THE last we read about on July 3, 2014 was that Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza insisted on having the 40-foot statue of Ferdinand Magellan at Rizal Park in Manila taken down and transported to Mactan.
Her plan was to have the statue of the Cebuano hero stand on two-hectare land in Punta Engaño where, ala Statue of Liberty in New York, it would be seen by visitors coming by boat and even by plane.
It was an auspicious idea, a “fitting tribute” to Magellan’s Mactan landing that will have its 500th year in 2021.
What apparently derailed it was that Mayor Paz couldn’t have the statue transferred. She wanted the P15 million statue for free and even the hauling from Manila would have been covered by Department of Tourism budget.
Rep. Raul del Mar, with then congresswoman Nerissa Ruiz, negotiated with Sen. Richard Gordon and the Korean Freedom League for the putting up of the statue at Rizal Park. And del Mar succeeded despite the opposition of the National Historical Institute.
Removing the statue would’ve taken away that national recognition for Cebu’s hero. Del Mar and Gordon, in their effort for national recognition of Magellan, apparently spoiled Radaza’s plan.
Plan still doable
But what sucked was the plan to remove the Rizal Park statue, not the plan to erect the Punta Engao statue. The idea of a Statue of Liberty-style Magellan monument is brilliant even if it’s not original. It would be a landmark not just for Cebu but particularly for Lapu-Lapu, which has been trying to thrust the city’s own identity into the international tourism.
Why hasn’t Radaza raised the money for a new, maybe even taller statute of Magellan?
Four years or so have elapsed since she announced the project but there are three years more until 2021. Maybe the city can still swing it. There must be groups other than the Korean Freedom League that raised the money for the Rizal Park statue.
Still talked about
The claimed disappearance by the wife of a congressman’s aide and her re-appearance. Things were not as they seemed. Radio commentators didn’t give details but disclosed enough hints for grist in the rumor mill.
The acts of lasciviousness case that was not filed: why one lawyer’s secretary didn’t push through with her complaint against another lawyer is speculated on and joked about.
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