Lapu-Lapu City, officially the City of Lapu-Lapu (Cebuano: Dakbayan sa Lapu-Lapu; Hiligaynon: Dakbanwa sang Lapu-Lapu; Filipino: Lungsod ng Lapu-Lapu), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 497,604.^[2]

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Lapu-Lapu City
Highly urbanized city
City of Lapu-Lapu
Lapu-Lapu City Hall of Justice
Flag Seal
Nickname:  Historic Resort City
Anthem: Dakbayan sa Sidlakan (English: City of the East)
Map of Central Visayas with Lapu-Lapu City highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Lapu-Lapu City Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 10°18′46″N 123°56′56″E
Country	Philippines
Region	Central Visayas
Province	Cebu (geographically only)
District	Lone district
Founded (Opon) Cityhood Lone district	1730
Named for	Lapulapu
Barangays	30 (see Barangays)
Government
• Type	Sangguniang Panlungsod
• Mayor	Junard "Ahong" Q. Chan (PDPLBN)
• Vice Mayor	Celedonio B. Sitoy (PDPLBN)
• Representative	Ma. Cynthia K. Chan (PDPLBN)
• City Council	Members Eugenio S. Espedido Annabeth D. Cuizon Marciano A. Alforque Jr. Celestino C. Aying Linda Susan C. Baring Jan Vincent A. dela Serna Efren T. Herrera Nelson O. Yap Climaco A. Tatoy Jr. Jeorgen Eyas-Book Joseph T. Pangantungan Emilio L. Galaroza Jr.
• Electorate	245,395 voters (2022)
Area [1]
• Total	58.10 km2 (22.43 sq mi)
Elevation	70 m (230 ft)
Population  (2020 census)[2]
• Total	497,604
• Density	8,600/km2 (22,000/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	6.80 % (2018)[6]
• Revenue	₱ 2,687 million (2020)
• Assets	₱ 9,541 million (2020)
• Expenditure	₱ 3,171 million (2020)
Service provider
• Electricity	Mactan Electric Company (MECO)
Time zone	UTC+8 (Philippine Standard Time (PST))
ZIP code	6015, 6016 (Mactan-Cebu International Airport)
PSGC	072226000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)32
Native languages	Cebuano, and Hiligaynon

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

The second busiest airport in the Philippines, Mactan–Cebu International Airport, is located in Lapu-Lapu City. It opened in April 1966 and serves as a hub for Philippine Airlines, and as an operating base for Cebu Pacific and Philippines AirAsia.

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 Lapulapu, the island's chieftain, who led the defeat against the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 in the Battle of Mactan, commemorated at Mactan 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 the Jesuits in 1737, and later restored to the Augustinians. When the Philippine Revolution spread to the Visayas in 1898, 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.

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 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.

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.

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

Poverty Incidence of Lapu-Lapu

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority^{[14][15]
[16][17][18][19][20]}

Lapu-Lapu City is part of Metro 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 as Ceboom.

Mactan–Cebu International Airport, the primary airport serving Cebu, is located in the city. The airport has direct routes with international destinations, including East and Southeast 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 as Royal Dutch Shell.

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.

Lapu-Lapu City, positioned within the heart of Visayas, has an expansive and efficient transportation network that facilitates convenient travel and logistics. This dynamic city is primarily connected to the mainland of Cebu through three major infrastructure projects: the Marcelo Fernan Bridge, Mactan-Mandaue Bridge, and the more recent addition of the Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway. These strategic connections traverse the sea channel separating the island of Mactan, where Lapu-Lapu City is located, from the island of Cebu.

The Mactan–Cebu International Airport (MCIA), nestled within Lapu-Lapu City, is a significant hub for both local and international flights.

MCIA is the chief gateway serving the city of Cebu and the greater region of Central Visayas. It hosts regular flights to numerous global destinations, particularly focusing on key cities in Asia. Some of these prominent destinations include Singapore, Macau, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. According to statistical reports, MCIA is ranked as the second busiest airport in the Philippines, only surpassed by Ninoy Aquino International Airport located in the capital, Manila.

On an annual basis, MCIA handles an impressive volume of traffic. This includes under 5 million passengers and oversees more than 100,000 flights each year. Its high capacity and performance undoubtedly reinforce its reputation as an essential node in the national and international aviation network. ^[21]

• Poblacion (Opon)
• Muelle Osmeña
• Virgen de la Regla Church
• Our Lady of the Rule
• Plantation Bay Resort and Spa
• Skyline of hotel and resorts
• Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary

Lapu-Lapu city hosts 2 military bases Mactan–Benito Ebuen Air Base and Philippines navy Central - Naval Base 'Rafael Ramos'.

• Lapulapu - A chieftain of Mactan and the First Philippine National Hero who defeated Magellan.
• Janine Berdin - The grand winner of the second season of Tawag ng Tanghalan.
• Akiko Solon - Finalist of Star Power: Sharon Search For the Next Female Superstar.

• List of renamed cities and municipalities in the Philippines