Former senator Franklin Drilon has opposed the proposal to rename the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to Ferdinand E. Marcos International Airport.
“There is no compelling reason to change the name of NAIA. Any proposal to rename NAIA will always be seen as political and divisive,” Drilon said in a statement.
“This obvious attempt for ingratiation is actually a disfavor to President Marcos Jr. It will not augur well with the call for unity of the Marcos administration. Leave NAIA alone,” he added.
According to Drilon, the incoming 19th Congress “has more urgent things to do than to rename an airport, such as how to arrest inflation and address the surging oil prices.”
The bill was filed by Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves Jr. who claimed that the airport “was done during the time of the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos Sr.”
“It is more appropriate to bear the name that has contributed and legacy in our country to make the Philippines a center of international and domestic air travel, who has initiated and built or conceptualized the project in making pride of our country,” he said.
NAIA, formerly known as the Manila International Airport, already existed before Marcos Sr. took office in 1965. It used to be a US Air Force base until 1948 and was then converted for commercial purposes.
The creation of MIA by executive order (EO) was mentioned by former president Manuel Roxas in his 1948 speech.
Its international runway and associated taxiway were built in 1953, while a control tower and a terminal building for international passengers finished construction in 1961.IMT
