Cebu City

Cebu City, officially theCity of Cebu(Cebuano:Dakbayan sa Sugbo;Filipino:Lungsod ng Cebu), is ahighly urbanized cityin theCentral Visayasregion of thePhilippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 964,169 people,making it the sixth-most populated city in the nation and the most populous in theVisayasand the Central Visayas Region.
It serves as the capital ofCebuwherein it is geographically situated and grouped under the province by thePhilippine Statistics Authority, but is one of three cities (together withLapu-LapuandMandaue) that are administratively independent of the provincial government and also the largest city within that province. It also serves as the regional center of Central Visayas, and itsmetropolitan areaexerts influence on commerce, trade, industry, education, culture, tourism, and healthcare beyond the region, over Central and Eastern Visayas and partly overMindanao. It is the Philippines' main domestic shipping port and is home to about 80% of the country's domestic shipping companies. Additionally, Cebu City is the prime trading center of the southern Philippines.
Cebu City is bounded on the north by the town ofBalambanand the city ofDanao, on the west by the city ofToledo, on the east by the cities of Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue and the towns ofLiloan,ConsolacionandCompostelaand to the south by the city ofTalisay. Located at the center of the eastern seaboard ofCebu Island, it is the core city ofMetro Cebu, the second largestmetropolitan areain the Philippines, which includes the cities ofCarcar, Danao, Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue,Nagaand Talisay and the municipalities (towns) of Compostela, Consolacion,Cordova, Liloan,MinglanillaandSan Fernando. Metro Cebu had a total population of 3,165,799 as of the 2020 census.
The current political boundaries of the city are an incorporation of the former municipalities of Cebu, San Nicolas, El Pardo, Mabolo, Talamban and Banilad in the Commonwealth period.
The city has experienced rapid economic growth since the 1990s, a phenomenon also known as "Ceboom". Owing to its economic importance and influence in modern times, Cebu City is also popularly referred to as theQueen City of the South.
The wordsugbúin Cebuano means "to dive into water",and also in Tagalog, Hiligaynon,Aklanon, and Mansaka languages with more or less the same meaning. The name is probably derived from theProto-Philippineword *sug(e)bumeaning "to wade into water".As with most settlements in the Philippines whose common origin is either derived from an abundance of plants, for example,Manilaand one of the most common names of cities in the Philippines,Talisayand settlements near a body of water, for example,Iloiloand the island ofMindanao. Early iterations of the name include Çubu, and Zubu,and then eventually "Cebu". Thus, the modern name is either probably a 16th–17th century Spanish pronunciation of the native name or as how it was heard by early chroniclers in that time period. TheSelden Maprecords the island known to the Ming dynasty assokbu(束務), a Hokkien pronunciation of the name (in Mandarin Chinese "suwu"), in the early 17th century.
Very little is known about when the site was first settled prior to colonization, but artifacts have been discovered near the city, if not exactly at the site in what is now Cebu City dating back to at least the 14th to 15th centuries CE. Other geological and archaeological studies revealed that Cebu as a settlement began sometime during the 10th century CE.Though there are artifacts detailing the settlement of the island as early as 2000 BCE, the exact date of when the village was settled and named "Sugbu"is unknown, since prior to colonization mostVisayanswere illiterate up until thelater half of the 16th century.
The city's only reliable historical record started with Portuguese explorer,Ferdinand Magellan's landing in the island in 1521 CE and then after theBattle of Mactan, it is then followed by a brief period of silence and almost nihility, and back again in 1565 CE whenMiguel López de Legazpiled an expedition back to the island. When Magellan and crew arrived in 1521 CE, the Europeans did not mention or state a thriving city in a European or Chinese sense and nor it was ever been described as a "kingdom" asthere were no kingdomsin pre-colonial Philippines other than it was merely a simple fishing and trading village.However, this notion is challenged by a new translation of ancient Chinese Annals, a kingdom calledSuwuwas mentioned in the 1225 Chinese Annals, the Zhufan Zhi (諸蕃志), and during the 17th Century this was the same name used for Cebu among Chinese traders to the Philippines, thus, it is presumed to be the same location.
Cebu was referenced in association with Boni (Brunei) wherein it was written:
There is a popular myth that the city was supposedly founded by "Sri Lumay" and that the place was once "Kang Sri Lumayng Sugbo". However, the authenticity of this source is highly debatable and should not be taken seriously.There are no existing documents predating Spanish chroniclers that made a reference to the island, and there was no mention of the so-called "Sri Lumay".Fr. Francisco Ignacio Alcina'sHistory of the Bisayan Islandsdoes not even mention the epic or any reference to that person. Also, in the compilation of Spanish accounts by esteemed American historian specializing in Philippine history,William Henry Scott, there is no mention of any scorched earth tactics in Visayan warfare.It is likely then that the "legend" is an invention by Jovito Abellana.The supposed capital city, "Singhapala", was also not mentioned as a capital city. Instead,Antonio Pigafetta, a chronicler in Magellan's crew, records"Cingapola"as atown, whose chiefs areCilaton, Ciguibucan, Cimaninga, Cimaticat,andCicanbul.If it were a rich city, it would be very unlikely to be ignored by the chronicler, and also by the absence of Indian stone structures were not found nor erected before the late 16th to the 17th century.
