Credits: PEP
MANILA, Philippines — The city government of Makati has removed the controversial “Gil Tulog Avenue” street signs that appeared along Gil Puyat Avenue as part of an advertising campaign.
Mayor Abby Binay issued an apology to the family of the late Senate President Gil Puyat, clarifying that the request to change the street signs had not reached her office.
“I apologize to the public and to the family of the late Senate President Puyat. These signs have been taken down on my instruction,” Binay stated.
“If the request for a permit had come to me, it would have been immediately rejected,” she added.
Binay also reprimanded the city officials responsible for issuing the permit, citing a “glaring oversight.”
“The city officials who issued the permit should have exercised prudence. They should have been more thorough. They should have thought about the confusion this may have caused to motorists and commuters,” Binay said.
Victor Puyat, a son of the late Senate president, criticized the advertising campaign in a letter to Rappler, posted on Facebook.
“Our name is not to be violated, for reasons that are financial, political, or otherwise,” the letter read.
Erika Puyat Lontok, the late Senate president’s great-granddaughter, also expressed her dismay on Facebook.
“Besmirching my late great-grandfather’s name to sell freaking melatonin is so disrespectful!” her post read.
Gil Puyat served as a senator from 1951 to 1972 and was the last Senate president before Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law and shut down Congress. Puyat passed away on March 23, 1980, at the age of 72. The avenue in Makati City was named in his honor.