Cebu

Cebu is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region. Its capital is Cebu City and is composed of Cebu Island plus neighboring small islands. Cebu is one of the most developed provinces in the country. The metropolitan area of Cebu City (which includes Mandaue City and Lapu-Lapu City) is second only to Metro Manila in population.

Template:Infobox Philippine province

Cebu lies to the east of Negros Island; to the east is Leyte and to the southeast is Bohol province.

Cebu is served by Mactan-Cebu International Airport, which is located in Lapu-Lapu City.

People and Culture

Cebu is the first and oldest City in the Philippines. Long before Manila fell into the hands of the Spanish Conquerors in the 16th century, Cebu was already an established trading and military post for the Spaniards. The "seed" of Christianity in Asia was also planted here; 2)linguistically, Cebu is the home to the country's second largest group. Cebuano, though originally spoken only in the island of Cebu, is now being spoken in many parts of Mindanao, the eastern part of Negros island, and Bohol; 3)politically, the province of Cebu has been an active player. In fact, Cebu is the home of the Philippine's second president. Every Cebuano is proud of him; and 4)strategically, due to its geographical ___location, Cebu is the alternate gateway to Manila. Many multinational companies have established their local headquarters in Cebu because of her central ___location. Cebu is a port of call for many international (and almost all domestic) shipping and air lines, making her virtually the capital of the Philippines.

Economy

Geography

Political

Cebu is subdivided into 47 municipalities and 6 cities.

Cities

• Cebu City
• Danao City
• Lapu-Lapu City
• Mandaue City
• Talisay City
• Toledo City

Municipalities

Alcantara Alcoy Alegria Aloguinsa Argao Asturias Badian Balamban Bantayan Barili Bogo Boljoon Borbon Carcar Carmen Catmon Compostela Consolacion Cordova Daanbantayan Dalaguete Dumanjug Ginatilan Liloan

Madridejos Malabuyoc Medellin Minglanilla Moalboal Naga Oslob Pilar Pinamungahan Popo Ronda Samboan San Fernando San Francisco San Remigio Santa Fe Santander Sibonga Sogod Tabogon Tabuelan Tuburan Tudela

Physical

History

Before the arrival of the Spanish, Cebu, known as Zebu or Zubu, was a thriving fishing village and a busy trading post, with trade routes to China, Siam, Arabia as well as nearby Malay islands.

On April 7 1521, guided by Rajah Humabon of Limasawa Island, Ferdinand Magellan landed on Cebu island and converted Rajah Humabon of Cebu. Now an ally of Humabon, Magellan attempted to win over Caliph Lapu-Lapu of nearby Mactan Island, but Magellan was killed in the Battle of Mactan.

44 years later, in April 1565, Miguel López de Legaspi together with Fray Andres de Urdaneta that the Spanish succeeded in colonizing the islands. Legaspi bombarded the palisades of Rajah Tupas and destroyed the village and called it Villa del Santisimo Nombre de Jesus and became the first Spanish city established by the Spanish Cortes in 1571. Three centuries later, on April 1898 marked the end of the Spanish era and the onset of the American regime. Thus, Cebu became a municipality on the year 1901. Then again, the Filipinos struggled for independence from the American dominance and Cebu turned into a chartered city on February 24, 1937.

Cebu, being the most densely populated island in the country, served as a vital Japanese base during the Japanese occupation in World War II which began with the landing of the Japanese Imperial Army on April 1942. Three years later on March 1945, an American force landed and liberated the city from the Japanese.

External links

• Official Website of the Provincial Government of Cebu
  http://www.cebu.gov.ph
• Official Website of the City Government of Cebu City
  http://www.cebucity.gov.ph