Despite the smallness of thepolity of Cebuit borrowed a considerable degree of Indo–Malay culture as its more well-developed advanced neighbors likeButuanin Southeast Asia which it had dynastic links to, as Rajah Siagu of Butuan was the cousin of Rajah Humabon,and also proven by the titles of native Cebuano nobility, wherein Chief Humabon (mistakenly referred as a "king" in Pigafetta's writings) was addressed in the Sanskrit title of "Rajah".Tupas, also known asRajah Tupaswho was the chief of Cebu in 1565, descended from the brother of Rajah Humabon who was a "Bendara" which means "Treasurer" or "Vizier" in Sanskritized Malayand is a shortening of the word "Bendahara" (भाण्डार) which means "Storage house" in Sanskrit.
On April 7, 1521,Portuguese explorerat the service of the Spanish Crown and leader of the first expedition to circumnavigate the world,Ferdinand Magellan, landed in Cebu. He was welcomed byRajah Humabon. Magellan, however, was killed in theBattle of Mactan, and the remaining members of his expedition left Cebu soon after several of them were poisoned by Humabon, who was fearful of foreign occupation. The last ruler of Sugbo, prior to Spanish colonization, was Rajah Humabon's nephew,Rajah Tupas(d. 1565).
On February 13, 1565, Spanish and (probably some) Mexican conquistadors led byMiguel López de Legazpitogether with Augustinian friars whose prior wasAndrés de Urdaneta, left New Spain (modern Mexico) and arrived in Samar, taking possession of the island thereafter. They Christianized some natives and Spanish remnants in Cebu. Afterwards, the expedition visitedLeyte,Cabalian, Mazaua,CamiguinandBoholwhere the famousSandugoor blood compact was performed between López de Legazpi andDatu Sikatuna, the chieftain of Bohol on March 16, 1565. The Spanish arrived in Cebu on April 15, 1565. They then attempted to parley with the local ruler, Rajah Tupas, but found that he and the local population had abandoned the town. Rajah Tupas presented himself at their camp on May 8, feast of theApparition of Saint Michael the Archangel, when the island was taken possession of on behalf of the Spanish King. TheTreaty of Cebuwas formalized on July 3, 1565. López de Legazpi's party named the new city "Villa de San Miguel de Cebú" (later renamed "Ciudad del Santísimo Nombre de Jesús)." In 1567 the Cebu garrison was reinforced with the arrival of 2,100 soldiers fromNew Spain(Mexico).The growing colony was then fortified byFort San Pedro. Aside from these Mexican soldiers, the city of Cebu was founded by 80 Spanish colonists from Spain.
By 1569, the Spanish settlement in Cebu had become important as a safe port for ships fromMexicoand as a jumping-off point for further exploration of the archipelago. Small expeditions led byJuan de Salcedowent toMindoroandLuzon, where he andMartín de Goitiplayed a leading role in the subjugation of the Kingdoms ofTundunandSeludongin 1570. One year later, López de Legazpi departed Cebu to discuss a peace pact with the defeated Rajahs. An agreement between the conquistadors and the Rajahs to form a city council paved the way for the establishment of a new settlement and the construction of the Christian walled city ofIntramuroson the razed remains of Islamic Manila, then a vassal-state of theSultanate of Brunei.
In 1571, the Spanish carried over infantry from Mexico, to raise an army of Christian Visayan warriors fromCebuandIloiloas well as mercenaries from the Tagalog region and assaulted the Sultanate of Brunei in what is known as theCastilian War. The war also started theSpanish–Moro Warswaged between the Christian Visayans and Muslim Mindanao, wherein Moros burned towns and conducted slave raids in the Visayas islands and selling the slaves to the Sultanates of theMalay Archipelagoand the Visayans fought back by establishing Christian fort-cities in Mindanao, cities such asZamboanga City.
