48
DESTINATION CEBU C ebu City (Cebuano: Dakbayan sa Sugbu; Filipino: Lungsod ng Cebu) is a first class highly urbanized city in the island province of Cebu in Central Visayas, Philippines. Though the seat of government and capital for the province, it is governed independent and separate from it. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 922,611, making it the fifth most populated city in the nation. In the 2016 electoral roll, it had 630,003 registered voters. Cebu City is a significant centre of commerce, trade and education in the Visayas. Located on the mid-eastern side of Cebu Island, it is the centre of a metropolitan area called Metro Cebu, which includes the cities of Carcar, Danao, Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue, Naga and Talisay; and the municipalities of Compostela, Consolacion, Cordova, Liloan, Minglanilla and San Fernando. Metro Cebu had a total population of 2,849,213 as of 2015, making it the second most populous metropolitan area of the nation after Metro Manila in Luzon. The city is the first Spanish settlement, the country’s oldest city, and the first capital of the Philippines. It is considered as the Fount of Christianity in the Far East. It is the “second city” of the Philippines after Manila. Cebu is the Philippines’ main domestic shipping port, and is home to about 80% of the country’s domestic shipping companies. Cebu City is bordered to the northeast by Mandaue and the town of Magellan’s Cross was erected on the site where the ruler of Cebu, Raja Humabon was baptized and the first Catholic mass delivered. Consolacion, to the west are Toledo City, and the towns of Balamban and Asturias, to the south are Talisay City and the town of Minglanilla. Across Mactan Strait to the east is Mactan Island. Cebu City is also a significant cultural centre. The imprint of Spanish and Roman Catholic culture is evident, with Magellan’s Cross the city’s most famous landmark. The Cross, now housed in a chapel beside the Basilica, was erected by Ferdinand Magellan on the site where the ruler of Cebu, Raja Humabon, his wife Hara Amihan,(Juana), and followers were baptized and the first Catholic mass delivered. In 1835 Magellan’s Cross was encased in hollow tindalo wood, on the order of the Augustinian Bishop Santos Gómez Marañon, to prevent devotees from taking it home chip by chip. The same bishop restored the present template or kiosk, located in Magallanes Street between City Hall and the Colegio del Santo Niño. Magellan’s Cross is a symbol of Christianity in the Philippines and revered by Filipinos. A few steps away from Magellan’s Cross is the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño. This Augustinian church was elevated to the rank of Basilica in 1965 during the 400th anniversary commemoration of Christianity in the Philippines, held in Cebu. The church, which was the first to be established in the colony, is built of hewn stone and features the country’s oldest relic, the figure of the Santo Niño de Cebu. Words by BARRY DAWSON Photographs as credited 49 www.aegoesaround.wordpress.com