The battle of Mat-an (The aftermath)

After the Three Day Battle of Mat-an, King Lapulapu celebrated their victory. Prof. Lina Quimat, in her book, Glimpses in History of Early Cebu published in 1980 continued the narration: “As was the custom, the natives buried their dead in their graves and while the white men were buried where they fell as most of them were already decomposed. It was also the custom of the natives, the dead were respected and this was true even to their enemies.”

“The circular enclosure built in Mactan by the Spaniards in 19th century was where Magellan was buried when his dead body was left behind by his men who were scared by the battle. Not one of the Spaniards bothered to retrieve the body of their dead as they did nothing but retreat and retreat after that bitter clash with the natives until their leader, Magallanes, was killed.”

The economy after the battle: “After the Battle of Mactan, peace reigned all over the Bisayan Islands and Mindanao. Arab ships rowed the seas all over the world and the merchants from the port of Sugbu went to several islands-Canton, Malacca, Moluccas, India and Siam and foreign traders kept coming to this port of Sugbu also. The Moros could no longer intercede in behalf of any foreigner who, like Magellan, would like to land on the port but would not pay the tribute required.”

The defense of the islands: “King Lapulapu directed his men to help the rest of the people of the Bisayan regions as most of the people might be overrun by undesirable foreigners again. The trusted men of King Lapulapu spread out in the Bisayas in order to help the men who were in need of assistance. Some of the natives of Sugbu settled in Leyte especially in Baibai and Cabalian, in Bohol in Panay and in the land inhabited by the black people called Panilonga, now Negros. When Legaspi came, the Bisayans knew that the natives at the port were not the only ones to fight against bad foreigners.”

This proves that Lapulapu truly was the first national hero and defender of the Islands fitting to be enshrined on the badge of the country’s real heroes, the men and women of the Philippine National Police.

Lapulapu’s personal life: “Lapulapu was married to a fair lady named Bulacna who was the daughter of a chief of a small balangay, Rajah Cusgan, in the island of Olanggoh, now called Santa Rosa. He was a contented married man and was the head of a happy family and people. The royal couple had three children whose descendants lost identity as time went by.”

CEBUpedia is embarking on a journey of identifying the descendants of Lapulapu, the Cebuano King who slain the country’s first foreign invader.