Reference:

(Other reference:)
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com
http://pnp.gov.ph
http://www.lapulapucity.gov.ph
http://biography.yourdictionary.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapu-Lapu
LAPU - LAPU VERSUS MAGELLAN
Here in Mactan, there is a statue of a Filipino
who lived in 1521 and was named Lapu Lapu.
 He is celebrated by many Filipinos as a
National Hero, and called The Hero who
repelled the first foreign invaders.
Philippines was not a nation. It was an
archipelago of warring tribes without even a
common language. As a Filipino myself, I
have always been perplexed at the reasoning
behind Lapu Lapu being called a hero and
bewildered at the concept of an invasion.
At the age of 41,
Magellan, a
crippled man,
who walked with a
pronounced limp,
who had sailed
almost all the way
around the world,
without attacking
anybody, baptized
King Humabon of
Cebu, and the
people of Cebu.
Days later,
Magellan was
killed by Lapu
Lapu of Mactan
Island.
It was just Lapu Lapu's way of refusing to accept
Catholicism, baptism, and Jesus. He did not believe in
Jesus and Mary, Santo Nino, or anything Magellan had
to say. Pontius Pilate did not believe in Jesus either.
Why don't we erect him a statue?
IS LAPU LAPU A HERO?
Magellan spent two weeks on the island of Cebu
before that dark day he sailed to Mactan. He never
attacked anyone on Cebu Island. Quite the opposite.
He spent those two weeks baptizing the King and
Queen of Cebu and their people.
He erected them a
holy cross, and gave
them the Santo
Nino. (Until this
day, we Filipinos
gather by the
millions to
celebrate Sinulog in
honor of Santo
Nino. Every
Christian I know
displays Santo Nino
in a place of
prominence in
their home.) But
Lapu Lapu, wanted
no part of Santo
Nino nor anything
that went with
Magellan.
Lapu Lapu sent word
from Mactan Island,
that he would not be
baptized. Magellan
had 150 men and
three ships, all with
cannons, yet when he
sailed to Mactan, in
his effort to baptize
Lapu Lapu, he took
only 60 men and one
ship. The other 90
men and two ships
were left behind in
Cebu. Of these 60
men, 11 stayed
offshore with the
ship’s longboats, only
49 made the trek to
the Mactan shore.
Not what you would
call an invasion
force.
14 Things You should Know about Lapu-
Lapu and the Battle of Mactan
Lapu-Lapu is known to be the first Filipino hero who
fought and won against the Spanish colonization yet just
like many other Filipino heroes who fought vigorously for
our freedom, he is given a little regard. Most of us only
knew him as one of the Datus of Mactan in the Visayas
who killed the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan
during the battle of Mactan in April 27, 1521 wherein the
heavily armed Spaniards (with lances, swords, crossbows,
and muskets) were defeated by Lapu-lapu’s warriors
armed with iron swords, bows, and “bamboo” spears.
As the Philippines’ first known hero, Filipinos ought to
know more about the bravery of Datu Lapu-Lapu and
learn how did we win the battle of Mactan against the
Spanish conquistadors.
1. The tide was on their side – According to Antonio
Pigafetta, an Italian scholar and explorer from the
Republic of Venice who traveled with Ferdinand
Magellan and his crew by order of the King Charles I of
Spain, they were forced to anchor their ships “two
crossbow flights” away from the beach so they have to
wade themselves to the shore and engage in a hand to
hand combat with the natives.
2. The Spaniards were outnumbered – Based on
Pigafetta’s account, 50 armored Spaniards including
Magellan faced around 1,500 warriors of Lapu-Lapu.
3. Magellan made a wrong assumption – Magellan thought that
because Rajah Humabon was the king of Cebu, he was the king of
Mactan as well and Datu Lapu-Lapu would obey Humabon, but the
structure of Chiefdom in the ancient Filipino society is not like that
of the European society. Mactan is under Lapu-Lapu and Zula’s
domain so when he told Lapu-Lapu to submit to them as his King
Humabon did, he simply replied that he is not willing to do so and
stood his ground.

