Lapulapu Park eyed at SRP

CEBU, Philippines —  The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) is planning to construct a Quincentennial National Park at the South Road Properties (SRP) in preparation for the 2021 events.

Yesterday morning, NHCP Chairman Rene Escalante visited City Hall to discuss the proposal to the city’s executive department.

“We are planning to put up a park similar with Luneta but the hero is Lapulapu and we are still negotiating with the city government if they can give us land in SRP,” he told reporters.

The mayor was unavailable for the visit yesterday but Escalante was able to discuss the proposal with Mayor Edgardo Labella’s technical and key officials.

Atty. Jose Daluz III, SRP Manager, said Labella will allow the NHCP to use the city’s property for the purpose.

“The offer of NHCP will bolster the city in terms of tourism, cultural and heritage matters. The monument is at no cost to the city government and the NHCP will spend for the infrastructure. The lot will still belong to the city, so there’s nothing negative ra,” he told The FREEMAN.

Escalante said he was able to discuss the proposal with Labella twice before and the mayor expressed willingness to give NHCP an area at the SRP.

However, Escalante said the city government has yet to decide how big the lot area that will be used by the NCHP for the construction of the park.

Initially, he said the NHCP wants to put up a grandstand and other amenities especially the national monument of Lapulapu who was responsible for defeating the head of the Spanish expedition to Southeast Asia, the Portuguese Ferdinand Magellan in 1521.

“We really want to make…to elevate the status of Lapulapu from here local, national and probably international in light of what happened,” he added.

Escalante said the Quincentennial National Park is envisioned to be the Luneta of the South.

If possible, he said the 500th anniversary of the Victory at Mactan in 2021 will be held in the park at the SRP.

Last year, President Rodrigo Duterte issued Executive Order No. 55 designating the NHCP as Secretariat of the National Quincentennial Committee (NQC).

In the order, the NQC will spearhead government activities and projects commemorating the quincentennial in 2021 of the victory of Lapulapu against Magellan, the introduction of Christianity in the Philippines, and the arrival in Philippine territory of the Magellan-Elcano expedition that first circumnavigated the world. — GAN (FREEMAN)