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Lapu-Lapu City Opon | |
|---|---|
| City of Lapu-Lapu | |
 Lapulapu Monument atMactan Shrine | |
 Flag  Seal | |
| Nickname: Historic Resort City | |
| Anthem:Dakbayan sa Sidlakan (City of the East) | |
 Map of Central Visayas with Lapu-Lapu City highlighted | |
OpenStreetMap  | |
.svg)  Lapu-Lapu City Location within thePhilippines | |
| Coordinates:10°18′46″N123°56′56″E / 10.3127°N 123.9488°E /10.3127; 123.9488 | |
| Country |  Philippines |
| Region | Central Visayas |
| Province | Cebu(geographically only) |
| District | Lone district |
| Founded (Opon) | 1730 |
| Cityhood and renamed | June 17, 1961 |
| Highly urbanized city | January 23, 2007 |
| Named after | Lapulapu |
| Barangays | 30 (seeBarangays) |
| Government | |
| • Type | Sangguniang Panlungsod |
| • Mayor | Ma. Cynthia K. Chan (Lakas) |
| • Vice Mayor | Celedonio B. Sitoy (PFP) |
| • Representative | Junard "Ahong" Q. Chan (PFP) |
| • City Council | Members
|
| • Electorate | 277,288 voters (2025) |
| Area | |
• Total | 58.10 km2 (22.43 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 70 m (230 ft) |
| Population (2024 census)[2] | |
• Total | 497,813 |
| • Density | 8,568/km2 (22,190/sq mi) |
| • Households | 129,652 |
| Demonym | Oponganon[3] |
| Economy | |
| • Gross domestic product | ₱151.4 billion (2022)[4] $2.675 billion (2022)[5] |
| • Income class | 1st city income class |
| • Poverty incidence | 10.8 |
| • Revenue | ₱ 3,873 million (2022) |
| • Assets | ₱ 8,444 million (2022) |
| • Expenditure | ₱ 3,454 million (2022) |
| Service provider | |
| • Electricity | Mactan Electric Company (MECO) |
| • Water | Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (Philippine Standard Time (PST)) |
| ZIP code | 6015, 6016 (Mactan–Cebu International Airport) |
| PSGC | |
| IDD : area code | +63 (0)32 |
| Native languages | Cebuano |
Lapu-Lapu, officially theCity of Lapu-Lapu (Cebuano:Dakbayan sa Lapu-Lapu;Filipino:Lungsod ng Lapu-Lapu), is ahighly urbanized city in theCentral Visayas region of thePhilippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 497,813 people.[7]
It was formerly known asOpon, which was changed to its present name in 1961. It is one of the cities that make upMetro Cebu in the Philippines. It is located in theprovince ofCebu, administratively independent from the province, but grouped under Cebu by thePhilippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and also the second most populous city of that province and in Central Visayas after the capital city ofCebu.
The second busiest airport in the Philippines,Mactan–Cebu International Airport, is located in Lapu-Lapu City. It opened in 1966 and serves as a hub forPhilippine Airlines, and as an operating base forCebu Pacific andPhilippines AirAsia.[8]
In the 16th century, Mactan Island was colonized by Spain.Augustinian friars re-founded the town ofOpon as a Christian town in 1730, and it became a city in 1961.[9] It was renamed afterDatuLapulapu, the island's chieftain, who led the defeat against thePortuguese explorerFerdinand Magellan in 1521 in theBattle of Mactan,[9] commemorated atMactan 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 theJesuits in 1737, and later restored to the Augustinians. When thePhilippine Revolution spread to the Visayas in 1898, the people organized themselves into local revolutionary units.
During theFilipino-American War, amilitary 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 ofWorld 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 theKawaguchi Detachment of theJapanese Imperial Forces landed on the east coast of Cebu on April 10, 1942. Later, the resistance movement was organized byColonel James M. Cushing, leader of the southern and central units, and Harry Fenton of the northern unit of the Cebu Resistance Movement.
During theBattle of the Visayas, Victor II operations of the American Division led by Major GeneralWilliam Arnold landed in Cebu on March 26, 1945, and subsequently liberated the province.
