A perspective of the proposed design for the Lapulapu Shrine and Museum was released anew by the National Quincentennial Committee and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. | Photos courtesy of Lapu-Lapu City PIO
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Historians have unveiled a new infrastructural project in line with the quincentenary anniversary of the Victory of Mactan and the world’s first circumnavigation.
The Lapu-Lapu City Government, in a press release, announced that the National Quincentennial Committee (NQC) will be embarking on three flagship projects for the celebration.
These are the Lapulapu Shrine and Museum, which will soon rise in Barangay Mactan, Lapu-Lapu City; the Museum of Philippine Early History in Butuan City; and 32 historical markers to be built along the route Ferdinand Magellan navigated shortly before arriving in the Philippines.
Details of these flagship projects were introduced in a webinar hosted by NQC and Dr. Rene Escalante, chairman of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) last Tuesday, July 21, Lapu-Lapu City’s public information office (PIO) said.
“All these three major projects will be realized in time for the 500 years commemoration on the victory in the Battle of Mactan,” portions of the statement read.
Quoting Escalante, the city government said the Lapulapu Shrine and Museum’s roof will resemble a “sakayan to symbolize the Philippines’ common maritime heritage.”
“The left and the right side of the building will house galleries and different function rooms. The building’s middle portion is a wide hallway from the front going to the back,” they said.
A statue of Datu Lapulapu will also be built at the center of the museum.
NQC is the body spearheading the 500th-anniversary celebration of the Victory of Mactan, and the circumnavigation of the world which will take place in 2021.
In an earlier statement, Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard ‘Ahong’ Chan said he is looking forward to the completion of Mactan’s new museum, adding that they are aiming for it to be a future tourist destination. /bmjo