Statue of the Sentinel of Freedom
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The Statue of the Sentinel of Freedom or the Lapu Lapu Monument is a monument to Lapulapu located at Rizal Park specifically at the center of the Agrifina Circle.


History

In 2004, House of Representatives members
Raul del Mar Raul Veloso del Mar (March 20, 1941 – November 16, 2020) was a Filipino politician who served as the Representative of Cebu City's 1st district three times: from 1987 to 1998, from 2001 to 2010, and from 2013 until his death in 2020. He wa ...
and Nerissa Corazon Soon-Ruiz initiated the installation of a statue of Lapulapu in Rizal Park as a move to honor Lapulapu as a hero of not only
Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...
but the whole Philippines. They urged the Office of the President to an accept their proposal. Then-tourism Secretary Richard Gordon, who was a candidate in the 2004 Senate elections, supported the installation of the statue. The project was opposed by the National Historical Institute (NHI) led by Ambeth Ocampo, which insist that only statues of heroes of the Philippine Revolution could be stand in the Agrifina Circle. The statue was unveiled on February 5, 2004 despite opposition from the NHI, after then President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, House Deputy Spe ...
greenlit the move. The Korean Freedom League led by Chairman Kwon Jung-dal donated for the casting of the statue. The statue was momentarily dismantled from the Agrifina Circle sometime in mid-2004, which was met with opposition including the local government of Lapu-Lapu City at that time. In 2014, Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza requested the transfer of the statue to Punta Engaño of her city where she plans to put it in an island to be made at the tip of the locality. This proposal came up after Radaza talked to Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez, Jr. where the National Historical Institute's (NHI) opinion that the statue could "desecrate" Rizal Park was brought up. The move was opposed by Raul del Mar who said that the move would be detrimental and will cause a “loss of honor and recognition” to the province and Cebu and Lapu-Lapu.


Design and symbolism

The Statue of the Sentinel of Freedom and was designed by sculptor Juan Sajid Imao. The monument is composed of a bronze statue on-top of a pedestal. Imao noted that his work on the statue seeks to portray Lapulapu as a strong and peace-loving man who is also ready to defend himself against those who threaten his freedom. Lapulapu is portrayed not in a fighting stance but rather standing guard holding a
kampilan The kampilan ( Baybayin: ) also known as talong is a type of single-edged sword, traditionally used by various ethnic groups in the Philippine archipelago. It has a distinct profile, with the tapered blade being much broader and thinner at the p ...
covered in scabbard and planted on the ground. Then Tourism Undersecretary Oscar Palabyab chose to create a statue for Lapulapu not primarily due to his victory over Ferdinand Magellan but the value he stands for in history. The distance between the statue and the Rizal Monument which is dedicated to
Jose Rizal Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galile ...
is which represents the "400-year gap" between Lapulapu and Rizal. According to Gordon, the Lapulapu represents the Muslims and Rizal represents the Tagalog-Christians in Philippine history. The statue which was also donated by the Korean Freedom League was a gift in recognition for Filipinos who fought for
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
in the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
.


See also

*
Lapu-Lapu Shrine Mactan Shrine, also known as Liberty Shrine, is a memorial park on the island of Mactan in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, Philippines. It hosts two monuments, namely the Magellan Monument, which is dedicated to Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and the ...


References

{{Manila attractions Monuments and memorials in Metro Manila Buildings and structures in Ermita