Lapu-Lapu City, officially the City of Lapu-Lapu ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Lapu-Lapu; fil, Lungsod ng Lapu-Lapu), is a
1st class highly urbanized city
A city ( fil, lungsod/siyudad) is one of the units of local government in the Philippines. All Philippine cities are chartered cities ( fil, nakakartang lungsod), whose existence as corporate and administrative entities is governed by their own ...
in the
Central Visayas
Central Visayas ( ceb, Tunga-tungang Kabisay-an; tl, Gitnang Kabisayaan) is an administrative region in the Philippines, numerically designated as Region VII. It consists of four provinces: (Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor) and thr ...
region of the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 497,604 people.
It was formerly known as Opon, the city being renamed to its present name in 1961. It is one of the cities that make up
Metro Cebu
Metropolitan Cebu, or simply Metro Cebu, ( ceb, Kaulohang Sugbo; fil, Kalakhang Cebu), is the main urban center of the province of Cebu in the Philippines. Metro Cebu is located along the central eastern portion of the island including the ne ...
in the Philippines. It is located in the
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
of
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 ...
, administratively independent from the province, but grouped under Cebu by the
Philippine Statistics Authority
The Philippine Statistics Authority (Filipino: ''Pangasiwaan ng Estadistika ng Pilipinas''), abbreviated as PSA, is the central statistical authority of the Philippine government that ''collects, compiles, analyzes and publishes statistical inf ...
(PSA).
Mactan–Cebu International Airport
Mactan–Cebu International Airport ( ceb, Tugpahanang Pangkalibutan sa Mactan–Sugbo; fil, Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Mactan–Cebu; ) is an international airport serving Metro Cebu and serves as the main gateway to the Central Visayas region ...
, the second busiest airport in the Philippines, is located in Lapu-Lapu City.
History
![Budots-media-2022-03-lapulapucity-lapulapumonument-mactan shrine](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Budots-media-2022-03-lapulapucity-lapulapumonument-mactan_shrine.jpg)
In the 16th century, Mactan Island was colonized by Spain.
Augustinian Augustinian may refer to:
*Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine
*Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs
*Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo
* Canons Regular of Sain ...
friars founded the town of Opon in 1730, and it became a city in 1961. It was renamed after
Datu
''Datu'' is a title which denotes the rulers (variously described in historical accounts as chiefs, sovereign princes, and monarchs) of numerous indigenous peoples throughout the Philippine archipelago. The title is still used today, especial ...
Lapulapu
Lapulapu or Lapu-Lapu (ᜎᜉ̰-ᜎᜉ̰), whose name was first recorded as Çilapulapu, was a datu (chief) of Mactan in the Visayas in the Philippines. He is best known for the Battle of Mactan that happened at dawn on April 27, 1521, where h ...
, the island's chieftain, who led the defeat against the
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
explorer
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan ( or ; pt, Fernão de Magalhães, ; es, link=no, Fernando de Magallanes, ; 4 February 1480 – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer. He is best known for having planned and led the 1519 Spanish expedition to the East ...
in 1521 in the
Battle of Mactan
The Battle of Mactan ( ceb, Gubot sa Mactan; fil, Labanan sa Mactan; es, Batalla de Mactán) was a fierce clash fought in the archipelago of the Philippines on April 27, 1521. The warriors of Lapulapu, one of the Datus of Mactan, overpowered ...
, commemorated at
Mactan 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 people, Portuguese explorer Ferdina ...
in Punta Engaño, where Magellan led a landing party of 40 men to resupply who were set upon by 1,500 locals and slew their captain and a few other men.
The municipality of Opon was founded by the Augustinian missionaries in 1730. It was ceded to the
Jesuits
The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
in 1737, and later restored to the Augustinians. When the
Philippine Revolution spread to the Visayas in 1898, the people organized themselves into local revolutionary units.
During the
Filipino-American War
Filipino Americans ( fil, Mga Pilipinong Amerikano) are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos and other Asian ethnicities in North America were first documented in the 16th century as slaves and prisoners on ships sailing to and from New S ...
