed as Bita) was the child of spouses Laurente Rama and Juana Enguio. Don Vicente studied at the Seminario de San Carlos, his college at the Liceo de Manila and Escuela de Derecho for his law degree. Don Vicente had a sister named Susana.

He served as member of the Municipal Board of Cebu, then elected as congressman of the then old 3rd District of Cebu in 1922, 1924, 1925 and 1935. He was appointed as Mayor of Cebu City in 1938 to 1941. Elected as Senator of the Republic in 1941, in a general election or elected at large, as senators from 1916 up to 1935 were elected by districts.

Don Vicente was the publisher of Nueva Fuerza and its Cebuano section, Bag-ong Kusog. He was also editor of Don Vicente Sotto's Cebuano newpaper, "Ang Suga," and the newspapers Luz de Vizaya and El Precursor. Other newspapers he wrote were the El Renacimiento, La Democracia, and Libertas. Don Vicente was aided by great men, others now forgotten like Felipe Tabasa of Labangon who was his circulation manager of the newspaper, Nueva Fuerza, Julio Pongan and Eustaquio B. Gonzales were his editors.

Don Vicente married Catalina (Aquilana) Genson and had the following children: Lourdes who married Primo Alvez, Osmundo , a physician who became a member of the Cebu City council and later became governor of Cebu, Fernando who married Natividad Lopez, served as Councilor of Cebu City and became the father of Eduardo, who became a congressman, and Michael who became Cebu City mayor, Clemente, served as Cebu City councilor, Napoleon, who became a lawyer on January 26, 1952 and focused on publishing newspapers, Jesus, also a lawyer took his oath on January 21, 1955, Laurente, became a ship captain, Reynalda married a Poca, and is the mother of journalist and television personality Ricky Rama Poca. The other children of Don Vicente were Corazon, Resurreccion, and Marianela.

The street renaming was done in tune and harmony of the anniversary of the foundation of the City of Cebu and the city council believed that there is no gift more fitting, no honor more proper that the grateful city can bestow upon one of its most beloved and illustrious sons.

The ordinance was approved by the then city mayor Carlos J. Cuizon on March 4, 1960.