FEMIA? Congressman Files Bill to Rename NAIA to Ferdinand E. Marcos International Airport
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There’s another push to rename Ninoy Aquino International Airport. This time, it’s coming from Negros Oriental Representative Arnolfo Teves Jr, who has filed House Bill 610 to rename Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to Ferdinand E. Marcos International Airport.
Teves justified his bill by claiming that NAIA should be named after “the person who has contributed to the idea and execution of the said noble project. This project was done during the time of the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos Sr.”
Before it was renamed NAIA, Manila International Air Terminal was located in Makati, and its former runways are now used as Ayala Avenue and Paseo de Roxas. The airport was moved to its current location next to Villamor Airbase in 1948, 17 years before Marcos assumed office. However, Terminal 1 was built and opened in 1982 during the Marcos administration. Just one year after opening, Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Sr. was assassinated on the tarmac of what is now known as Gate 11. Following his death, Republic Act 6639 was passed in 1987 to rename Manila International Airport to Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Over the years, many have proposed to rename NAIA. Aside from the clamor to rename NAIA to Manila International Airport or Ferdinand E. Marcos International Airport, the name Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Pilipinas has also been thrown in the air.
In 2020, three Congressmen led by former President Rodrigo Duterte’s son Paolo Duterte filed House Bill No. 7031 to rename Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Pilipinas, as “the name bears no color, no political agenda.”
Whether NAIA is renamed Manila International Airport, Ferdinand E. Marcos International Airport, or Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Pilipinas, the end is the same: Filipinos will have more confusing acronyms to remember.
What do you prefer? NAIA, MIA, FEMIA, or PPP?
