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MIAA: Decision to rename NAIA up to lawmakers


The decision to rename the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) will be up to lawmakers to decide on, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said Monday.

According to MIAA general manager Eddie Monreal, the MIAA will defer to the decision that lawmakers will make on renaming the country's main gateway.

"'Yan po siguro, puwede nating ipagpaubaya na lang sa ating mga mambabatas dahil sila ang may karapatan at katungkulan para i-suggest kung anuman ang panibagong pangalan ng ating paliparan," he said during the Laging Handa virtual briefing.

"Kami ay tutugon kung ano ang magiging desisyon ng mababang kapulungan o kaya kung ano pang mga ahensya na dapat sila ang magpapatupad muna," he added.

The MIAA is mandated to formulate and adopt internationally acceptable standards of airport accommodation, and upgrade and provide safe, efficient, and reliable facilities for international and domestic air travel.

In June, presidential son and House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Paolo Duterte, along with two other lawmakers, filed a bill seeking to rename NAIA to the Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Pilipinas.

"We want it to reflect the legacy of the Filipino people, our everyday heroes. The name bears no color, no political agenda. It only signifies our warmth as Filipinos in welcoming our own kababayans and foreign visitors," Duterte said.

The airport was originally called the Manila International Airport, and was renamed NAIA under the administration of the late President Corazon Aquino in 1987, in honor of her late husband former senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr.

Ninoy, a staunch critic of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, was assassinated at the airport tarmac on August 21, 1983, upon his return to the Philippines after a three-year exile in the United States.—AOL, GMA News

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