Lapu-Lapu, Philippines

Lapu-Lapu, officially the City of Lapu-Lapu (Cebuano: Dakbayan sa Lapu-Lapu; Tagalog: Lungsod ng Lapu-Lapu), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Central Visayas in the Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 408,112 people.[2]

Lapu-Lapu
City of Lapu-Lapu
Aerial view over MEPZ–II
Seal
Nickname(s): 
Historic Resort City
Anthem: Dakbayan
Map of Central Visayas with Lapu-Lapu highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Lapu-Lapu
Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 10°18′46″N 123°56′56″E
CountryPhilippines
RegionCentral Visayas (Region VII)
ProvinceCebu (geographically only)
DistrictLone District
  • Founded (Opon)
  • Cityhood
  • Lone district
1730
17 June 1961
22 October 2009
Named forLapu-Lapu
Barangays30 (see Barangays)
Government
  TypeSangguniang Panlungsod
  MayorJunard Q. Chan
  Vice MayorCeledonio B. Sitoy
  RepresentativePaz C. Radaza
  Electorate214,117 voters (2019)
Area
[1]
  Total58.10 km2 (22.43 sq mi)
Elevation
70 m (230 ft)
Population
 (2015 census)[2]
  Total408,112
  Density7,000/km2 (18,000/sq mi)
  Households
92,557
Demonym(s)Oponganon[3]
Economy
  Income class1st city income class
  Poverty incidence16.68% (2015)[4]
  Revenue₱1,709,494,781.42 (2016)
Time zoneUTC+8 (Philippine Standard Time (PST))
ZIP code
6015
PSGC
IDD:area code+63(0)32
Climate typetropical monsoon climate
Native languagesCebuano
Tagalog

Formerly known as Opon, the city was renamed to its present name in 1961. It is one of the cities that make up Metro Cebu in the Philippines. It is geographically located in the province of Cebu, administratively independent from the province, but grouped under Cebu by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Mactan–Cebu International Airport, the second busiest airport in the Philippines, is located in Lapu-Lapu.

History

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 Lapu-Lapu, the island's chieftain, who led the defeat against the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 in the Battle of Mactan, commemorated at the Lapu-Lapu shrine 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 in 1737, and later restored to the Augustinians. When the Philippine Revolution spread to the Visayas in 1896, 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.

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,[5] known as the City Charter of Lapu-Lapu, which was signed on June 17, 1961 by Philippine President Carlos P. Garcia. Lapu-Lapu was inaugurated on December 31, 1961, with Mariano Dimataga, the last municipal mayor, as the first city mayor.[6]

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.

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 three-term consecutive Lapu-Lapu Citys' late Mayor, Ernest Weigel Jr. wife, who was the richest mayor in Metro Cebu, with a net worth of ₱57.7 million in the early 2000s.

On January 23, 2007, Lapu-Lapu was proclaimed as HUC via Proclamation No. 1222, signed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Its plebiscite was held along with Puerto Princesa in Palawan on July 21, 2007. Both of them are successfully became a highly urbanized cities after their majority of 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 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 comprises 30 barangays:

Political map of Lapu-Lapu
PSGC Barangay Population ±% p.a. Area PD2015
2015[2] 2010[7] ha acre /km2 /sq mi
072226001 Agus 3.9% 15,767 8,185 13.30% 211521 7,500 19,000
072226002 Babag 5.6% 22,756 17,721 4.88% 307759 7,400 19,000
072226003 Bankal 5.1% 20,872 13,802 8.19% 201497 10,000 27,000
072226004 Baring 0.8% 3,353 3,014 2.05% 91225 3,700 9,500
072226005 Basak 14.7% 59,873 45,927 5.18% 6031,490 9,900 26,000
072226006 Buaya 3.9% 16,072 12,123 5.52% 271670 5,900 15,000
072226007 Calawisan 2.8% 11,454 8,433 6.00% 9572,365 1,200 3,100
072226008 Canjulao 3.2% 13,245 11,471 2.78% 156385 8,500 22,000
072226011 Caubian 0.6% 2,272 2,028 2.19%
072226009 Cawoy 0.5% 1,837 1,629 2.31% 42104 4,400 11,000
072226010 Cawhagan 0.2% 638 559 2.55%
072226012 Gunob 7.6% 31,219 34,662 −1.97%
072226013 Ibo 2.0% 8,126 7,055 2.73%
072226014 Looc 3.9% 16,016 14,073 2.49%
072226015 Mactan 8.2% 33,465 29,262 2.59%
072226016 Maribago 4.1% 16,591 12,064 6.25%
072226017 Marigondon 4.8% 19,713 17,542 2.25%
072226018 Pajac 4.3% 17,402 16,084 1.51%
072226019 Pajo 5.1% 20,999 23,107 −1.80%
072226020 Panganan 0.5% 2,070 1,767 3.06%
072226021 Poblacion[lower-alpha 1] 1.4% 5,581 8,243 −7.16%
072226022 Punta Engaño 2.1% 8,753 7,106 4.05%
072226024 Pusok 7.1% 28,810 26,568 1.55%
072226025 Sabang 1.5% 6,091 5,603 1.60%
072226031 San Vicente 0.9% 3,854 3,413 2.34%
072226026 Santa Rosa 1.1% 4,302 3,934 1.72%
072226027 Subabasbas 1.5% 6,288 5,457 2.74%
072226028 Talima 1.4% 5,734 4,855 3.22%
072226029 Tingo 0.8% 3,088 2,830 1.68%
072226030 Tungasan 0.5% 1,871 1,950 −0.78%
Total 408,112 350,467 2.94% 5,810 14,357 7,000 18,000

