(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte has expressed support for the proposal to rename the Mactan-Cebu International Airport as Lapu-Lapu International Airport.
The proposal was first made by National Historical Commission of the Philippines Chairman Dr. Rene Escalante.
In supporting NHCP’s proposal, the President said that Lapu-Lapu should be given more honor because of his bravery after he killed the Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan, in 16th century.
“You know, Magellan was the first invader to set foot here in the Philippines. It was Lapu-Lapu who fought him,” the President said in a speech after he led the National Heroes’ Day celebration in Taguig City on Monday.
““May Lapu-Lapu Hotel, tapos isda, Lapu-Lapu. That’s crazy. Itong si Lapu-Lapu fought for our country, he died. Somehow, they say after that battle he was able to kill the supremo of the expeditionary force [Magellan]. Bakit ko ipangalan doon sa mga hindi natin kadugo?”
“Why is he [Magellan] more honored in this country?” the President asked.
Escalante said he agreed with the President’s sentiment. He noted that Lapu-Lapu’s heroic act “could even surpass the achievement of the heroes of the Philippine revolution.”
He pointed out that Lapu-Lapu won the Battle of Mactan without the assistance of any foreign power.
“It is just unfortunate that despite all these achievements, we don’t honor Lapu-Lapu with a national holiday, and he remains among the least appreciated and studied heroes of our country,” Escalante said in his speech.
“In fact, most of our textbooks nowadays have more pages about Magellan the loser, than Lapu-Lapu, the winner.”
The NHCP official then said it would support the renaming of Mactan airport into Lapu-Lapu international airport.
“[T]he NHCP will support the renaming of Mactan airport into Lapu-Lapu airport so that his name will be popularized and immortalized here and abroad,” Escalante said. (Earlo Bringas)