On August 14, 1595,Pope Clement VIIIcreated the diocese of Cebu as a suffragan to theArchdiocese of Manila. The years: 1603, 1636, 1670, and 1672; saw the deployment of 86, 50, 135, and 135; Latin-American soldiers fromMexico at Cebu.In 1608, Muslim Moros from Magindanao raided the nearby Visayan province ofCarigara in Leyte. Cebu under Commander Salgado led an expedition of 70 Spanish and 60 Pampango marines that had intercepted and destroyed them.On January 6, 1635; under orders by Juan de Alcarazo the Alcalde-Mayor of Cebu, a force of 50 Spanish and 1,000 Visayan troops, battled rebels who had uprisings at and settled in Bohol.At April 5, 1635: Cebu sent a force of 300 Spanish and 1,000 Visayan troops to settle and colonizeZamboanga Cityunder the command of Captain Juan de Chavez.In the 1700s, Cebu housed 625Spanish Filipinofamilies and 28,112 native families
On April 3, 1898, local revolutionaries led by theNegrenseLeon Kilatrose up against the Spanish colonial authorities and took control of the urban center after three days of fighting. The uprising was only ended by the treacherous murder of Leon Kilat and the arrival of soldiers from Iloilo and Manila.On December 26, 1898, the Spanish Governor, General Montero, evacuated his troops to Zamboanga, turning over government property to Pablo Mejia.The next day, a provincial government was formed under Luis Flores as president, General Juan Climaco as military chief of staff, andJulio Llorenteas mayor.
The signing of theTreaty of Parisat the end of theSpanish–American Warprovided for the cession of Cebu along with the rest of the Philippine Islands to the United States until the formation of theCommonwealth Era (1935–46). On February 21, 1899, theUSS Petrel (PG-2)deployed a landing party of 40 marines on the shores of Cebu.Cebu's transfer to the American government was signed by Luis Flores although others, most notably GeneralArcadio Maxilomand Juan Climaco, offered resistance until 1901.GovernorW. H. Taftvisited Cebu on April 17, 1901, and appointed Julio Llorente as the first provincial governor.Juan Climaco was elected to that office in January 1904.
With its city statusgranted by the King of Spain in 1594 invalidated by the change of colonial administration, in 1934 the neighboring municipalities of El Pardo, Mabolo, Talamban, Banilad, and San Nicolas were dissolved and merged to become the revived City of Cebu, which received its renewed official Charter on February 24, 1937. These former towns were broken up into several barangays, including their town centers which assumed their names (in contrast, Manila and Iloilo preserved their incorporated towns as geo-political districts) resulting this in expansion of its territory.Many other Philippine cities such as Dansalan (nowMarawi),Iloilo City, andBacolodwere also incorporated at the same time (seeCities of the Philippines). Alfredo V. Jacinto was then serving as mayor when the city's status was restored by law.
Along with the rest of the country, Cebu came underJapanese occupation of the PhilippinesduringWorld War II. The Japanese encountered opposition from guerrillas and irregular forces led byCol. James Cushingand the Cebu Area Command. A Japanese businessman established Cebu's first "comfort station" during the war, where Japanese soldiers routinely gang-raped, humiliated, and murdered kidnapped girls and teenagers who they forced into sexual slavery under the brutal "comfort women" system.It was finally liberated with theBattle for Cebu Cityin March and April 1945. The military general headquarters of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and 8th Constabulary Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary, active from January 3, 1942, to June 30, 1946, was stationed in Cebu City during World War II.
The war virtually razed Cebu City to the ground. Reconstruction, however, was rapid. The city's central business district, which had been confined largely to the coast and the area around the port before the war, had expanded inland.Colon Street, the oldest national road in the Philippines, which was once a residential area in the pre-war years, became the center of a dense and compact area indowntownCebu City, becoming home to many shopping and business activities, including the city's most fashionable shops, restaurants, and movie houses. In 1962, construction of the Cebu City North Reclamation Area commenced, finishing eventually in 1969, which expanded theport of Cebuand provided the city with more developable land close to the city center. During this time, Cebu also became a prominent educational center for the Visayas and Mindanao regions, and new schools were established in Cebu's uptown areas, such as the Talamban campus of theUniversity of San Carlos.
Cebu became a key center of resistance against theMarcos dictatorship,first becoming apparent when the hastily put-together lineup of Pusyon Bisaya defeated the entire slate of Marcos'Kilusang Bagong Lipunan(KBL) in Region VII.
Among the Cebuanos immediately arrested by the Marcos dictatorship when Martial law was announced on September 23, 1972, were columnist and future National ArtistResil Mojaresand human rights lawyer and Carcar Vice Mayor Democrito Barcenas, who were both detained at Camp Sergio Osmeña.
One of the Marcos Martial Law desaparecidos from Cebu was Redemptorist priest Fr. Rudy Romano,a prominent Marcos critic and executive secretary of Cebu's Coalition against People's Persecution, who was accosted by armed men in Tisa, Labangon, Cebu City, on June 11, 1985, and never seen again.Levi Ybañez, Romano's colleague in the Coalition against People's Persecution, was abducted on the same day as Fr. Romano, and was also never heard from again.
