Highway to be named after Arroyo's grandpa

CEBU, Philippines — The Bogo-Curva-Medellin-Daanbantayan-Maya Road will soon be named Juan Macaraeg Highway.

Cebu Fourth District Representative Janice Salimbangon has filed House Bill No. 3399 which seeks to change the name of the said road in honor and pay tribute to the grandfather of former President and former House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Macaraeg was an official of the Department of Public Works during the American and Commonwealth government.

He also served in the Department of Education as district engineer in the Visayas, stationed in Cebu.

Salimbangon said that when Macaraeg was serving in the Department of Education, he was able to visit the entire Cebu and frequented the northern part of Cebu more particularly the fourth district of Cebu.

“He contributed to the creation of the several roads in Cebu,” Salimbangon said.

In 2008, Arroyo has visited the district and reportedly saw the worsening condition of the said road.

Salimbangon said that in order to give honor to her grandfather, then President Arroyo approved the rehabilitation, widening and concreting of the entire stretch of the road.

“Fast forward to the present time, the said road has become sort of a tourist attraction in the district as it has wowed commuters every time they traverse the said road,” Salimbangon said.

She added that the Bogo-Curva-Medellin-Daanbantayan-Maya Road has now been considered a freeway or motorway comparable to other countries.

“The Bogo-Curva-Medellin-Daanbantayan-Maya Road would not have been made possible if not of District Engineer, Juan Macaraeg, and the intervention of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The vision of Juan Macaraeg as a district engineer has made great impact in the improvement of the landscape of Cebu,” Salimbangon further said. (FREEMAN)