CEBU CITY –– Despite proposals to rename the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) to honor a local hero, the second biggest airport facility in the country will not change its name to Lapu-Lapu International Airport.
Instead, Congress approved on March 25, House Bill 8986, renaming MCIA’s Terminal 1 building and Terminal 2 building into Lapu-Lapu Domestic Terminal and Lapu-Lapu International Terminal to honor the 500th year since the victory of Lapu-Lapu and his men against Spanish colonial invaders in 1521.
Rep. Pablo John Garcia of Cebu’s third district clarified that the airport would still be named “Mactan-Cebu International Airport.”
Garcia is among those who opposed proposals of fellow Cebuano lawmakers who wanted to rename the entire airport as Lapu-Lapu International Airport.
“It’s (the substitute bill) a good compromise,” said Garcia, who is one of the authors of HB 8986.
Three House bills earlier wanted to change the name of MCIA into Lapu-Lapu International Airport to which Garcia opposed.
HB 8986 has been transmitted to the Senate for approval before President Duterte signs it into law.
Garcia opposed the previous bills renaming the airport because it would be detrimental to the facility as “Mactan-Cebu” has already been known as a brand among international destinations.
“It (previous bill) disregarded not only decades of history but also the millions of pesos of marketing expenses to sell the airport as Mactan Cebu International Airport,” Garcia explained.
The original bill was authored by Lapu-Lapu City Rep. Paz Radaza, who was later convinced to also agree with the compromise brokered by House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and Committee on Transportation Chairman, Samar Rep. Edgar Sarmiento.
On April 27, the country will honor the 500th year since the Battle of Mactan, where Lapu-Lapu and his men won against Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and the Spanish invaders.