Later, Cebu would play a key role in the days leading up to the 1986People Power revolutionand the ouster of Marcos. It was from Fuente Osmeña circle in Cebu City that the opposition forces relaunched a civil disobedience campaign against the Marcos regime and its cronies on February 22, 1986. After that, the Carmelite Monastery in Barangay Mabolo, Cebu City, served as a refuge for opposition candidates Aquino and Laurel during the first day of the People Power revolution, because it was not yet safe to go back to Manila.
In 1990,Typhoon Ruping(international nameMike) hitVisayasand Cebu in particular, causing considerable damage to the infrastructure of the city and province. The typhoon cut off many of the city's communication lines, and was virtually cut from the outside, causing delays for aid from the national government inManila. This forced local authorities to rethink governmental priorities, and enforced some radical measures, such as food, water, and fuel rations.However, the city quickly recovered, and by the end of the decade, it was experiencing rapid economic growth,dubbedCeboom.The economic growth of the city also spread economic growth toits neighboring cities and municipalities, which spreads fromDanaofrom the north all the way toCarcarto the south.
Within the city, economic growth was observed in other areas as well, and much of the business activity shifted from the old and derelict downtown area to the more modern and more diverse business districts located in other areas of the city, including areas aroundFuente Osmeña(colloquially known as "Uptown Cebu"), theCebu Business Park, and theCebu IT Park, among other areas. The opening of the aforementioned Ayala Mall andSM City Cebuhad also shifted significant retail activities away from Colon, though it remained to serve as an important transit point for public utilityjeepneys(PUJ) covering arterial routes within the city.
In 2002, theSouth Road Properties(SRP) was completed, initially with the intention of being a hub forlight industriesbut gradually shifted to be a hub formixed-use developments. The Cebu South Coastal Road, which traverses through SRP, has helped alleviate the city's traffic by serving as an alternative to theNatalio Bacalso Avenue.SM Seaside City Cebuopened in 2015, and was one of thelargest shopping malls in the Philippinesupon opening. The opening of theCebu–Cordova Link Expresswayin 2022, which links the city toCordovain Mactan, is poised to unlock the SRP's potential as the city's next economic hub. Other infrastructure projects, such as theMetro Cebu Expresswayand theCebu Bus Rapid Transit System, are also in place to help facilitate the city's future growth.
Cebu City has a land area of 315 square kilometers (122 sq mi). To the northeast of the city isMandaue Cityand the town ofConsolacion; to the west isToledo Cityand the towns ofBalambanandAsturias; to the south isTalisay Cityand the town ofMinglanilla.
Across Mactan Strait to the east is Mactan island where Lapu-Lapu is located. Further east across theCebu Straitis theisland of Bohol.
Cebu City is politically subdivided into 80 barangays. Each barangay consists ofpuroksand some havesitios.
These barangays are grouped into twocongressional districts, with 46 barangays in the northern district and 34 in the southern district.
As of the 2020 census, 58 barangays are classified as urban barangays where 888,481 (92.15%) of Cebu City's population lives, while the remaining 22 rural barangays are home to 75,668 residents, representing 7.85% of the total population.
The most populous barangays in the city, as of the 2020 census, are Guadalupe (70,039), Tisa (47,364), and Lahug (45,853), while Kalubihan is the least populous barangay with only 663 residents.
Cebu City has atropical monsoon climateunder theKöppen climate classification. The city has a lengthywet seasonand a shortdry season, with only the months of March and April falling into the latter season. Average temperatures show little variance during the year with average daily temps ranging from 27 °C (81 °F) to 29 °C (84 °F). The city on averages experiences roughly 1,700 millimeters (67 in) of precipitation annually.
The city's population reached 799,762 people in 2007, and at the time of the 2010 census, the population had grown to 866,171 people, who formed at least 161,151 households.
The city is considered the birthplace of Christianity in the Far East.TheRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebuis currently the largest archdiocese in the Philippines and in Asia.There are plans to divide the archdiocese, which covers the entire civilProvince of Cebu, into three dioceses, of which two aresuffragansof the archdiocese.
Christianity in the form of Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion in Cebu for about 95% of the population, making it the 2nd most Roman Catholic affiliated city among the already majority Roman Catholic nation.The remainder of the religious population includes various Protestant faiths (Baptists,Methodists, andPresbyterians),Non-denominationalgroups, thePhilippine Independent Church,Iglesia ni Cristo,the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,Jehovah's Witnesses,Seventh-day Adventistand other Christian groups. Other religions includeIslam,HinduismandBuddhism.
Within the city is theCebu Taoist Temple, a Taoist temple located in theBeverly Hillssubdivision of Lahug.
