The name Cebu came from the word “SEBU” meaning animal fat. Long before the coming of the Spaniards, it was a fishing village ruled by Rajah Humabon.

Cebu metamorphosed in more ways than one, but always for the better. From a sleepy fishing village to a fledging trading port in 1521, from the first Spanish settlement named Villa del Santisimo Nombre de Jesus in 1575 to a municipality in 1901, Cebu finally became a chartered city on February 24, 1937. Being the first and oldest city in the country antedating Manila by 7 years, having the oldest school and oldest street and being the cradle of Christianity in the Far East (i.e. Magellan’s cross planted in Cebu as a symbol of natives embracing the Christian faith), Cebu is replete with historical firsts.