Lapu-Lapu
- Lapu-Lapu is also the common name of the grouper fish in the Philippines, named after the hero.
Lapu-Lapu (Caliph Pulaka) is considered to be the first hero of the Philippines. As the chieftain of Mactan Island, he resisted the attempts of Ferdinand Magellan to colonize it. While Magellan succeeded in befriending other inhabitants of the Philippine islands, he faced his first opposition in Lapu-Lapu, who refused to pay tribute to the Spanish king and be converted to Christianity.
On the morning of April 27, 1521, Magellan, together with his soldiers, went to Mactan Island with the goal of punishing Lapu-Lapu and setting an example. Instead, Magellan was killed and his force defeated. It is popularly thought that it was Lapu-Lapu who killed Magellan, however historians generally consider that it was one or two other people on Lapu-Lapu's side who wounded and killed Magellan. The battle came to be known as the Battle of Mactan.
In his honor, the town of Opon on Mactan Island in Cebu province was renamed Lapu-Lapu City. An early Church of Lapu-Lapu can also be seen near the shoreline facing Mandaue City.