Madridejos
Coastal Town of Madridejos, Cebu
photo by Ian Ong - Flickr
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Madridejos is a 4th class municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. It is one of the three municipalities that make up the island of Bantayan. It is bounded on the south by the municipality of Bantayan, Cebu, and on all other sides by the Visayan Sea.
Lawis was the old name of Madridejos. In fact, even up to the present, the less young among the people still use the name Lawis. In the vernacular term of “Peninsula”, the portion carved out to constitute the Municipality of Madridejos being the peninsula located on the Northern side of Bantayan Island facing the Visayan Sea. The first fisherman, Lazaro Mangubat, came to live in Mancilang, Lawis after discovering the place as one of the rich fishing grounds of the country. The general scenery of Lawis was that of a quiet place, of Virgin grounds covered by small shrubs and lantana. When more people discovered Lawis and flocked to it, the place became a visita. In 1889 when Pedro Benito Romero De Madridejos, the Archbishop of Cebu, came to visit the place, Father Juan Alcoseba, then the curate of the place, renamed Lawis Madridejos in his honor.
The main industries of Madridejos are fishing, poultry and tourism.
The municipality of Madridejos is one of the three municipalities comprising the island of Bantayan, located in the northwestern tip of Cebu Province. The other 2 municipalities are Bantayan and Sta. Fe.
Madridejos can be reached by V-Hires (vans) or Bus from Cebu North Terminal via Hagnaya wharf in Bogo which is about 110 kilometers from Cebu City and is about 2-3 hours travel time. From Hagnaya take a ferry boat to Sta. Fe which will take about 30 minutes to cross the 18 km. distance.
Because of its rich fishing grounds, Madridejos earned the name of “Little Alaska of the Philippines” and as a matter of fact the first canning factory in the country was established in Madridejos, but it lost its sustaining impact in the history of the municipality after it was bombed during World War II. At present, poultry raising is a booming industry and Madridejos contributes a substantial quantity of eggs produced for sale to the neighboring provinces.
Madridejos is associated with the name Bantayan being a part of Bantayan Island as it shares only more than eight square miles of the total land area of Bantayan Island.
- The Kaota/Kota (Fort)
- Dried fish making
- Seaweeds
Madridejos is composed of 14 barangays, namely: Bunakan, Kangwayan, Kaongkod, Kodia, Maalat, Malbago, Mancilang, Pili, Poblacion, San Agustin, Tabagak, Talangnan, Tarong and Tugas.
According to the 2000 census, Madridejos has a population of 29,020 people in 5,275 households.
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