Climate

Climate data for Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 28
(82)
29
(84)
30
(86)
31
(88)
31
(88)
30
(86)
30
(86)
30
(86)
30
(86)
29
(84)
29
(84)
28
(82)
30
(85)
Average low °C (°F) 23
(73)
23
(73)
23
(73)
24
(75)
25
(77)
25
(77)
25
(77)
25
(77)
25
(77)
25
(77)
24
(75)
23
(73)
24
(75)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 70
(2.8)
49
(1.9)
62
(2.4)
78
(3.1)
138
(5.4)
201
(7.9)
192
(7.6)
185
(7.3)
192
(7.6)
205
(8.1)
156
(6.1)
111
(4.4)
1,639
(64.6)
Average rainy days 13.4 10.6 13.1 14.5 24.2 27.9 28.4 27.7 27.1 27.4 22.5 15.9 252.7
Source: Meteoblue (modeled/calculated data, not measured locally)[8]

Demographics

Population census of Lapu-Lapu
YearPop.±% p.a.
1903 14,851    
1918 20,988+2.33%
1939 33,426+2.24%
1948 37,280+1.22%
1960 48,546+2.22%
1970 69,268+3.61%
1975 79,484+2.80%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1980 98,324+4.34%
1990 146,194+4.05%
1995 173,744+3.29%
2000 217,019+4.88%
2007 292,530+4.20%
2010 350,467+6.80%
2015 408,112+2.94%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)[2][7][9][10]

Lapu-Lapu's residents mainly speak Cebuano, the local language. 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.

Local government

Mayors of Lapu-Lapu City
YearsMayor
1938-1967Mariano Dimataga
1968-1986Maximo V. Patalinjug
1986-1988Silvestre T. Dignos
1988-1991Maximo V. Patalinjug
1992-2001Ernest H. Weigel
2001-2010Arturo O. Radaza
2010-2019Paz C. Radaza
2019-Junard Q. Chan
  • 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 (MCIA) is located in this city, which is connected to mainland Cebu via the Marcelo Fernan Bridge and Mactan-Mandaue Bridges, as well as the Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway (located in the nearby town of Cordova), over the sea separating the Mactan island from the island of Cebu. The airport is the main gateway to Cebu and Central Visayas, serving international flights to various destinations, especially to Singapore, Macau, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. MCIA is also the second busiest airport in the Philippines, after Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.

Notable people

See also

Notes

  1. Part of the Poblacion barangay is still called Opon.

References

  1. "Province: Cebu". PSGC Interactive. Quezon City, Philippines: Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved Nov 12, 2016.
  2. Census of Population (2015). "Region VII (Central Visayas)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. PSA. Retrieved Jun 20, 2016.
  3. Inso, Futch Anthony (Jun 28, 2019). "Lapu-Lapu Mayor Chan's non-Oponganon choices for dep't heads slammed". Cebu Daily News. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on Jun 29, 2019. Retrieved Apr 26, 2020.
  4. "PSA releases the 2015 Municipal and City Level Poverty Estimates". Quezon City, Philippines. Retrieved Oct 12, 2019.
  5. Republic Act No. 3134, June 17, 1961, "An Act Creating the City Of Lapu-Lapu" elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph
  6. About Lapu Lapu City
  7. Census of Population and Housing (2010). "Region VII (Central Visayas)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. NSO. Retrieved Jun 29, 2016.
  8. "Lapu-Lapu: Average Temperatures and Rainfall". Meteoblue. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  9. Censuses of Population (1903–2007). "Region VII (Central Visayas)". Table 1. Population Enumerated in Various Censuses by Province/Highly Urbanized City: 1903 to 2007. NSO.
  10. "Province of Cebu". Municipality Population Data. Local Water Utilities Administration Research Division. Retrieved Dec 17, 2016.

Sources

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