Photo courtesy of NMP Facebook Page
LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu—The National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) assured the public that the monument of Datu Lapulapu will remain in its current location.
The NMP clarified this amidst reports that the monument would be removed and would be transferred to another location.
Earlier, former senator and Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon expressed his opposition to the said plan.
In a statement, NMP, however, admitted that they would need to dismantle the monument for its restoration works.
“The first phase, which is its dismantling, will commence very soon as preparatory work at its base has already been completed. This delicate work, and the later reassembly of the sculpture, will be undertaken by the artist himself and his team,” NMP stated.
Sentinel of Freedom
The monument was erected in 2004 at the initiative of then Tourism Secretary Gordon. It represents the dedication and resolve of Filipinos through history as explicitly represented by Lapulapu at the Battle of Mactan in 1521, to defend their liberty and the sovereignty of the homeland.
Also known as the “Sentinel of Freedom,” its custodianship was transferred to the NMP in 2019 under Republic Act No. 11333 along with the responsibility to preserve it and maintain its public prominence in its dedicated area of Rizal Park.
The NMP is committed to this obligation and welcomes the opportunity to promote the significance of the monument as best as it can.
Second phase
After its restoration, the second phase would be the monument’s re-erection, wherein the designs for which will be formulated in coordination with concerned agencies such as the National Historical Commission of the Philippines and other stakeholders, with the main idea and objective of enhancing the setting of Sentinel of Freedom to convey even more effectively its intended symbolism and also to express fittingly the quincentennial or five hundred years of Philippine history since the Battle of Mactan that was recently celebrated in 2021.
“The NMP assures all who might be concerned with the monument’s location that it will be re-erected in the same area of Rizal Park, in the central grounds of the National Museum Complex towards its front-facing Maria Orosa Street, aligned with the Rizal Monument along the central axis of the park,” it added.
The NMP promised to share the exact details and designs, once these are completed and given regulatory clearance before the re-erection of the restored monument takes place ass already programmed and budgeted in 2024.
/bmjo
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