4. Magellan underestimated his opponent – Magellan went to

Mactan Island with around sixty Spaniards and twenty to thirty
balangay (war boats) of Humabon’s warriors from Cebu but he
wanted to show-off the superiority of their European armor and
weapons so he told Humabon’s warriors to remain in their
balangay as if they were just audience he brought along to watch
him slaughter the natives who to him looked naïve with battles.
5. Good team work – Filipino warriors moved in
synchrony against the Spaniards, despite of the fact
that they did not have the finest armory, the fully
equipped Spanish soldiers were easily defeated
because Lapu-Lapu’s men moved as one. Thus, the
hunter becomes the prey. Basing again on Pigafetta’s
journal, it was not actually Lapu-Lapu who killed
Magellan but his men. When they recognized the
Captain, they focused their attacks on him while the
rest of his men retreated to the ship upon his
command.
Now, let’s get to know the Filipino leader whom
Ferdinand Magellan underestimated.
6. Datu Lapu-Lapu is also known under the names Çilapulapu, Si
Lapulapu, Salip Pulaka, Cali Pulaco, and Lapulapu Dimantag. The
reason for this various names he was known for is said to be
because of wrong translations done by writers who wrote about his
heroic deeds in his territory to preserve independence from the
European invaders. No matter what name he was called, writers
agreed on two things, this man was both very intelligent and a
great warrior.
7. He is said to have been born in 1491 although the exact date of
his birth was never told. At the age of 6, young Lapu Lapu was
already able to ride horseback and caribou. The following year, he
was able to write and read. And two years after that, he became an
excellent boxer. He also mastered other sports such as swimming
and wrestling. By the time he turned eighteen, he became
champion of all those sports. At the age of twenty, Lapu-Lapu has
already fought with Bornean soldiers and pirates, and won.
8. Lapu-Lapu arrived from Borneo during Humabon’s reign, over
Sugbo (now Cebu). He asked Humabon to give a place for him
and his people to settle in. Humabon provided him the region of
Mandawili (now Mandaue), including the island known as
Opong (or Opon) for Lapu-Lapu’s people to cultivate which they
did and helped enhance the trade of Sugbo. Although their
friendship was tainted upon the arrival of the Spaniards, the two
leaders became friends again after the Battle of Mactan.
9. Little is known about how did Lapu-Lapu die. Some historian
said that Lapu-Lapu decided to return to Borneo with his eleven
children, three wives, and seventeen men, and since that day he
was never heard of again. Some locals also believe that in his final
years, Lapu-Lapu did not die, but turned into a stone, and is
forever guarding the seas of Mactan.
10. The Philippine government erected a 20 meters (66 ft) bronze
statue in his honor on Mactan Island and changed the name of the
town of Opon in Cebu to Lapu-Lapu City. The statue used to hold a
bow and arrow pointing to the Municipal Hall where the mayors of the
said town used to hold office but after three succeeding mayors died
due to heart attack, some superstitious people suggested changing the
design of the statue.
11. A P15-million worth of brass statue of Lapu-Lapu was donated by
the Korean Freedom League. It was called the “Sentinel of Freedom”
and given as gift to show their appreciation and at the same time honor
the memory of Filipinos who helped during the Korean War in the
early 1950s. Some historian argued that it should be removed from
Luneta or Rizal Park because the place was meant for the martyrs who
died during the Spanish regime. There are also two other monuments
of Lapu-Lapu; one in Paseo de Roxas and Makati Avenue.
 12. He appeared on a Philippine 1-centavo coin which
circulated in the Philippines from 1967 to 1974.

13. Lapu-Lapu is the central figure in the seal of the Philippine

National Police and the Bureau of Fire Protection.

14. Two films were made about him, both called Lapu-Lapu.
The first movie was in 1955 and the second in 2002. Lapu-
Lapu was portrayed by Mario Montenegro in the first movie
and the latter film by Lito Lapid.

Datu Lapu-Lapu left us the legacy of freedom. He did it

through his extraordinary bravery and love for his own land. I
hope that Filipinos today will do the same. We must also fight
for our freedom. We must be free from povertyand
corruption. So are you ready to fight like Lapu-Lapu?