Marcos: Cebu poised to get more investments

MESSAGE FOR THE FUTURE President Marcos leads the capsule laying at the Mactan Expo Center in Lapu-Lapu City. PPA POOL

LAPU-LAPU CITY, CEBU, Philippines —President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday vowed the government’s continued investment in Cebu to strengthen its role as a key contributor to the country’s growth and prosperity.

He made the commitment after leading the capsule-laying ceremony for the construction of the Mactan Expo Center at the Mactan Newtown in Lapu-Lapu City.

Marcos said the convention center—a P 1.5 billion project of Megaworld with a 2,500 seating capacity—will “certainly solidify” the role of the adjacent cities of Lapu-Lapu and Cebu in the country’s economic growth.

He assured that the government “will also continue to invest in its success” by investing in infrastructure projects meant to decongest the province’s major throughfares.

He assured that the government “will also continue to invest in its success” by investing in infrastructure projects meant to decongest the province’s major throughfares.

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“In 2024, the Department of Public Works and Highways is funding about P2.9 billion in infrastructure projects here in Lapu-Lapu City alone. These include road widening projects that will help decongest traffic along major thoroughfares such as Mactan Circumferential Road and the Mactan Airport Road,” the President said.

He added that the government “will also pursue major projects aimed at improving road connectivity and addressing traffic congestion.”

Infrastructure dev’t

Marcos cited the proposed 4th Cebu-Mactan Bridge and the Lapu-Lapu City Coastal Road, to be funded by official development assistance from other countries.

He said these investments in infrastructure projects in the province will complement the Mactan Expo Center and tap the “huge potential of the Meetings, Incentives and Exhibitions, or the MICE sector” in Cebu.

He touted the convention center as a “strategic development” given its vicinity to the Mactan-Cebu International Airport and the resorts and hotels on Mactan Island.

“The Mactan Expo Center will enable us to generate more employment and business opportunity to solidify our position as an events destination and entice even more investments,” the President said.

He added that Megaworld’s Mactan Newtown “will further strengthen the city’s position as a major destination for key business events, both local and international.”

Marcos also led the celebration for Lapulapu Day, the 503rd anniversary of 1521 Battle of Mactan, at the Liberty Shrine in Barangay Mactan in Lapu-Lapu City.

Emulate Lapulapu

In his speech, the President said Filipinos should emulate Lapulapu’s valor in fighting the country’s “modern-day oppressions” of poverty, hunger, sickness, ignorance and opportunities.

Lapulapu was the local chief who repelled the newly arrived Spanish conquistadors, led by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, from its first bid to conquer the islands for Spain.

Magellan died in the battle.

“It shows every generation how a force that is rooted in community, courage and integrity can destroy even the strongest of opponents. The same is what our nation needs today,” the President said.

“Despite being in a world incomparable to that of Lapulapu, we are called to rise against our modern-day oppression—greed, selfishness and divisiveness—and uphold the legacy of patriotism that has been passed onto us through the years,” he said.

April 27 of every year is celebrated as Lapulapu Day, as mandated by Republic Act No. 11040, in honor of the bravery of Lapulapu and his men in fighting Magellan and his Spanish explorers on April 27, 1521.

In a related development, Megaworld also recently announced that it’s building a P1.2-billion Mactan World Museum to rise within the township, as an ode to the island’s cultural pride and historical significance. The modern museum will feature curated pieces and cultural artifacts highlighting centuries of friendship between the Philippines and Spain.

It will feature an extensive collection of historic pieces, curated by Dannie Alvarez, president of Alliance of Greater Manila
Museums Inc. and former head of Committee on Museums of the National
Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). The museum will lend a visual retelling of the travel and arrival of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his crew in Mactan, his defeat against fearless tribal leader Lapulapu, and the Hispanic heritage of the Manila Galleon trade. / with reports from Carl Lorenciana, copy editor