About Mandaue City

History

The City of Mandaue was founded on April 7, 1521, when the Spanish expedition led by Ferdinand Magellan sighted the “Cove of Cebu”. The “Cove of Cebu” is located in the present Barangay Tipolo. This location hosted the first facility in the Philippines and played a significant role in the country's industrialization, promoting and sustaining the Acapulco Trade during that time.

In 1571, Legaspi established the country's first drydock complex on the shoreline of Tipolo, Mandaue, in order to hasten the colonization of the area. The drydock facilities, which were a few meters away from the existing location of the San Miguel Brewery Complex, reportedly serviced the Galleons of Legaspi.

Historically, Mandaue got its name from a thick, clinging vine known as “mantawi,” which was abundant in the early times, long before the coming of the Spanish conquistadores. During these times, Mandaue, with its eastern and southern boundaries facing the Mactan Strait, was already referred to as the “merchants' paradise.” The major economic points within the area were already interlinked with several crude transportation networks.

The “Cove of Cebu” was formally constituted into a “pueblo” between 1580 to 1700 and was officially known as the town of Mandaue in the year 1899. From that “Cove of Cebu” emerged the now industrial city of Mandaue. Mandaue became a chartered city on June 21, 1969, through Republic Act 5519. It was considered a highly-urbanized city in the year 1991 Proclamation No. 586 designated August 30, 1969 as the day when the city's government was formally organized.

Thus making August 30 Mandaue's Official Charter Day.