Mayor Chan : Lapu-Lapu as PH’s ‘arnis capital’

Hundreds of eskrimadors perform during the “Kadaugan sa Mactan” on April 27. | Futch Anthony Inso

LAPU-LAPU CITY, Philippines — Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan wants the city to be known as the “Arnis Capital” in the country.

During the celebration of the “Kadaugan sa Mactan” on Thursday, April 27, 2023, the city even featured 1,000 eskrimadors that had performed after the reenactment.

To honor Datu Lapulapu

Chan said that the move was to honor Datu Lapulapu, who was not only the first Filipino hero but also an eskrimador.

READ: Kadaugan sa Mactan 2023 peaceful, successful

“First time to siya nga dunay liboan ka mga bata nga ni-perform after the winning of the battle of Lapu-Lapu. Nigawas ang iyang mga ginsakupan nga nag-edad ug 5-anyos ngadto na sa 92-anyos,” Chan said.

(This is the first time that we have a thousand kids who performed after winning the battle of Lapu-Lapu. His people whose ages are from 5 years old to 92 years old came out.)

Mayor Chan said that currently, arnis was even included in the curriculum of the Department of Education (DepEd) Lapu-Lapu City.

Plan of Mayor Chan

In line with this, Chan said he planned to hold a demonstration of Filipino Martial Arts.

He said that he would be gathering 10,000 eskrimadors to perform.

READ: Kadaugan sa Mactan 2023 peaceful, successful

“So kita mo-target ta. Hopefully, makatigom ta ug 10,000 eskrimadors nga mokata, mo-play sila. Ato nang i-break ang record sa Guinness Book of World Record,” he added.

(We will have a target. Hopefully, we can gather 10,000 eskrimadors who will do the kata and also play. We will break the record of the Guinness Book of World Record.)

Chan said that he planned to hold this activity during the “Kadaugan sa Mactan” next year.

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