Lapu-Lapu City

The City of Lapu-Lapu is a first class highly-urbanized city in the province of Cebu in the Philippines. The city occupies most of Mactan Island, a few kilometer off the main island of Cebu and also covers the area of Olango Island further to the southeast region, plus a few other islands. It is part of the Cebu Metropolitan Area which is located in Cebu City. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of about 292,530 people.

The city is linked to Mandaue City on mainland Cebu by the Mactan-Mandaue Bridge and Marcelo Fernan Bridge. Mactan-Cebu International Airport, the second busiest airport in the Philippines, is located in Lapu-Lapu City. The only aquarium attraction in the Visayas is also located in Lapu-lapu City.   

In the 16th century Mactan Island was colonized by Spain. Augustinians friars founded the town of Opon in 1730 and became a city in 1961 and was renamed after Datu Lapu-Lapu, the Island's chieftain who defeated Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. This battle is commemorated at the Lapu-Lapu shrine in Punta Engaño.

Politician 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 former Philippine President Carlos P. Garcia.                                 

                                    Lapu-Lapu Shrine

The Lapu-Lapu Shrine is a 20-meter bronze statue located in the Mactan Shrine park in Punta Engaño, Mactan Island, Cebu. The statue was erected to honor Rajah Lapu-Lapu, the native chieftain of Mactan Island who defeated Ferdinand Magellan during the historic Battle of Mactan in 1521.

The Lapu-Lapu memorial statue is on top of a pedestal surrounded by a low-level fence and shows the Cebuano hero in his native costume with a sword on his right hand and a shield on his left.

The Lapu-Lapu Shrine is inside a plaza commonly known as the Magellan Shrine park that commemorates the events of the Battle of Mactan. Thousands of foreign and local tourists visit the park every year. The park includes the Magellan Shrine and a covered structure that houses a huge mural painting of the Battle of Mactan and a commemorative marker.

The Magellan shrine is a large memorial tower built in 1866 to honor Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and is built on the area where Magellan is believed to have been killed in 1521.
The covered structure in the park houses a mural painting on the wall depicting the Battle of Mactan. A commemorative marker in front of the painting reads “Here on April 27, 1521, Lapu-lapu and his men repulsed the Spanish invaders, killing their leader, Ferdinand Magellan. Thus Lapu-lapu became the first Filipino to have repelled European aggression.”

Every year in April, during the anniversary of the Battle of Mactan, the park hosts the “Kadaugan sa Mactan,” a re-enactment of the epic battle.