The most recent census data on ethnicity and language (from the 2010 census) shows that the vast majority of the city's population speaksCebuanoas the primary casualvernacularlanguage.Englishis also used as the primaryformalmedium of instructionin schools, besides Filipinoclasswhich teachesFilipino(Tagalog) across schools in Cebu and is also understood by the populace through Filipinomass media. There are also a few speakers ofHiligaynonfrom nearby Hiligaynon-speaking provinces in Panay and inSoccsksargenregion in Mindanao and other speakers of otherVisayan languagesfrom nearby regions. Minority speakers of other Philippine languages are also residents in the city, one of them areIlocanos, a Luzon ethnic group whose native language is the eponymousIlocano language; Ilocanos form a minority in Cebu City, where they formed an organized association for Ilocano residents and their descendants there, including nearby cities and towns within Cebu Province.Chinese Filipinosalso privately usePhilippine Hokkienamong fellow speakers of the language, whileMandarin(Standard Chinese) is also taught in Chinese class ofChinese Filipino schoolsand few other schools in Cebu.
The termCeboom, a portmanteau of "Cebu" and "boom", has been used to refer to the rapid economic development of both Cebu City and Cebu Province from the early 1990s to the early 2000s.Cebu City is considered to be the prime trading center of the southern Philippines.
With Cebu City's proximity to many islands, beaches, hotel and resorts, diving locations, and heritage sites, high domestic and foreign tourist arrivals have fueled the city's tourism industry. Due to its geographic location in the middle of the country, accessibility by air, land and sea transportation, Cebu City has become the tourist gateway to central and southern Philippines. Its port,Port of Cebu, is the country's second largest seaport.
The city is a major hub for thebusiness process outsourcingindustry of the Philippines. In 2013, Cebu ranked 8th worldwide in the "Top 100 BPO Destinations Report" by global advisory firm Tholons.In 2012, the growth in IT-BPO revenues in Cebu grew 26.9 percent at $484 million, while nationally, the industry grew 18.2 percent at $13 billion.
Aboitiz Equity Ventures, formerly known as Cebu Pan Asian Holdings, is the first holding company from Cebu City publicly listed in thePhilippine Stock Exchange.Ayala Corporation, through its subsidiary Cebu Holdings, Inc. and Cebu Property, both publicly in the PSE Index, developed the Cebu Park District where the mixed-used development zones of theCebu Business ParkandCebu IT Parkare located. Both master planned areas are host to regional headquarters for various companies in the banking, finance, IT and tourism sectors among others.
Shipbuilding companies in Cebu have manufactured bulk carriers of up to 70,000 metric tons (69,000 long tons; 77,000 short tons) deadweight (DWT) and double-hulled fast craft as well. This industry made the Philippines the 4th largest shipbuilding country in the world.
With a revenue growth rate of 18.8 percent in 2012, the real estate industry is the fastest growing sector in Cebu. With the strong economic indicators and high investors' confidence level, more condominium projects and hypermarkets are being developed in the locality.List of largest shopping malls in the Philippines
Colon Street, the oldest national road in the Philippines, as well as its neighboring streets and surrounding areas, collectively known as Downtown Cebu, is an important center of commerce for the city. It is home to many malls, stores, and stalls selling various goods and services.Carbon Marketis the city's oldest and largest farmer's market, and is set to be redeveloped to include other lifestyle and mixed-use developments. The redevelopment is scheduled to be finished by 2025.ThePasil Fish Market, located in Barangays Pasil and Suba, is a major fish wholesale market, sourcing fresh catch from different parts of theVisayas.
TheSouth Road Properties(SRP) is a 300-hectare (740-acre) prime property development project on a reclaimed land located a few metres off the coast of Cebu's central business district. It is a mixed-use development that will feature entertainment, leisure, residential and business-processing industries.It is registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and is funded by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation(JBIC).Traversing the property is a 12-kilometer (7.5 mi), four-lane highway known as the Cebu Coastal Road that provides the motorists with a good view of Cebu's south coast and the nearby island of Bohol.
Cebu City, andMetro Cebuas a whole, is one of the Philippines' major shopping destinations. The Gaisano family, which operatesGaisano Capital,Gaisano Grand Malls,Gaisano Malls, and theMetro Retail Stores Group, traces its roots to the city.
There are four majorsuper-regional mallsin the city.SM City Cebu, located in the North Reclamation Area, opened in 1993, and is the firstSM Supermallin the Philippines located outsideMetro Manila.Ayala Center Cebu, opened in 1994, is a shopping mall at theCebu Business Park. More than 85,000 people visit the mall every day, with the figure increasing to 135,000 daily on weekends.SM Seaside, opened in November 2015, is located in the South Road Properties and is one of thelargest shopping malls in the Philippines.Robinsons Galleria Cebuopened in December 2015 and is in close proximity to thePort of Cebu. Other notable retail establishments includeAyala Malls Central BlocinCebu IT Park, Il Corso,Gaisano Mall of Cebu, and Gaisano Country Mall, among others.
