CEBU CITY -- It will still be called Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA).
(Photo by Juan Carlo de Vela/ MANILA BULLETIN)
Cebu Rep. Pablo John Garcia issued this clarification to rectify a local newspaper report that the airport will be renamed as Lapu-Lapu International Airport following the approval on third reading of House Bill No. 8986.
Garcia explained that the facility will be called as it is as the bill merely seeks to name the domestic and international terminals of the airport as Lapu-Lapu Domestic Terminal and Lapu-Lapu International Terminal.
He further explained that this is a substitute bill following a compromise brokered by House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and House Committee on Transportation Chairman Samar Rep. Edgar Sarmiento between the proponents, led by Rep. Paz Radaza of Lapu-Lapu City, and the opponents of the bill, led by Garcia.
“The bill follows the LAX model where the airport is named Los Angeles International Airport while its major terminal is named Tom Bradley International Terminal,” Garcia said in a statement.
The airport itself, which includes the land area, runway, towers, and other facilities, will remain to be known as the Mactan-Cebu International Airport. The terminal building, which is part of the airport, will be renamed the Lapu-Lapu Domestic and International Terminals.
Garcia had earlier opposed the original bill, authored by Radaza, which sought to rename the airport to Lapu-Lapu International Airport.
Garcia pointed out that renaming the facility will disregard not only decades of history but also millions of pesos in marketing expenses to sell the airport as Mactan-Cebu International Airport.
“This substitute bill accommodates our objections to the bill while fulfilling the more important objective of honoring Lapu-Lapu on the 500th year of the Battle of Mactan,” Garcia said.
Garcia thanked Velasco and Sarmiento for initiating, and Radaza for accepting, a “win-win solution that satisfies all parties."