, a
military government
A military government is generally any form of government that is administered by military forces, whether or not this government is legal under the laws of the jurisdiction at issue, and whether this government is formed by natives or by an occup ...
was established. The continued resistance of the people of Cebu prompted the American government to restore military control over the province on July 17, 1901. In 1905, Opon held its first municipal election, and Pascual dela Serna was elected town president.
Following the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the presence of bulk oil storage tanks in Opon made the town an object of Japanese raids a week after the outbreak of WWII in December 1941. The enemy aircraft succeeded in blowing up two of about fourteen oil storage tanks in Opon. A unit of the
Kawaguchi Detachment The Kawaguchi Detachment was an Imperial Japanese Army formation that existed during World War II. Under the command of Major General Kiyotake Kawaguchi, the detachment consisted of the 35th Infantry Brigade and the 124th Infantry Regiment. The deta ...
of the
Japanese Imperial Forces
The Imperial Japanese Armed Forces (IJAF) were the combined military forces of the Japanese Empire. Formed during the Meiji Restoration in 1868,"One can date the 'restoration' of imperial rule from the edict of 3 January 1868." p. 334. they ...
landed on the east coast of Cebu on April 10, 1942. Later, the resistance movement was organized by
Colonel James M. Cushing, leader of the southern and central units, and Harry Fenton of the northern unit of the Cebu Resistance Movement.
During the
Battle of the Visayas
250px, Map of U.S. operations in Southern Philippines, 1945
250px, Japanese troops surrender to the 40th Division, September 1945
The Battle of Visayas (Filipino: ''Labanan sa Visayas;'' Visayan languages: ''Gubat sa Kabisay-an'') was fought by ...
, Victor II operations of the American Division led by Major General
William Arnold landed in Cebu on March 26, 1945, and subsequently liberated the province.
Historically, the city includes the site of the
Battle of Mactan
The Battle of Mactan ( ceb, Gubot sa Mactan; fil, Labanan sa Mactan; es, Batalla de Mactán) was a fierce clash fought in the archipelago of the Philippines on April 27, 1521. The warriors of Lapulapu, one of the Datus of Mactan, overpowered ...
. On August 1, 1973, by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 2060, President
Ferdinand E. Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...
declared the site of the battle a national shrine; the preservation, restoration and/or reconstruction of which shall be under the supervision and control of the National Historical Commission in collaboration with the Department of Tourism. Mactan is also the birthplace of
Leonila Dimataga-Garcia, wife of Carlos P. Garcia, the fourth President of the Republic. Leonila Dimataga-Garcia was a relative of the wife of Lapu-Lapu City's former mayor Ernest Weigel Jr. (1992-2001, three terms) who was the richest mayor in Metro Cebu, with a net worth of ₱57 million in the early 2000s.
Cityhood
Congressman Manuel A. Zosa, the representative of the Sixth District of Cebu, sponsored the Bill converting the former municipality of Opon into the present day city of Lapu-Lapu. This was the Republic Act 3134, known as the City Charter of Lapu-Lapu, which was signed on June 17, 1961, by Philippine President
Carlos P. Garcia
Carlos Polestico Garcia (November 4, 1896 – June 14, 1971) was a Filipino teacher, poet, orator, lawyer, public official, political economist, guerrilla and Commonwealth military leader who was the eighth president of the Philippines. A l ...
. Lapu-Lapu was inaugurated on December 31, 1961, with Mariano Dimataga, the last municipal mayor, as the first city mayor.
About Lapu Lapu City
/ref>
As a fast-growing commercial city, some of its commercial and industrial firms are the General Milling Company, one of the largest in the country; the Cebu Shipyard and Engineering Works, pioneered by Dad Cleland; and the oil companies which resumed their operations after the war. Air transportation for the city is served by the Mactan International Airport
Mactan is a densely populated island located a few kilometers (~1 mile) east of Cebu Island in the Philippines. The island is part of Cebu province and it is divided into the city of Lapu-Lapu and the municipality of Cordova. The island is sep ...
