EDITORIAL - Marcos International Airport

The administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is yet a few days old, well within what political observers would call a “honeymoon period.” It is during this period where officials put their best foot forward, trying to make themselves look good in front of the public as well as trying to catch the attention of the president.

But it seems one lawmaker is willing to go above and beyond just getting the president’s attention and approval.

Just recently, Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. filed House Bill 610 seeking to rename the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the country’s main international air hub, to Ferdinand E. Marcos International Airport.

According to Teves it is "more appropriate to rename it to the person who has contributed to the idea and execution of the said noble project."

Teves also claimed that the airport was built during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos Sr., which is false as the airport’s international runway was built in 1953, while the control tower and terminal building for international passengers were finished in 1961, four years before the late dictator’s first term.

It has become yet another structure erroneously attributed to the late dictator.

Now there is nothing wrong with renaming a building. It happens all the time. But to rename the Ninoy Aquino International Airport after the person being held responsible for his death is another thing. That is an insult to the highest degree.

What’s next? Remove Ninoy Aquino’s image from the ?500 bill and replace with that very same person?

Some of us cannot be blamed for seeing Rep. Teves as acting more like a sycophant instead of a lawmaker, sycophant being “sipsip” in the Visayan language.

Of course, we could all be just making much ado about nothing. This could also be a clever smokescreen. Something to rile up what is left of the opposition, to get them talking about something. To get them focused on one thing while another thing goes on behind their backs.

This is politics after all. Like in war, deception is the best tool one can use. And there is no better target --or pretend target-- than the biggest edifice to bear the Aquino name.

But if they are really serious about this then this could also be another subtle move to revise history and make the late dictator’s image more acceptable to the public, and should be resisted.