Lapu-Lapu City

Lapulapu monument at the Mactan Shrine

In the 16th century, Mactan Island was colonized by Spain. Augustinian friars founded the town of Opon in 1730, and it became a city in 1961. It was renamed after Datu Lapulapu, the island's chieftain, who led the defeat against the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 in the Battle of Mactan, commemorated at Mactan Shrine in Barangay Mactan, 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 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, a military government 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, 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 of the Japanese Imperial Forces 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, 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. On August 1, 1973, by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 2060, President Ferdinand E. Marcos 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.

Lapu-Lapu is bounded on the north by the main island of Cebu, to the west by Cebu City and Mactan Channel, on the east by the Camotes Sea, and on the south by the town of Cordova.

The city occupies Mactan Island, a few kilometers off the main island of Cebu. It also has some of the barangays under its jurisdiction on the Olango Island Group. The city is linked to Mandaue on mainland Cebu by the Mactan-Mandaue Bridge and Marcelo Fernan Bridges.

Barangays

Lapu-Lapu is politically subdivided into 30 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

Political map of Lapu-Lapu

PSGC	Barangay	Population			±% p.a.		Area		PD 2020
		2020[2]		2010[9]			ha	acre	/km2	/sq mi
072226001	Agus	3.9%	19,525	15,767	▴	2.16%
072226002	Babag	6.2%	30,839	22,756	▴	3.09%	307	759	10,000	26,000
072226003	Bankal	4.6%	22,863	20,872	▴	0.92%	201	497	11,000	29,000
072226004	Baring	0.8%	3,870	3,353	▴	1.44%	91	225	4,300	11,000
072226005	Basak	14.5%	71,990	59,873	▴	1.86%	603	1,490	12,000	31,000
072226006	Buaya	3.8%	19,078	16,072	▴	1.73%	271	670	7,000	18,000
072226007	Calawisan	3.2%	15,740	11,454	▴	3.23%	957	2,365	1,600	4,300
072226008	Canjulao	2.9%	14,451	13,245	▴	0.88%	156	385	9,300	24,000
072226011	Caubian	0.5%	2,429	2,272	▴	0.67%
072226009	Caw‑oy	0.4%	2,226	1,837	▴	1.94%	162,900	402,542	1.4	3.5
072226010	Cawhagan	0.1%	694	638	▴	0.84%	55,900	138,134	1.2	3.2
072226012	Gun‑ob	7.6%	37,989	31,219	▴	1.98%
072226013	Ibo	1.7%	8,318	8,126	▴	0.23%
072226014	Looc	3.1%	15,411	16,016	▾	−0.38%
072226015	Mactan	10.2%	50,964	33,465	▴	4.30%
072226016	Maribago	3.8%	18,954	16,591	▴	1.34%
072226017	Marigondon	5.1%	25,584	19,713	▴	2.64%
072226018	Pajac	4.4%	22,116	17,402	▴	2.43%
072226019	Pajo	5.2%	25,845	20,999	▴	2.10%
072226020	Pangan‑an	0.5%	2,348	2,070	▴	1.27%
072226021	Poblacion[lower-alpha 1]	1.3%	6,238	5,581	▴	1.12%
072226022	Punta Engaño	2.3%	11,425	8,753	▴	2.70%
072226024	Pusok	6.6%	32,791	28,810	▴	1.30%
072226025	Sabang	1.4%	6,910	6,091	▴	1.27%
072226031	San Vicente	0.8%	4,209	3,854	▴	0.88%
072226026	Santa Rosa	1.1%	5,388	4,302	▴	2.28%
072226027	Subabasbas	1.6%	7,961	6,288	▴	2.39%
072226028	Talima	1.2%	5,973	5,734	▴	0.41%
072226029	Tingo	0.6%	3,231	3,088	▴	0.45%
072226030	Tungasan	0.5%	2,244	1,871	▴	1.83%
	Total		497,604	350,467	▴	3.57%	5,810	14,357	8,600	22,000

Lapu-Lapu's residents mainly speak Cebuano, the local language. Tagalog and English 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 schools, the city also hosts a number of Japanese, Korean, and Chinese speakers.

The city is known for its guitar making industry, known as "Opon Guitars"

Lapu-Lapu City is part of Metro Cebu, the second-most important metropolitan area in the Philippines. It has benefited from the economic rise of Cebu in the 1990s and 2000s, also known as Ceboom.

Mactan–Cebu International Airport, the primary airport serving Cebu, is located in the city. The airport has direct routes with international destinations, including East and Southeast Asia. These connections have given way for tourism to emerge as a major part of the city's economy. Several resorts are located in the city, most of which are concentrated along the eastern coast of the island in the barangays of Marigondon, Maribago, Mactan, and Punta Engaño.

The city is home to several industrial zones, such as Mactan Export Processing Zone (MEPZ) and the Cebu Light Industrial Park (CLIP). Other large industries include: General Milling Company, one of the largest food companies in the Philippines; the Cebu Shipyard and Engineering Works, pioneered by Dad Cleland; and several oil companies, such as Royal Dutch Shell.

City Hall

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.

Lapu-Lapu City, positioned within the heart of Visayas, has an expansive and efficient transportation network that facilitates convenient travel and logistics. This dynamic city is primarily connected to the mainland of Cebu through three major infrastructure projects: the Marcelo Fernan Bridge, Mactan-Mandaue Bridge, and the more recent addition of the Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway. These strategic connections traverse the sea channel separating the island of Mactan, where Lapu-Lapu City is located, from the island of Cebu.

The Mactan–Cebu International Airport, the second busiest international airport in the Philippines is situated in Lapu-Lapu

on a 797 hectar site. The Mactan–Cebu International Airport (MCIA), a significant hub for both local and international flights, is nestled within Lapu-Lapu City.

MCIA is the chief gateway serving the city of Cebu and the greater region of Central Visayas. It hosts regular flights to numerous global destinations, particularly focusing on key cities in Asia. Some of these prominent destinations include Singapore, Macau, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. According to statistical reports, MCIA is ranked as the second busiest airport in the Philippines, only surpassed by the Ninoy Aquino International Airport located in the capital, Manila.

On an annual basis, MCIA handles an impressive volume of traffic. This includes under 5 million passengers and oversees more than 100,000 flights each year. Its high capacity and performance undoubtedly reinforce its reputation as an essential node in the national and international aviation network. [21]

• 
  

  CCLEX Bridge in construction 2021, aerial photo.

  Poblacion (Opon)
• 
  Muelle Osmeña
• 
  Virgen de la Regla Church
• 
  Our Lady of the Rule
• 
  Plantation Bay Resort and Spa
• 
  Skyline of hotel and resorts
• 
  Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary

Lapu-Lapu city hosts 2 military bases Mactan–Benito Ebuen Air Base and Philippines navy Central - Naval Base 'Rafael Ramos'.

• Lapulapu - A chieftain of Mactan and the First Philippine National Hero who defeated Magellan.
• Janine Berdin - The grand winner of the second season of Tawag ng Tanghalan.
• Akiko Solon - Finalist of Star Power: Sharon Search For the Next Female Superstar.

• List of renamed cities and municipalities in the Philippines

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lapu-Lapu City.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Lapu–Lapu.

• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• Lapu-Lapu City government website
• About Lapu-Lapu City