.
Highly urbanized city
On January 23, 2007, Lapu-Lapu was proclaimed as HUC via Proclamation No. 1222, signed by 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 ...
. Its plebiscite was held along with Puerto Princesa
Puerto Princesa, officially the City of Puerto Princesa (Cuyonon: ''Siyudad i'ang Puerto Princesa''; fil, Lungsod ng Puerto Princesa), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Mimaropa region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, ...
in Palawan
Palawan (), officially the Province of Palawan ( cyo, Probinsya i'ang Palawan; tl, Lalawigan ng Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in ...
on July 21, 2007. Both of them successfully became highly urbanized cities after majority of their voters voted in favor of conversion. They ranked 31st and 32nd in the country.
Geography
Lapu-Lapu is bounded on the north by the main island of Cebu, to the west by Cebu City
Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Sugbo; fil, Lungsod ng Cebu; hil, Dakbanwa sang Sugbo), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas Regions of the P ...
and Mactan Channel
The Mactan Channel, also known as Opon Channel, is the strait between the island of Cebu and the smaller Mactan Island. The body of water is located within Metro Cebu, separating Mandaue and Cebu City in mainland Cebu from Lapu-Lapu City on Macta ...
, on the east by the Camotes Sea
The Camotes Sea is a small sea within the Philippine archipelago, situated between the Central Visayan and the Eastern Visayan regions. It separates Cebu from Leyte hence is bordered by Cebu to the west, Leyte to the east and north, and Bohol t ...
, and on the south by the town of Cordova.
The city occupies Mactan Island
Mactan is a densely populated island located a few kilometers (~1 mile) east of Cebu#Cebu Island, Cebu Island in the Philippines. The island is part of Cebu province and it is divided into the city of Lapu-Lapu City, Lapu-Lapu and the municipal ...
, a few kilometers off the main island of Cebu. It also has some of the barangay
A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolitan ...
s under its jurisdiction on the Olango Island Group
The Olango Island Group is a group of islands found in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. It comprises Olango island and 6 satellite islets namely: Caubian, Camungi, Caohagan, Gilutongan, Nalusuan, Pangan-an, and Sulpa. The island gr ...
. The city is linked to Mandaue
Mandaue (), officially the City of Mandaue ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Mandaue; fil, Lungsod ng Mandaue), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 364,116 ...
on mainland Cebu by the Mactan-Mandaue Bridge and Marcelo Fernan Bridge
Marcelo Fernan Bridge, also known as Second Cebu-Mactan Bridge is an extradosed cable-stayed bridge located in Metro Cebu in the Philippines. It spans across Mactan Channel connecting Mandaue City to Lapu-Lapu City in Mactan Island. It is curren ...
s.
Barangays
Lapu-Lapu comprises 30 barangay
A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolitan ...
s:
Climate
Demographics
Lapu-Lapu's residents mainly speak Cebuano, the local language. Tagalog and English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
is also widely spoken and understood, due to the influx of foreign nationals in the city. Due to the large number of resorts and retirement homes in the city, as well as the growing number of ESL
English as a second or foreign language is the use of English by speakers with different native languages. Language education for people learning English may be known as English as a second language (ESL), English as a foreign language (EF ...
schools, the city also hosts a number of Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
, Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
, and Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
speakers.
Economy
Government
Mariano Dimataga's term was interrupted during the years 1941-1945. Teodulo Tomakin and later Eugenio Araneta were appointed as town mayors. They later escaped from the Japanese, Jorge Tampus took over. During the Allied liberation by the combined Filipino-American forces, year 1945 Mariano Dimataga resumed his interrupted term.
Transportation
Mactan–Cebu International Airport
Mactan–Cebu International Airport ( ceb, Tugpahanang Pangkalibutan sa Mactan–Sugbo; fil, Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Mactan–Cebu; ) is an international airport serving Metro Cebu and serves as the main gateway to the Central Visayas region ...