Being a highly urbanized city, Cebu City (along with neighboringMandaueandLapu-Lapu) is independent from Cebu province. Its electorate do not vote for provincial officials. There were proposals during the time of GovernorEmilio Mario Osmeñato establish an "administrative district" that would be independent from Cebu City. This would mean carving out Cebu City's Capitol Site barangay, where the provincial capitol and other provincial offices are located. The plan, however, did not go through and was even followed by other proposals like the transfer of the capital to Balamban.
Cebu City is governed by a mayor, vice mayor andsixteen councilors(eight representing the north and eight representing the south districts). Each official is popularly elected to serve for a three-year term. The chief of theAssociation of Barangay Captainsand the president of theSangguniang KabataanFederation also serve in the city council. The day-to-day administration of the city is handled by a city administrator.
Cebu City is a significant cultural center in the Philippines. The imprint of Spanish and Roman Catholic culture is evident. The city's most famous landmark isMagellan's Cross. This cross, now housed in a chapel, is reputed to have been erected byFerdinand Magellan(Fernão Magalhães) when he arrived in the Philippines in 1521.It was encased in hollowtindalo woodin 1835 upon 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 at Magallanes Street between the City Hall and Colegio del Santo Niño. Revered by Filipinos, the Magellan's Cross is a symbol of Christianity in the Philippines.
A few steps away from Magellan's Cross is theBasilica Minore del Santo Niño(Church of the Holy Child). This is an Augustinian church elevated to the rank of basilica in 1965 during the 400th anniversary celebrations of Christianity in the Philippines, held in Cebu. The church, which was the first to be established in the islands, is built of hewn stone and features the country's oldest relic, the figure of theSanto Niño de Cebú(Holy Child of Cebu), who isJesus Christas aChild.
This religious and cultural event is celebrated during the island's cultural festivities known as theSinulog festival. Held every third Sunday of January, it celebrates the festival of theSanto Niño, who was formerly considered to be the patron saint of Cebu.(This patronage was later changed to that of Our Lady of Guadalupe after it was realized that the Santo Niño could not be a patron saint because he was an image of Christ and not a saint.) The Sinulog is a dance prayer ritual of pre-Hispanic indigenous origin.The dancer moves two steps forward and one step backward to the rhythmic sound of drums. This movement resembles somewhat the current (sulog) of the river. Thus, the Cebuanos called it Sinulog.
When the Spaniards arrived in Cebu, the Italian chroniclerAntonio Pigafetta, sailing under convoy with the Magellan expedition, offered a baptismal gift to Hara Amihan, wife of Rajah Humabon. She was later named Juana, the figure of the Santo Niño. The natives also honored the Santo Niño de Cebú in their indigenous sinulog ritual.This ritual was preserved but limited to honoring the Santo Niño. Once the Santo Niño church was built in the 16th century, the Christianized-Austronesian nativesstarted performing the sinulog ritual in front of the church, the devotees offering candles and indigenous dancers shouting "Viva Pit Señor!"
In the 1980s and 2000s, the city authorities of Cebu added the religious feast of Santo Niño de Cebú during the Sinulog Festival to its cultural event.
The city joinedUNESCO'sNetwork of Creative Citiesas a Design City on October 31, 2019, on the occasion of World Cities' Day.Cebu City was also recognized by theBritish Councilas the Creative Capital of the Philippines.In 2019, it joined the UNESCOCreative Cities Networkas a City of Design.
Cebu City is regarded as the birthplace ofBisRock, a term coined by Cebuano writer Januar E. Yap in 2002.Notable BisRock bands includeMissing Filemon,Junior Kilat, Phylum, Rundown Genova, and Scrambled Eggs, among others. Popular Filipino bandsUrbandubandCueshéalso hail from Cebu, but mostly sing their songs in English, and in the latter's case, also inTagalog.
The Cebu Reggae Festival is a popularFilipino Reggaeand Rootsmusic festival, it now has become one of the Philippines' largest annual Reggae Festivals.
Lifedance and Sinulog Invasion are rave music festivals held in the city in the days before theSinulogFestival. These music festivals are regarded as among the biggest music festivals in the country.
The Cebu Pop Music Festival is an annual music festival, founded in 1980,showcasing Cebuano-language pop songs. Like Lifedance and Sinulog Invasion, the music festival is also held in the days before theSinulogFestival.
