President Rodrigo Duterte issued Executive Order 152, ordering the private and public sectors that Lapulapu and not Lapu-Lapu spell the first Filipino hero’s name correctly.
In such an order, it is explained that the name of the hero of Mactan was first written in the Latin alphabet as “Cilapulapu,” with “Ci” being a title in recognition. The heroes Jose Rizal and Juan Luna also allegedly used “Si Lapulapu.”
“The name Lapulapu is understood to refer to the Filipino hero who bravely and victoriously fought in the Battle of Mactan [against the Spaniard colonizers] in the 16th century. Thus, all references to the name “Lapu-Lapu” in EO No. 17, as amended, and EO No. 55, as amended, are with this amended to read as Lapulapu,” the order said.
“Adopting a common rendering of the name of Lapulapu, so as to conform to earlier references, will aid in the education of our youth about Philippine history which is foundational to the formation of national identity,” the EO 152 stated.
EO 152 also stipulates that all government agencies and instrumentalities, including government-owned or -controlled corporations, state universities and colleges, as well as local government units, non-government organizations, civil society groups, and private sector to use the spelling Lapulapu,” when referring to the name of the first Filipino hero.”
The EO also states that areas named Lapu-Lapu, such as a city in Cebu, will remain on the current coast.
Duterte orders Lapulapu, not Lapu-Lapu correct spelling of hero’s name
Last January, the National Quincentennial Committee (NQC) announced that Lapulapu spelled the hero’s name correctly.
“With the consent of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), the NQC will use ‘Lapulapu’ as the name of the Mactan leader,” according to the NQC statement based on the analysis they submitted to Duterte.
The NQC mentioned that the name Antonio Pigafetta wrote in his work Magellan-Elcano expedition was “Çilapulapu.”
According to the NQC, “Çi” is the hero’s name “is most likely the ancient honorific title“ Si. ”
According to scholars, “Çi” is an ancient form of the Hindu title “Sri,” referring to a “nobleman.”
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