(MCIA) is located in this city, which is connected to mainland 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 ...
via the Marcelo Fernan Bridge
Marcelo Fernan Bridge, also known as Second Cebu-Mactan Bridge is an extradosed cable-stayed bridge located in Metro Cebu in the Philippines. It spans across Mactan Channel connecting Mandaue City to Lapu-Lapu City in Mactan Island. It is curren ...
and Mactan-Mandaue Bridges, as well as the Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway
The Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX), also known as the Cebu–Cordova Bridge and the Third Cebu–Mactan Bridge (or simply, the Third Bridge), is an toll bridge expressway in Metro Cebu. The bridge connects the South Road Properties in C ...
(located in the nearby town of Cordova), over the sea separating the Mactan
Mactan is a densely populated island located a few kilometers (~1 mile) east of Cebu Island in the Philippines. The island is part of Cebu province and it is divided into the city of Lapu-Lapu and the municipality of Cordova. The island is sep ...
island from the island of Cebu. The airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...
is the main gateway to Cebu and Central Visayas
Central Visayas ( ceb, Tunga-tungang Kabisay-an; tl, Gitnang Kabisayaan) is an administrative region in the Philippines, numerically designated as Region VII. It consists of four provinces: (Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor) and thr ...
, serving international flights to various destinations, especially to Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
, Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
, 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 ...
, Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, and Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
. MCIA is also the second busiest airport in the Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, after Ninoy Aquino International Airport
Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA , ; fil, Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Ninoy Aquino or ''Pandaigdigang Paliparan ng Ninoy Aquino''; ), originally known and still commonly referred to as Manila International Airport (MIA), is the main ...
in Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
.
Gallery
Opon Cebu.jpg, Poblacion (Opon)
CEBU MACTAN - panoramio (3).jpg, Lapu-Lapu City highway
Muelle Osmeña.JPG, Muelle Osmeña
Virgen de la Regla church.JPG, Virgen de la Regla Church
Virgen de Regla de Opon, Isla de Mactan, Cebu, FIlipinas.jpg, Our Lady of the Rule
Plantation Bay Cebu.jpg, Plantation Bay Resort and Spa
Mactan resort xxy.jpg, Skyline of hotel and resorts
Welcome To Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary.jpg, Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary
Notable people
* Lapulapu
Lapulapu or Lapu-Lapu (ᜎᜉ̰-ᜎᜉ̰), whose name was first recorded as Çilapulapu, was a datu (chief) of Mactan in the Visayas in the Philippines. He is best known for the Battle of Mactan that happened at dawn on April 27, 1521, where h ...
- A chieftain of Mactan
Mactan is a densely populated island located a few kilometers (~1 mile) east of Cebu Island in the Philippines. The island is part of Cebu province and it is divided into the city of Lapu-Lapu and the municipality of Cordova. The island is sep ...
and the First Philippine National Hero who defeated Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan ( or ; pt, Fernão de Magalhães, ; es, link=no, Fernando de Magallanes, ; 4 February 1480 – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese explorer. He is best known for having planned and led the Magellan expeditio ...
.
* Janine Berdin
Patricia Janine Dusaran Berdin (born January 28, 2002), simply known as Janine Berdin, is a Filipino singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to fame when she was crowned as the Tawag ng Tanghalan (season 2), second season grand champion at ''T ...
- The grand winner of the second season of Tawag ng Tanghalan.
* Akiko Solon
Akiko Solon (born January 3, 1994, as Akiko Maria Leslie Solon) is a Filipino singer and actress. She joined '' Star Power: Sharon Search For the Next Female Superstar'' in 2010 and placed fifth in the contest. She is now currently under Star M ...
- Finalist of Star Power: Sharon Search For the Next Female Superstar.
See also
*
Notes
References
Sources
*
External links
* Philippine Standard Geographic Code
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
br>Lapu-Lapu City government website
About Lapu-Lapu City
{{Authority control
Cities in Cebu
Highly urbanized cities in the Philippines
Populated places established in 1730
1730 establishments in the Philippines
Cities in Metro Cebu
Island cities in the Philippines