Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

CARSON – A resolution filed by Council Member Elita Santarina to rename Moneta Avenue to Jose Rizal Avenue has met with opposition from its ethnically diverse communities. Speaker after speaker, representing the black, Latino, Pacific Islanders and Anglo constituencies of the city, came forward during Tuesday’s council meeting at City Hall to express their opposition to the resolution. They declared that the resolution would entail unnecessary disbursement of city funds, as well as result in a bureaucratic nightmare, involving thousands of name changes on resident and business addresses, licenses, and other legal documents.

Fe Koons, a community activist, delivered the opening salvo in what would turn out as a contentious hearing on the pros and cons of the street-renaming proposal. "This is not an issue of streets and avenues," Koons told the city council. "If you are aware of the history of the Philippines, Jose Rizal is a great national hero – not even national – Asian, international," Koons said.

"He has monuments in Germany, Cuba, (and) here in San Francisco. It’s all around the world." Koons said Jose Rizal’s writings, specifically El Filibusterismo and Noli Me Tangere have inspired many leaders, including Philip Vera Cruz and Cesar Chavez, founders of the United Farm Workers. Koons stated that Rizal’s stature as a national hero has parallels in Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, and Mahatma Gandhi.

Koons told the council that the 30,000 Fil-Ams residing in Carson is an important component of the city. "Our heroes, you need to understand, are not basketball stars; they are not music icons...They are not golf players, tennis players. They are real heroes, like the World War II veterans who fought for freedom," Koons said. She said that Jose Rizal needed the honor and tribute at this time.

Following Koons’ five-minute speech, other residents, some of whom live along Moneta Avenue, spoke before the council, citing the reasons why they opposed the resolution. "What’s the need for spending this kind of money to name a street for hero from the 1800s? He is probably a super individual, and I applaud him, and the all the rest of our heroes. But this is not the time to be spending this kind of money. We can spend that money someplace else where it is needed today," were some of the comments aired.

The reasons raised by a majority of those who were opposing the resolution were economic. But there was more to the proposal than meets the eye. There is a need to educate Carson residents about Jose Rizal, and it is going to be a long process. Council member Santarina believes that Carson, which is home to many Americans of Filipino descent, should be a haven for these Filipino-Americans who are proud of their heritage. "The best way to do these is for the identity of Dr. Jose Rizal to go down from generation to generation; that once upon a time, the city of Carson, which is now heavily populated by Fil-Ams who are politically, economically, socially, culturally, and financially involved; that a legacy, a tribute to Rizal is the best thing that the council can do," Santarina told Asian Journal.

"I would tell you that some of these elected officials, from the time we became a city, they always counted on Filipino-Americans when they needed the votes," Santarina said. "When they needed the votes, they went to the South (of Carson). And now they are showing that we are not important. I understand the cost factors; that is why in one of my conversations with one of them, I principally proposed that they encourage this because I believe in due process. I believe that this should be heard first at a sub-committee hearing so that we could discuss all the strategies as to how we can overcome the impediments and education that is needed," Santarina said.

"Therefore, if we succeed in educating our fellow Americans in the city of Carson, I have no doubt in my mind that our fellow Americans will be agreeing to what we are proposing," Santarina concluded. The council members voted unanimously to send the resolution to the city’s public and commercial signage sub-committee for further discussion. n

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( Published on July 11, 2009 in Asian Journal Los Angeles p. A6 )