On Cebuano musical heritage, theJose R. Gullas Halad Museumin V. Gullas St. (former Manalili) corner D. Jakosalem St. in Cebu City, holds musical memorabilia of Cebuano composers in the early 20th century, the likes of Ben Zubiri (composer of Matud Nila), Inting Rubi (Kasadya Ning Taknaa) and Minggoy Lopez (Rosas Pandan).
Since 2013, Cebu has hosted theVisayan Pop Songwriting Campaign, an annual songwriting competition that aimed to showcase songs written in the Cebuano language. Founded by multi-awarded artistJude Gitamondoc, Ian Zafra, Cattski Espina, andMissing Filemon's front-man Lorenzo Niñal through the Artists and Musicians Marketing Cooperative (ArtistKo) with the support of the Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Vispop, or sometimes Visayan pop, later on evolved from being associated with the music festival to a genre of the new wave of Visayan pop songs that gained nationwide popularity, even those songs that were not exclusively produced for or presented in the contest.
TheCebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc.is based in the city. Its member schools are located within theMetro Cebuarea. It is often considered one of the Philippines' strongest college sports league.
The city has an active boxing scene. ALA Gym, one of the most famous boxing gyms in the Philippines, is based in the city, at the Banilad district. In addition, ALA Gym's promotion arm, the ALA Promotions, organizes thePinoy Prideboxing series.
TheAboitiz Football Cupis the longest-runningassociation footballcompetition in Cebu. The cup has been considered to be one of the most prestigiousassociation football tournaments in the Philippines. The tournament is organized and supported by theAboitiz family, one of the Philippines' richest families, and owners of one of the Philippines' largest conglomerates, theAboitiz Equity Ventures.
TheCebu F.C.is the only professional sports club based in the city. It has played in thePhilippines Football League(PFL) in2021. The club is the second professional football club to be based in Cebu, afterGlobal F.C., which also played in the PFL. The club plays its home games at theDynamic Herb Sports Complexin nearbyTalisay.
The city has cultivated emerging sports and flourished in which Cebu Flag Football League, or known as CFFL, is an amateur sports league forflag football. The association has partnered with Flag Football Philippines (FFP) in bringing the game of flag football in the country.
Former professional sports teams include the following:
Tourism is a thriving industry in Cebu. It hosted the 1998 ASEAN Tourism Forum. The city also hosted the East Asian Tourism Forum in August 2002, in which the province of Cebu is a member and signatory.
Views of Cebu City and its skyline can be seen from villages and numerous gated communities located on its mountainsides.
There is a significant number of Filipino-Spanish heritage buildings in Cebu City such asFort San Pedro,Basilica del Santo Niño,Magellan's Cross, and theCebu Metropolitan Cathedral.The city hosts theMuseo Sugboand Casa Gorordo Museum. TheCebu Taoist Templeis also situated within the city.
Mactan–Cebu International Airport, located in Lapu-Lapu, is the country's second-busiest airport and serves direct international flights and domestic destinations.Many international and cargo airlines fly to Cebu. There are also direct transfer flights via the capital'sNinoy Aquino International Airportthat readily connect the city to other destinations in the world.
The city is served by adomestic and international portwhich are handled by the Cebu Port Authority. Much of the city's waterfront is actually occupied by the port with around 3.5 kilometers (2.2 mi) of berthing space. The city is home to more than 80% of the country's island vessels traveling on domestic routes mostly in the Visayas and Mindanao.
Transportation throughout the city and the metropolitan itself is provided byjeepneys, buses and taxis. The Cebu City Government conducted a 2012 feasibility study on implementing abus rapid transit(BRT) system that will ease the transportation of the residents in the city and throughout the entireMetro Cebuarea.Aimed to serve an estimated 330,000 passengers per day, the project would have a capacity of 176 buses running through 33 stations along Bulacao until Talamban with a link toSouth Road Properties.The project is currently branded as TransCebu and is expected to be fully operational by 2017.As of March 2017it was two years late, and the price had increased to ₱9.04B (US$180M).
Cebu UMRT, a mass transit system that uses rail lines, has been proposed in theJICAStudy for both 2015 and 2019. The lines were included in the masterplan: a 67.5-kilometer Central Line as the first phase of the project is an underground railway that runs betweenCarcar CityandDanao City, while the line will also traverse the areas of Cebu City; and a 25-kilometer Coastal Line fromTalisaytoLapu-Lapu City, which will also traverse in the city.
In March 2019, theLand Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Boardannounced the opening of a newPremium Point-to-Point Bus Servicein Cebu City with three express bus routes toLapu-Lapu,DanaoandSibonga.
