Padayon Mandauehanon!

Mandaue City

The City of Mandaue is a 1st class city in the province of Cebu. It is one of the three cities of the Province of Cebu that are highly urbanized and form the core of the Metropolitan Cebu area. It is known as the “Furniture Capital of the Philippines”.

Mandaue is situated right across Mactan Island where the city of Lapu-Lapu is located. As part of the Metropolitan Cebu, it is connected to Mactan Island by two bridges: the Mactan-Cebu Bridge and the new Marcelo-Fernan Bridge.

Mandaue City is located right at the heart of Cebu Province. It is bounded on the north by the municipality of Consolacion, by the Mactan Channel on the east, by Banilad, Cebu City on the southwest portion, by Talamban on the northwest portion, and by the Cebu City North Reclamation on the South. It is politically subdivided into 27 barangays, namely: Alang-alang, Bakilid, Banilad, Basak, Cabancalan, Cambaro, Canduman, Casili, Casuntingan, Centro, Cubacub, Guizo, Ibabao-Estancia, Jagobiao, Labogon, Looc, Maguikay, Mantuyong, Opao, Pakna-an, Pagsabungan, Subangdaku, Tabok, Tawason, Tingub, Tipolo, and Umapad.

Based on the August 2009 census, Mandaue City has a total population of 337,320 people people.

History
The City of Mandaue was founded in April 7, 1521, when a “Cove of Cebu”, called Mandawe, was sighted by a Spanish expedition led by Ferdinand Magellan. Located in the present Barangay Tipolo, the “Cove of Cebu” became the host to the first facility in the country.

In order to hasten the colonization of the area, Legaspi established the country’s first dry dock complex on the shoreline of Tipolo, Mandaue in 1571. The dry dock facilities, which were a few meters away from the existing location of the San Miguel Brewery Complex, reportedly serviced the Galleons of Legaspi.

Historically, Mandaue obtained its name from a thick, clinging vines known as “mantawi”, which were abundant in the early times. Today, it was considered long gone.

During these times, Mandaue, with its eastern and southern boundaries facing the Mactan Strait, was already referred to as the “merchants’ paradise”. The major economic points within the area were already interlinked with several crude transportation networks. The “Cove of Cebu” was formally constituted into a “pueblo” between 1580 to 1700, was under Jesuit priests and was officially known as the Town of Mandawe in the year 1899.

From that “Cove of Cebu” emerged the now industrial city of Mandaue. Mandaue became a chartered city under the term of Mayor Demetrio Cortes on June 21, 1969 through Republic Act 5519 and industrialization started to spread. The city was recognized as a highly-urbanized city in 1991.

Landmarks
Mandaue known as an industrial center has its own historical and breathtaking landmarks. Some of these are the Mandaue Presidencia City Hall, National Shrine of St. Joseph, Cebu International Convention Center, the Luis Cabrera Ancestral House and Museum, the City Plaza, Mandaue Eco Park, and the Pahara Park under the Marcelo Fernan bridge. It also boasts of its natural beauty sites like the Monkey Caves, Cansaga Bay, Butuanon River, and the Casili Hills.

Culture
Mandaue is also proud of its creative festivals and celebrations which includes the Mantawi Festival, Kabayo Festival, Sugat sa Sagrada Pamilya, Mandaue Fiesta, and the Pasigarbo sa Sugbo.

Mantawi Festival

It shows unique and exotic dance steps, is accompanied by a different beat, and is played by a brass instead of the usual drum or bugle. This makes up a one-of-a-kind festivity that entices and seduces the crowd to gather and witness one of the most anticipated celebration in the City of Mandaue, the Mantawi Festival.

Sugat sa Sagrada Pamilya or the Gathering of the Holy Family which coincidences with the patrons of the three major cities: Cebu's the Santo Niño, Lapu-lapu with the Image of Birhen sa Regla, and Mandaue's St Joseph, Señor San Jose.

Mandaue Fiesta

Celebrated every May in honor of the patron St. Joseph showcases Mandaue’s rich culture, inter-barangay sports competitions showcases Mandaue’s skills in basketball, boxing, badminton, volleyball, chess and tennis, the Miss Mandaue one of the most prestigious beauty pageants, and the Mantawi Festival which coincides with the city fiesta in May.

Kabayo festival

The Kabayo festival is held to remember Mandaue's past setting, with rodeos held annually in the second week of February ("Kabayo" meaning horse in Cebuano). Later, changed to the Governor's Cup , games are similar to the American rodeo but with a Filipino twist.

Pasigarbo sa Sugbo

It is a provincial event that held annually in Mandaue City. Show cases all of Cebu’s festivals through street dancing and cultural shows. The main event is held at the CICC where they will find Cebu's Festival Queen and Festival Champion.

Museums
856 G Gallery
Luis Cabrera Ancestral House and Museum
Mandaue City Public Library

Parks
City Plaza
Pahara Park
Mandaue Ecopark
Garden Centre

Natural
Monkey Caves
Cansaga Bay
Butuanon River
Casili Hills
Jagobiao Spring
Cabancalan-Banilad Sinkholes
Mahiga River

Sports
Mandaue City Sports and Cultural Complex
Greenlux Golf Range
Mandaue Tennis Complex
Portside Badminton Plaza
Quick Points Badminton Club
Aboitiz Sports Field
San Roque Football Club
Sacred Heart- Ateneo de Cebu Sports Complex
Cebu Golf Academy
AA Barbeque Restaurant & Golf Driving Range

Historical
Bantayan Sa Hari
National Shrine of Saint Joseph
Mandaue Presidencia, City Hall
Ouano Wharf
Mandaue Salt Beds
Eversley Childs Sanitarium
Rizal-Bonifacio Memorial Library
Bathan Press
San Miguel Brewery
Cebu International Convention Centre

Being a highly industrialized city, Mandaue city boasts its growing economy and mainstream infrastructures that distinguishes itself from the rest of Metropolitan Cebu. Some of these are:

The Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) is a 3-story structure built by the Cebu Provincial Government for the 12th Asean Summit and 2nd East Asia Summit at a cost of about US$ ten million dollars. It has a gross floor area of 28,000 square metres and is situated on 3.8 hectares of land at the Mandaue City Reclamation Area in Metro Cebu.

