MANILA — Fernando Poe Jr.’s daughter, actress Lovi Poe, has lauded the Senate’s unanimous approval of a bill renaming Roosevelt Avenue in Quezon City after the late screen icon.

Twenty-two senators were in favor of the bill, with Sen. Grace Poe, FPJ's elder daughter, abstaining. While it has yet to be enacted into law, Grace expressed gratitude to her fellow senators for the push.

“In my heart I am so happy that this passed. Thank you so much to all of you, ‘yung nakasama ng tatay ko sa trabaho. Marami sa inyo may kuneksyon sa kanya, lahat halos! Maraming salamat sa inyong suporta,” she said.

In her statement to ABS-CBN News released by her manager Leo Dominguez, Lovi also showed appreciation for the acknowledgment of her father’s legacy.

“Papa has really been always for the people. This is a nice way of honoring his memory, for the younger generation to get to know his name and remember him for the years years to come,” she said.

The actress has time and again recalled in many interviews that FPJ also remains her inspiration and motivation to succeed and remain grounded.

Quezon City mayor Joy Belmonte also hailed the Senate’s approval of the resolution. “We also consider it a big honor to have one of our city’s main arteries named after FPJ. After all, Quezon City is the City of Stars and it is but fitting to name one of our major thoroughfares after the biggest star of them all.”

Regarded as the “King” of Philippine movies for several decades, FPJ passed on in December 2004, only months after his presidential bid.

The appeal of his action films to the public have endured, including “Ang Probinsyano”, which inspired the long running Coco Martin series “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano.”