CEBU REP. Pablo John Garcia (3rd District) said Mactan-Cebu International Airport will still be called by its name, clarifying local newspaper reports claiming that House Bill 8986, approved on third reading before Congress went on recess on March 18, seeks to rename the airport to Lapulapu International Airport.
Garcia explained that the bill merely seeks to name the domestic and international terminals of the airport to Lapulapu Domestic Terminal and Lapulapu International Terminal, while retaining the name Mactan-Cebu International Airport for the entire facility itself.
He said House Bill 8986 is a substitute bill following a compromise brokered by Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and Committee on Transportation Chairman Rep. Edgar Sarmiento (Samar, 1st District) between the proponents, led by Rep. Paz Radaza of Lapulapu City, and the opponents of the bill, which he led.
“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.
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 Lapulapu Domestic and International Terminals.
Garcia had earlier opposed the original bill, authored by Radaza, which sought to rename the airport to Lapulapu International Airport. It disregarded, he said, 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 Lapulapu on the 500th year of the Battle of Mactan,” Garcia said.
He also thanked Velasco and Sarmiento for initiating, and Radaza for accepting, a “win-win solution that satisfies all parties.” (With additional reporting by Cebu Examiner.)
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