Lapu-Lapu City mayor gives rapper chance to correct mistake in lyrics

CEBU CITY –– The mayor of Lapu-Lapu City on Mactan Island is giving rapper Ez Mil a chance to correct the mistake in the lyrics of his song, “Panalo” that wrongly described how national hero Lapu-Lapu was killed.

“I understand that there are really times when we commit mistakes. That is why we continue to open our doors for him,” said Mayor Junard Chan.

Chan took offense at a line in the song “Panalo,” which reads “Nanalo na ako nung una pa pinugutan si Lapu sa Mactan. (I was already victorious even before Lapu was beheaded in Mactan).”

Chan said it was ironic that Mil’s controversial song came out in the same year when the city will celebrate the 500th anniversary of the victory of Lapulapu at Mactan.

A video of Mil (real name is Ezekiel Miller) performing the rap track has gained over 27 million views from the time it premiered on YouTube last Jan. 21.

Mil has since apologized for the lyrics, saying the line was for “rhyming pattern.”

He also admitted that the line was inaccurate because there were no known records that Lapu-Lapu was beheaded.

Chan said he was worried that the song might create confusion,  especially among the younger generation.

“Since I am the father of the city, I am hurt by his action to ridicule [Lapulapu]. If Ez Mil does not recognize Datu Lapu-Lapu as a hero, then he should not have made a song that can anger every Oponganon,” he said.

Lapu-Lapu was the chieftain of Mactan Island when Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his Spanish companions arrived in Cebu in 1521.

He beheaded Magellan in what is now known as the Battle of Mactan on April 27, 1521, and was regarded as the first Filipino hero because he was the first native to resist imperial Spanish colonization.