Lapu-Lapu mayor, lawmaker face backlash for exposing missile facility

Political couple City Mayor Cindi King-Chan and lone district Representative Junard Chan faced backlash after publicly revealing a missile storage facility at Naval Base Rafael Ramos in Lapu-Lapu City.

The facility’s groundbreaking ceremony was held on 21 February, and a now-deleted Facebook post contained photos of the tarpaulin welcoming the ceremony, exposing the facility — and the city — to an international security risk.

Mayor Chan, however, told the media on Wednesday that the disclosure was intended for transparency, so the public would know how their taxes were spent.

“As you may know, I have always invited the media; I’ve always been transparent about all my projects when I was still a congresswoman,” she said.

“We would have been stopped by the Philippine Navy, the Naval Forces Central (NAVFORCEN), but in fact, they joined us during the groundbreaking,” she added.

King-Chan was still serving as a congresswoman when the project’s groundbreaking took place in February.

Netizens expressed concern that revealing the facility could make Lapu-Lapu City a target due to its strategic military installations.

“We are a target. That is reality. You can also Google that we have the NAVFORCEN, we have the airbase here, so that is a given,” the mayor said, referring to the Mactan Benito Ebuen Airbase and the Naval Forces Central.