A ‘Lapu-Lapu,’ ‘Lapulapu’ question
Renaming the Mactan Cebu International Airport is an interesting proposal. Suggesting it would be “Lapu-Lapu International Airport” more so. The historical significance of the “Lapu-Lapu” word, plus the fact that the airport is located in the city with the same name make the move compelling.
One can even ask why the officials who called the facility the Mactan Cebu International Airport weren’t that creative enough, although an official of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) also pointed to a little-known fact: Section 3 of Republic Act (RA) 6958 specifically names the facility only as the Mactan International Airport.
Section 3 of RA 6958, the act creating the MCIAA, states: “The Authority shall principally undertake the economical, efficient and effective control, management and supervision of the Mactan International Airport in the Province of Cebu and the Lahug Airport in Cebu City.”
It’s an interesting point that gives us a glimpse of the source of confusion. The facility has always been the Mactan International Airport but it is now being managed and supervised by an authority with the “Mactan-Cebu International Airport” label. So Mactan-Cebu International Airport it became.
Which brings us to another point that some Oponganons (root word: Opon, the old name of what’s now Lapu-Lapu City) would love to complain about. Why is the city referred to as “Lapu-Lapu” and not “Lapulapu”? This time, the source of the confusion is another law, Republic Act 3134, titled “An Act Creating the City of Lapu-Lapu.” So why wasn’t “Lapulapu” used?
Consider that Antonio Pigafetta, the Italian diarist whose entry on the Battle of Mactan provided us with knowledge on how Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese explorer working for the Spanish crown, met his end in Mactan (his spelling: Matan”), mentioned two Mactan rulers, “Zula” and “Cilapulapu.” And, yes, there’s also the fish called “lapulapu.”
Okay, it’s good to pay homage to the hero from Cebu by having the airport in Mactan named after him. But first, can we settle the confusion in spelling?