Palace on renaming NAIA: Any reaction is premature

Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles on Wednesday refused to comment on the proposed measure filed at the House of Representatives seeking to rename the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to Ferdinand E. Marcos International Airport.

"Malacañang has no comment yet on this one. It's just been filed, after all. Wala pang (It's not yet for) first reading so any reaction would be premature if any is even warranted at this time," Cruz-Angeles said at a press briefing.

Asked if the bill was timely, Cruz-Angeles said the Palace is not in the position to determine if it is timely or not as the measure was filed by a lawmaker.

"This is not a bill filed by Malacañang so it is not our place to indicate whether it's timely or not. It's the congressman who filed it [who should]. So, no comment for right now," she added.

In filing House Bill No. 610, Negros Oriental Representative Arnolfo Teves Jr. wants to rename the premiere gateway to the country as “it is more appropriate to rename it (NAIA) to the person who has contributed to the idea and execution of the said noble project.”

Teves noted that the project was created during the presidency of late president Ferdinand Marcos Sr., the father of the incumbent chief executive.

In 1987, the Manila International Airport (MIA) was renamed to Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) through Republic Act No. 6639 during the term of late President Cory Aquino.

It was named after late senator and opposition leader Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., a staunch critic of the Marcos regime. He was assassinated in the airport when he returned to the country on August 21, 1983.

Teves, meanwhile, urged Marcos to prove during his tenure that he can be at par, if not better, than his father. 

According to the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) website, the country's premiere airport was originally a US Air Force base until 1948, when it was turned over to the Philippine government's National Airport Corporation. The fledgling civil aviation airport's facilities were nothing more than the current domestic runway and a small building as its only passenger terminal.

"With the abolition of National Airport Corporation in 1951, ownership and management of the airport fell to the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) under the Department of Commerce & Industry. In 1956, the CAA was transferred to the Department of Public Works, Transportation & Communications," MIAA said.

It added that the first 13 years of the airport were marked by the building of infrastructure dedicated to international flights.

The international runway and associated taxiway were built in 1953, and 1961 saw the completion of a control tower and a terminal building for the exclusive use of international passengers at the southwest intersection of the runways. This system came to be officially known as the Manila International Airport.

In 1972, Marcos Sr. promulgated Executive Order No. 381, authorizing the development of Manila International Airport (MIA) to meet the needs of the coming decades, MIAA said. —KG, GMA News