By Maricar Malaya
Photo by: Burgermac
Nagtataka ka ba kung bakit tinawag na “Red-V” ang kahabaan ng Maharlika Hi-way sa Brgy. Ibabang Dupay? Hmm…bakit nga ba?
We’ve asked the opinions of our fellow Lucenahins, especially Red-V residents, and here are some of their answers:
“Maybe it is because of the V-shaped intersection of Maharlika Hi-way and Dalahican Road.”
“Maybe, there was a bloody battle during the war period in the V-shaped intersection making it Red then V,” answered a student jokingly.
Kuya Felimon said, “‘Yun kasi ‘yung Victory Lumber and Hardware. Nakita mo ‘yung kulay pula na malaking V?”.
Well, these are just some of the wild guesses that we’ve gathered along the way, and I’m sure you are as equally curious on how the name Red-V came to be.
So, let’s uncover the mystery behind the name Red-V!
We went to the Barangay Hall of Ibabang Dupay and here’s what we found out:
The name Red-V was the name of the Coconut Product Factory that was situated at the site where SM City Lucena is now located. According to our sources, the Red-V Coconut Factory was owned by the Americans before it was acquired by Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile in 1960’s who then changed the name to Ladesco.
Because the factory workers at the time came from other parts of Quezon, and the only mode of communication available was the so-called snail mail, they used the name Red-V as their return address. So from then on the place became popularly known and “unofficially” named Red-V.
So there, now we know the answer to the mystery behind the name Red-V! Have you noticed the different shops along the Maharlika Hi-way bearing the name Red-V, like the Red-V Iron Works and the Red-V Machine Shop? Those are just examples of the legacy left by the Red-V Coconut Factory.
Philippine Peso