Historically, the city includes the site of theBattle of Mactan. On August 1, 1973, by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 2060, PresidentFerdinand E. Marcos declared the site of the battle anational 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 ofLeonila 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.
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,[10] known as the City Charter of Lapu-Lapu, which was signed on June 17, 1961, by Philippine PresidentCarlos P. Garcia. Lapu-Lapu was inaugurated on December 31, 1961, with Mariano Dimataga, the last municipal mayor, as the first city mayor.[11]
SecretaryLucas Bersamin signed Proclamation No. 558 which declared June 17 a specialpublic holiday to commemorate the city's 63rd charter anniversary. Republic Act 3134, the "City Charter of Lapu-Lapu" was signed on June 17, 1961, byCarlos P. Garcia.[12]
On January 23, 2007, Lapu-Lapu was proclaimed as HUC via Proclamation No. 1222, signed by PresidentGloria Macapagal Arroyo. Its plebiscite was held along withPuerto Princesa inPalawan 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.
Lapu-Lapu is bounded on the north by the main island of Cebu, to the west byCebu City andMactan Channel, on the east by theCamotes Sea, and on the south by the town ofCordova.
The city occupiesMactan Island, a few kilometers off the mainisland of Cebu. It also has some of thebarangays under its jurisdiction on theOlango Island Group. The city is linked toMandaue on mainland Cebu by theMactan-Mandaue Bridge andMarcelo Fernan Bridges.
Lapu-Lapu is politically subdivided into 30barangays. Each barangay consists ofpuroks and some havesitios.
| PSGC | Barangay | Population | ±% p.a. | Area | PD 2024 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024[13] | 2010[14] | ha | acre | /km2 | /sq mi | |||||
| 072226001 | Agus | 3.9% | 19,525 | 15,767 | ▴ | 1.48% | ||||
| 072226002 | Babag | 6.2% | 30,839 | 22,756 | ▴ | 2.11% | 307 | 759 | 10,000 | 26,000 |
| 072226003 | Bankal | 4.6% | 22,863 | 20,872 | ▴ | 0.63% | 201 | 497 | 11,000 | 29,000 |
| 072226004 | Baring | 0.8% | 3,870 | 3,353 | ▴ | 0.99% | 91 | 225 | 4,300 | 11,000 |
| 072226005 | Basak | 14.5% | 71,990 | 59,873 | ▴ | 1.27% | 603 | 1,490 | 12,000 | 31,000 |
| 072226006 | Buaya | 3.8% | 19,078 | 16,072 | ▴ | 1.18% | 271 | 670 | 7,000 | 18,000 |
| 072226007 | Calawisan | 3.2% | 15,740 | 11,454 | ▴ | 2.21% | 957 | 2,365 | 1,600 | 4,300 |
| 072226008 | Canjulao | 2.9% | 14,451 | 13,245 | ▴ | 0.60% | 156 | 385 | 9,300 | 24,000 |
| 072226011 | Caubian | 0.5% | 2,429 | 2,272 | ▴ | 0.46% | ||||
| 072226009 | Caw‑oy | 0.4% | 2,226 | 1,837 | ▴ | 1.33% | 162,900 | 402,542 | 1.4 | 3.5 |
| 072226010 | Cawhagan | 0.1% | 694 | 638 | ▴ | 0.58% | 55,900 | 138,134 | 1.2 | 3.2 |
| 072226012 | Gun‑ob | 7.6% | 37,989 | 31,219 | ▴ | 1.36% | ||||
| 072226013 | Ibo | 1.7% | 8,318 | 8,126 | ▴ | 0.16% | ||||
| 072226014 | Looc | 3.1% | 15,411 | 16,016 | ▾ | −0.26% | ||||
| 072226015 | Mactan | 10.2% | 50,964 | 33,465 | ▴ | 2.93% | ||||
| 072226016 | Maribago | 3.8% | 18,954 | 16,591 | ▴ | 0.92% | ||||
| 072226017 | Marigondon | 5.1% | 25,584 | 19,713 | ▴ | 1.80% | ||||
| 072226018 | Pajac | 4.4% | 22,116 | 17,402 | ▴ | 1.66% | ||||
| 072226019 | Pajo | 5.2% | 25,845 | 20,999 | ▴ | 1.44% | ||||
| 072226020 | Pangan‑an | 0.5% | 2,348 | 2,070 | ▴ | 0.87% | ||||
| 072226021 | Poblacion[a] | 1.3% | 6,238 | 5,581 | ▴ | 0.77% | ||||
| 072226022 | Punta Engaño | 2.3% | 11,425 | 8,753 | ▴ | 1.84% | ||||
| 072226024 | Pusok | 6.6% | 32,791 | 28,810 | ▴ | 0.89% | ||||
| 072226025 | Sabang | 1.4% | 6,910 | 6,091 | ▴ | 0.87% | ||||
| 072226031 | San Vicente | 0.8% | 4,209 | 3,854 | ▴ | 0.61% | ||||
| 072226026 | Santa Rosa | 1.1% | 5,388 | 4,302 | ▴ | 1.56% | ||||
