By Mario Casayuran
Lapu-Lapu will be given the proper recognition that he deserves for being the first Asian to beat Magellan, a colonial invader, when the bill recognizing him as a hero is signed into law. The Senate had passed the bill on third and final reading yesterday.
The bill calls for the declaration of April 27 as Lapu-Lapu Day or Adlaw ni Lapu-Lapu.
“For the first time, Lapu-Lapu will be given an official day as befits his status as a hero,’’ Sen. Richard J. Gordon said after the Senate passed on third and final reading his bill recognizing Lapu Lapu as a hero.
Gordon said it was really unfortunate that we turned him into a fish when he was in fact the first successful defender of our shores, beating the Spanish invaders led by Ferdinand Magellan.