The city mostly gets its power from an interconnection grid with the Leyte Geothermal Power Plant, which also powers the majority of theVisayas.Cebu is also powered by a coal-fired thermal plant with two units each generating 52.5-MW and 56.8-MW,a 43.8-MW diesel power plant and 55-MW land-based gas turbine plants located at theNagapower complex which is planned to be rehabilitated and replaced with 150-MW coal units by 2016 and to be completed by 2019.
Telecommunication facilities, broadband and wireless internet connections are available and are provided by some of the country's largest telecommunication companies.
In 1998, the 15-hectare (37-acre) Inayawan Sanitary Landfill was constructed to ease garbage disposal within the city. After 15 years, the landfill reached its lifespan and theTalisaycity government recently allowed Cebu to temporarily dump its garbage in its own 2-hectare (4.9-acre) landfill.In 2015, Cebu appropriated a total of ₱2.5M to close and rehabilitate the landfill at Inayawan.
Cebu City, andMetro Cebuas a whole, is an important educational hub in Southern Philippines. Cebu City itself is currently home to ten large universities each with a number of campuses throughoutCebu provinceand more than a dozen other schools specializing in various courses.
Among these schools is theUniversity of San Carlos, one of the most highly regarded educational institutions in the Philippines. It claims to trace its roots toColegio de San Ildefonso, which was founded in 1595. It has five campuses around Cebu City, including the Downtown Campus (formerly Main Campus) and the Talamban Campus (TC), both of which are home to the school's college programs. It is currently headed by theSociety of the Divine Word.
TheUniversity of the Philippines Cebu, located at Barangay Camputhaw in the district near Lahug currently has eight courses and has plans of expansion and development. The U.P. Board of Regents elevated the status of U.P. Cebu as a constituent university of the University of the Philippines System on October 27, 2016.
Another Catholic university in Cebu City is theUniversity of San Jose–Recoletoswhich was established in 1947.It is currently headed by theAugustinian Recollectsand has two different campuses within the city, excluding a new campus outside the city located in the municipality ofBalamban.
Cebu Normal University(CNU) was established in 1902 as a provincial normal school, a branch of the Philippine Normal School. It became an independent institution in 1924, a chartered college in 1976, and a university in 1998. CNU offers academic programs at the nursery, kindergarten, elementary, junior high, undergraduate, and graduate levels. CNU is designated by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) as Center of Excellence (COE) in both Nursing Education and Teacher Education.
TheCebu Doctors' University(formerly Cebu Doctors' College) was granted university status in November 2004. It is the only private school in the Philippines to achieve university status without a designated basic education (pre-school – high school) curriculum; it caters mainly to courses related to the health services field. It was relocated to a nine-story building in 2007 at the Cebu Boardwalk (now Dr. P.V. Larrazabal Jr. Avenue) in neighboring city ofMandaue, thus closing its old campus near the then Cebu Doctors' Hospital (nowCebu Doctors' University Hospital). As of 2016, the university now offers senior high school (grades 11 and 12)
TheUniversity of Cebu(UC) has four campuses located within the city: Its main campus, located in Sanciangko Street, offers degree programs such as a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT), HRM, Computer Engineering, BSED and others. The Maritime Education & Training Center (METC), located in Barangay Mambaling, which hosts the university's maritime programs, was opened in 1991. Its third campus, in Barangay Banilad, was opened in June 2002. A fourth campus, the Pardo–Talisay campus, located in Barangay Bulacao Pardo, near the boundary between Cebu City andTalisay, was added to the UC network in 2021 after the university's acquisition of St. Paul College Foundation, Inc.
Also located in the city is theUniversity of the Visayas, established in 1919, and is considered to be the first educational institution in Cebu which was granted with a university status. It was granted an autonomous status by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) in 2010 and currently offers basic education and a number of courses in the tertiary level including medical courses (Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Midwifery, and Health Care Services) which are housed in its campus in Banilad area. Aside from its campuses within Cebu City, it also has numerous campuses located around theprovince of Cebu.
Other noteworthy institutions in the city include theCebu Institute of Technology – University(formerly Cebu Institute of Technology), the main campus ofCebu Technological University(formerly the Cebu State College of Science and Technology),Southwestern University,University of Southern Philippines Foundationin Lahug and Mabini,Asian College of Technology(formerly Asian Computer Institute), Benedicto College,Cebu Eastern College,Cebu International School,Colegio de la Inmaculada Concepcion,College of Technological Sciences - Cebu,Don Bosco Technical College–Cebu(DBTC),Saint Theresa's College of Cebu,Sacred Heart School - Ateneo de Cebu,Salazar Colleges of Science and Institute of Technology, andVelez College(together with its independently administered medical school armCebu Institute of Medicine), among others.
Cebu City has 68 public elementary schools, 23 national high schools and 28 night high schools. These night high schools are operated by the city government.
TheCebu City Public Library and Information Centeris the only public library in Cebu.