Gil Puyat

Gil Juco Puyat, Sr. (September 1, 1907 - March 22, 1981) was a Filipino businessman and politician who served as a Senator of the Philippines from 1951, and as Senate President from 1967 to 1972.

Education

Having been exposed to the world of business, Puyat was inevitably drawn to a course in commerce for his higher education. This he pursued at the University of the Philippines where he topped his class. Even as a student, he was already immersed in intricate operations of finance and expense, of capital and production, and of management labor handling.

Early career

He became a member of the Rotary Club of Manila at about the same time that he was also a young professor of economics at the University of the Philippines. Puyat's skill in managing the family business caught the eye of the late President Manuel L. Quezon. At the time, the country was predominantly agricultural in activity and the President was advocating industrialization. Quezon named the young Puyat as dean of the College of Business Administration at the University of the Philippines when he was 33, becoming the youngest dean the UP ever had. An active member of international trades bodies, he acquired international stature in business. The Business Writers’ Association of the Philippines voted him "Business Leader of the Year" in 1948 and the Association of Red Feather Agencies voted him "Civic Leader of the Year" in 1949.

Gil Puyat Avenue

Senator Gil Puyat Avenue is a major arterial thoroughfare which travels east–west through the cities of Makati and Pasay in western Metro Manila, Philippines. It is one of the busiest avenues in Metro Manila linking the Makati Central Business District with the rest of the metropolis. Its western end begins at Roxas Boulevard and continues through San Isidro District, Pasay until intersecting with Taft Avenue. Past the intersection with the elevated Gil Puyat LRT Station, the road runs through Tramo Street and Barangay Palanan in Makati. East of Osmeña Highway, Gil Puyat intersects with the busy streets of the Central Business District before finally reaching its terminus at Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA).

This 4-12 lane divided avenue takes its name from the Filipino senator who served from 1951-1972, Senator Gil J. Puyat. It was originally named Buendia Avenue after Nicolas Buendia, a Bulacan senator of the 1940s. The avenue also has short extensions into Forbes Park in Makati as Buendia Avenue Extension, and into the CCP Complex and Bay City area of Pasay as Jose Diokno Boulevard. Part of Gil Puyat Avenue is designated as a component of Circumferential Road 3 of the Metro Manila Arterial Road System.