National Shrine of Saint Joseph Mandaue 

The church is greatly renovated. Removed were four large pillars that supported the cupola. These pillars appear in old photographs of the church interior. A statue of St. Joseph and the Child Jesus beside him is in the style of 18th century ivories and may be from Jesuit times.

The Jesuits established Mandaue in 1600 as a mission after they had acquired lands in the area for the Colegio de San Ildefonso. They exchanged Mandaue for the Parian in Cebu and assigned a lay brother as administrator of the Mandaue estate. The mission did not seem to have a priest permanently assigned to it, because it is not around 1724, the Jesuit catalogues specify that a Jesuit was posted at Mandaue and that his responsibility extended to Talibon and Inabanga in Bohol. Thus, for more than a century, Mandaue may have been served by Jesuits of the Colegio who took turns in attending to the spiritual needs of the people. Although the Jesuits did build a church in Mandaue in honor of the Fatherhood and protection of St. Joseph, a 1789 report describes the church as “sufficiently deteriorated.”

The present Mandaue church is attributed to the initiative of a secular priest, named Don Ambrosio; Redondo (1886, 157) describes the church as planned as a Greek cross with two octagonal chapels, 60 x 20 yards for the principal nave and 20 x 8 yards for the transept. In the 19th century, Mandaue was under the seculars, although it seems that the Recollects took charge of the parish for a while. The mandaue church site together with the market was donated by the late Kapitan Felix Ceniza whose grave now lies beneath the altar of St. Joseph church.

Mandaue Presidencia

The Mandaue Presidencia was inaugurated on 12 September 1937 during the incumbency of Cebu Governor Sotero B. Cabahug. Its construction begun two years earlier with an estimated cost at that time of Php 28,000.00. During the second world war, the presidencia was used as a garrison by the Japanese Imperial forces. On March 19, 1975, the new city hall was inaugurated. A second and third wing was added to the left side and the right side of the main building. An additional floor was also added from the main building connecting to the two new wings. From the original L shape of the old municipal hall floor plan, the new city hall format has now become an E-formed floor plan.

Bantayan sa Hari

This is a historical landmark of the city and is situated below the Mactan Cebu Bridge. This is a watchtower where the guards of the rulers of Cebu kept a watch on the pirates approaching the city. A bell in the tower kept the villagers informed about any such danger as they would then take refuge in the Patriarch church of Saint Joseph. The structure is now being renovated by the newly elected mayor. 

CUISINE

THERE’S bibingka and there’s Bibingka Mandaue, a delicacy that has become synonymous to this modest city in Metro Cebu.

“You have not been to Mandaue if you haven’t tasted the city’s bibingka,” said Adolf Hoerson, a German national who has lived in the city for more than 30 years.

Eating bibingka is one thing, preparing it is another. Mandauehanons, though, are so used to preparing the coconut rice cake that they’ve decided to make a 182-square-meter version. That’s roughly half the size of a basketball court.

To pull off the record-breaking task, some 300 public school students and teachers had to lend a hand, from squeezing milk from fresh coconut meat to preparing the bibingka mixture and pouring it into pans lined with banana leaves. 

-sunstarcebu-

Mayor Jonas Cortes says his welcoming words.

Mandaue Public officials does the formalities.

One part of the biggest bibingka ever to be made.

...putting them all together

33 hours in the making

finally..it's done!

...this bibingka was made this big so everyone can crash! *bite*

30 MINUTES after... :)) *burp*

MANTAWI FESTIVAL

The city of Mandaue and the festival is named after a tree that grew in abundantly in the shores of the Cebu. The cove was founded by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan on April 7, 1521 while in search for food and supplies. On the island a settlement was then built. The discovery of the cove, present day Tipolo, brought about the establishment of the first drydocking facility in the islands. In 1565, the Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazpi arrived in the Philippines after five decades after the Magellan expedition and built the Philippines' first drydock in the shores of Tipolo, about a few meters from the San Miguel Brewery Complex.^[1] The drydock was built by the facility served the Galleon ships that established trade with Mexico and Spain. From that beginning, Mandaue emerged as the industrial hub of the southern Philippines, the city of Mandaue.

The festival was a project started by the former mayor of Mandaue City. It was first celebrated on the 33rd charter day celebration of Mandaue, August 30, 2002. The next year the day of the festival was changed to last Sunday of August since it overwhelmed the city's charter day celebration the year before. In 2004, the festival was stopped due to organizational problems. In to 2005 the date was again moved to May 7 to coincide with the city's fiesta celebration.^[3]

The festival is a symbol of Mandaue City’s history. Its historical past affirms its present identity as a highly urbanized industrial center and a new tourism destination where arts and culture become tools for progress and prosperity. The highlight of the festival is a parade of street dancers and dioramas showcasing the history and culture of Mandaue accompanied by brass instruments. Industries in the city join in the celebration with their creatively-crafted floats. Other participants range from the government officials, teachers and to students. In 2005, the festival was opened for participation from places outside Cebu. The festival also includes the parade of higantes (giants)--The people who shaped the present Mandaue City. The festival culminates in the awarding of the winners of the street dance and float competition followed by a grand fireworks display.