The road to Daanbantayan

CEBU, Philippines – For the average travelers, it starts at the city’s North Bus Terminal. There, certain buses bear the name of the place in their sign boards. Daanbantayan is a town located at the northernmost part of Cebu.

The bus trip usually takes three hours or more, depending on the frequency of stops along the way or the speed of the driving.  The town center itself has been a little outshone by one of its barangays – Malapascua Island, touted to be a world destination for divers and beach bums alike. But Daanbantayan proper also has its own share of attractions.

The name of the town was derived from two words: “daan,” which is Cebuano for “old,” and “bantayan,” which means a “lookout outpost”; such outposts were common in the days of old for spotting approaching Moro raiders that frequented the whole Cebu Island. In due time, the two words become spelled together as one to refer to the area. The original site of the town center is said to have been located at an elevated vantage point in a place called Punta, near the town’s barangay Tapilon.

Daanbantayan is a first-class municipality with a population of 74,897, according to the 2010 census. Its registered voters, per 2013 records, number 45,073. The traditional livelihoods of the people are farming and fishing, although the town has since picked up in terms of business activities.

The town holds its Haladaya Festival on August 30 each year, in honor of the legendary Datu Daya, supposedly the founder of the original community. It is claimed to be the biggest festival in the north of Cebu, in which colorful tribal costumes highlight the mardi gras parade. The festival also coincides with the feast of St. Rose of Lima, the town’s patron saint. The celebrations often draw in local holidaymakers, balikbayans, and foreign tourists from as far away as North America, South America, and Europe.

Owing to the town’s strategic location on the island, the Japanese Imperial forces occupied Daanbantayan during World War II, and built military garrisons and concentration camps in the area. The Battle of Daanbantayan, in 1945, was one of the most dramatic encounters between the Philippine Commonwealth Army and Cebuano guerrillas on one side and the Japanese forces on the other side.

Recently, Daanbantayan experienced the wrath of yet another formidable enemy – the super typhoon Yolanda on November 8, 2013 that cost the lives of nine people and injuring 50 others. The fierce typhoon also left great damage to property in the town. Signs of the destruction can still be seen today in some areas.

Several beach resorts cater to visitors to the town as well as those on their way to Malapascua Island. The mainland town offers patches of white-sand public beaches. The fronting waters are home to rich marine life whose beauty mimics that of Malapascua’s.

The Daanbantayan Municipal Hall is old, built originally in 1916. But its Sta. Rosa de Lima Parish Church is much older; inaugurated on  April 10,1858 and finished in 1886. The façade of the church is still intact. The town plaza is another interesting point – it is the site of a battle between the so-called Daanbantayan Volunteers and 19 well-armed bandits led by Capitan Berinoin 1898.

The road to Daanbantayan ends right in the town, since it is at the tip of Cebu Island. But the trip may not have to end here. The town’s Malapascua Island is just across a shallow strait. Barangay Maya is the gateway to the world-famous beach and underwater paradise.