LAPU-LAPU CITY

Lapu-Lapu, chartered city of the central Philippines, in Cebu Province, on the western coast of Mactan Island. Lapu-Lapu lies about 5 km (about 3 mi) across Cebu Harbor from the city of Cebu and is part of the Cebu metropolitan area. The short Mactan-Mandaue Bridge connects Lapu-Lapu and the rest of Mactan Island with Mandaue on Cebu Island. Lapu-Lapu is a port and industrial center noted for its thermal installations, which burn petroleum for energy; corn and flour milling; fishing; and handmade guitars. The Mactan International Airport is located adjacent to Lapu-Lapu, as is the Mactan Export Processing Zone (MEPZ), an industrial tax-free zone that opened in 1979. The MEPZ includes approximately 35 business ventures, about 50 percent of which are Japanese-owned. Tourism is also important in Lapu-Lapu; visitors are drawn to the excellent beaches and coral reefs of eastern Mactan. Lapu-Lapu, formerly Opon, is named after the famous Chief Lapulapu, who is believed to have killed the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan when he arrived on the east coast of Mactan Island in 1521. In 1886 a monument to Magellan was erected at the site of the conflict, and a monument to Chief Lapulapu stands in the citys plaza. During the 1980s Lapu-Lapus population increased by an annual average growth rate of 4 percent. Population (1999 estimate) 200,871. A monument in memory of Lapulapu, the brave warrior from the island of Mactan who engaged the superior forces of Magellan in battle along the shore. Magellan was slain in that battle and Lapulapu became the first recorded Filipino hero. This monument stands right next to the shrine of Magellan in barangay Mactan, Lapulapu City -- a reminder to all visitors who come to this place that no one can talk of Magellan without talking of Lapulapu The Mactan Export Processing Zone (MEPZ) is Cebus prime showcase of export-oriented growth. The 120-hectare industrial estate started out with only eight firms in 1986. But today, it keeps on expanding firms manufacturing a wide variety of goods and services. The growing activity in the MEPZ reflects the fast-paced economic development that is taking place in Cebu. The Mepz registered the largest positive trade balance among the four export processing zones in the country. Being labor-intensive, the MEPZ scaled new heights in employment. The zone increased in the number of skilled and unskilled workers. Factories at the MEPZ deliver world-class products to the United States, the European Economic Community and Japan. Such products include watches, semiconductors, electrical equipment, garments and precious jewelry. Enterprises with manufacturing facilities at the zone are predominantly multinational corporations. Half of these are Japanese-owned Facade of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport terminal building. This terminal has modern facilities that can measure up to international standards. MCIA also services the five domestic airlines: Philippine Airlines, Grand Air, Cebu Pacific, Air Philippines, Asian Spirit

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