Renaming NAIA up to Congress, says Palace

June 29, 2020

Malacañang distanced itself on Monday on the proposal of some lawmakers, including presidential son and House Deputy Speaker Paolo Duterte, to rename the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to "Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Pilipinas."

In a virtual press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said it would be up to Congress to decide on whether NAIA's name would be changed or not.

"We are leaving that to Congress because a law is needed if NAIA's name will be replaced," he said.

Duterte and administration allies Mariduque Representative Lord Allan Jay Velasco and ACT-CIS Representative Eric Go Yap have filed House Bill No. 7031, renaming the country's premier airport to Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Pilipinas.

According to them, with the new name, the airport would easily be identified as the international doorway of the country, in view of it being in Filipino language and branding it as the international airport of the Philippines.

The current name of the airport came from late Senator Benigno Aquino Jr., who was assassinated at the tarmac of the then Manila International Airport following his return from an exile in the United States in 1983.

Aquino was a staunch critic of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. 

According to critics, the move to change the name of NAIA was untimely as the country faces the coronavirus pandemic. Celerina Monte/DMS