Lapu-Lapu stirs row at Luneta

Should he or shouldn’t he?

A 40-foot bronze statue of Muslim hero Lapu-Lapu at Manila’s Rizal Park has sparked a debate on the policies of the country’s guardians of history.

On one side are officials of the National Historical Institute (NHI) who insist that Rizal Park or Luneta, being a place of executions during the Spanish regime, should be reserved only to the monuments of martyrs who died there. Lapu-Lapu’s monument, they insist, should be put elsewhere.

Arguing on the other side is former tourism secretary Richard Gordon, who maintains that Luneta is for "all heroes," regardless of whether they died there or not. He pointed out that there are small monuments in the park — in form of busts of historical figures, not necessarily heroes.

"Lapu-Lapu is our first national hero. It is only fitting that we give him a place in Luneta, our national park," he said. "His bravery and role in repulsing Spanish invaders long ago dramatized the capability of the Filipino to rise above adversity, fight for their freedom and rights."

Lapu-Lapu was a Muslim chieftain in the island of Mactan in the Visayas who resisted the arrival of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in April 1521. He killed Magellan in the first recorded battle in pre-Hispanic history.

Gordon, who is running for a Senate seat in May, thanked the Korean Freedom League which bankrolled the setting up of the statue as a gift to the Filipino people in memory of freedom-loving Filipino soldiers who served in the Korean war.

"Lapu-Lapu personifies the Filipinos’ inherent quality of love for freedom. The Muslim chieftain likewise portrays the image of an individual who deals peacefully with people from other nations as long as our sovereignty is respected," Gordon stressed.

Gordon said that even Jose Rizal, who was shot by firing squad at the Luneta, would surely not object to sharing the park with Lapu-Lapu. "They are 400 meters apart, which symbolizes their almost 400-year distance in history," he said.

Lapu-Lapu’s statue is situated in the middle of Agrifina Circle, looking towards the sea and almost mirroring Rizal’s monument. It was crafted by noted sculptor Juan Sajid Imao, whose parents hail from Sulu and Marikina City. Imao was named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines in 2001. Despite slowly losing his eyesight, he still managed to complete the statue.

Other Lapu-Lapu monuments are in Mactan, Cebu and at the corner of Paseo de Roxas and Makati Avenue at the heart of Makati’s business district.