| 072226027 | Subabasbas | 1.6% | 7,961 | 6,288 | ▴ | 1.63% | ||||
| 072226028 | Talima | 1.2% | 5,973 | 5,734 | ▴ | 0.28% | ||||
| 072226029 | Tingo | 0.6% | 3,231 | 3,088 | ▴ | 0.31% | ||||
| 072226030 | Tungasan | 0.5% | 2,244 | 1,871 | ▴ | 1.26% | ||||
| Total | 497,813 | 350,467 | ▴ | 2.44% | 5,810 | 14,357 | 8,600 | 14 | ||
| Climate data for Lapu-Lapu | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °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) |
| Mean daily minimum °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) |
| Averageprecipitation 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)[15] | |||||||||||||
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| Source:Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)[16][14][17][18] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lapu-Lapu's residents mainly speakCebuano, the local language.Tagalog andEnglish are 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 ofESL schools, the city also hosts a number ofJapanese,Korean, andChinese speakers.
.jpg)
Poverty incidence of Lapu-Lapu
Source:Philippine Statistics Authority[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]
Lapu-Lapu City is part ofMetro 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 asCeboom.
Mactan–Cebu International Airport, the primary airport serving Cebu, is located in the city. The airport has direct routes with international destinations, includingEast andSoutheast 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 asRoyal Dutch Shell.
Mayors of Lapu-Lapu City:
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.
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Lapu-Lapu City, positioned within the heart ofVisayas, has an expansive transportation network. The city is connected to the mainland ofCebu by three major bridges: theMarcelo Fernan Bridge,Mactan-Mandaue Bridge, and the more recent addition of theCebu–Cordova Link Expressway. These connections cross the sea channel separating the island ofMactan, where Lapu-Lapu City is located, from the island of Cebu.
TheMactan–Cebu International Airport (MCIA), located within Lapu-Lapu City, is the chief gateway serving the city of Cebu and the greater region ofCentral Visayas since its opening for civilian traffic in 1966. It hosts regular flights to numerous international destinations, particularly focusing on key cities inAsia. Some of these destinations includeSingapore,Macau,Hong Kong,South Korea,Japan, andTaiwan. According to statistical reports, MCIA is ranked as the second busiest airport in thePhilippines, only surpassed byNinoy Aquino International Airport located in the capital,Manila. On an annual basis, MCIA handles under 5 million passengers and oversees more than 100,000 flights each year.[27]
On the 63rd Charter Anniversary celebration atHoops Dome, on June 17, MayorJunard Chan announced the economic benefits of the P7.6-B 100-hectare megaland reclamation project creating a new commercial center, business hub, economic zone and recreation park. Aside from the Mactan Circumferential Road, he said, the under-construction, PHP24.8-billionLapu-Lapu Expressway will connect theCebu-Cordova Link Expressway toMactan–Cebu International Airport. TheMactan–Mandaue Bridge will connect Barangay Ibo of Lapu-Lapu City to Mandaue City. Otherinfrastructure include the International Convention Center in Barangay Mactan, the Sudtunggan-Gabi bridge connecting BasakCordova town.[28][29]
Lapu-Lapu city hosts two military bases:Mactan–Benito Ebuen Air Base of thePhilippine Air Force and Philippines Naval Forces Central - Naval Base Rafael Ramos of thePhilippine Navy.
Places adjacent to Lapu-Lapu City | ||||||||||||||||
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