ABW Dec 2017

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
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