Mactan Shrine

View of the Mactan Shrine, showing (in the foreground) the Lapu Lapu Shrine and (in the background) the Magellan Shrine.

Mactan Shrine

The Mactan Shrine, located on Mactan Island, just of the coast from Cebu City, is a must-see for everyone interested in Filipino history. It commemorates the Battle of Mactan that took place in 1521 between the Spanish and the Visayan (central Philippines) native people in April 1521 and, along with paintings and plaques about that battle, it also contains two other important shrines -- the Lapu Lapu Shrine and the Magellan Shrine 

Lapu Lapu Shrine

The Lapu Lapu shrine is a 20 meter (65.5 feet) high, bronze statue of Lapu Lapu (circa 1491-1547 AD), the Filipino warrior king who commanded the native forces that fought the invading Spanish forces in the Battle of Mactan in 1521 and killed their leader, the navigator Ferdinand Magellan.

The Lapu Lapu statue is said to be on the exact spot where the battle was fought and where Magellan was killed.

The statue shows Lapu Lapu holding a sword in one hand and a shield on the other (these two weapons are said to have been used by Lapu Lapu in his combat with Magellan).Lapu Lapu was one of two chieftains and kings (datu) of Mactan Island, and he vigorously resisted the early Spanish colonists in their attempts to conquer the Philippines and convert them to Christianity.

When Ferdinand Magellan arrived in the Philippines in 1521, he took possession of the Philippines in the name of Spain.

After early friendly encounters with the rajahs of the islands of Homonhon and Cebu in the central Philippines, Magellan and his men faced off against Lapu Lapu and his warriors in the Battle of Mactan (Kadaugan sa Mactan). During this battle the Spanish burned a village of the inhabitants of Mactan. Magellan was then killed by Lapu Lapu.

History records that Lapu Lapu was the first Philippine native to resist foreign invasion and colonization. As such, he is regarded as the first national hero of the Philippines.

In addition to the above-mentioned statue (also known as the Lapu Lapu Monument), a church has been erected in his honor and the town of Opon, Mactan Island, was renamed Lapu-Lapu City.

The Battle for Mactan is re-enacted most years on the beach at Magellan Bay, Mactan Island.