Category: Cebu Historical Spots & Tourist Attractions

Museo Sugbo: Showcasing Cebu’s Heritage

Ever wondered what happened to the old facility that used to be the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center in M.J. Cuenco Avenue? Well, it’s undergone a major facelift and has transformed itself into what we now know as Museo Sugbo.

The facility was designed in 1869, by a Spanish architect named Domingo de Escondrillas. He also designed a parish church in Pardo, Cebu City, named after Sto. Tomas de Villanueva. It is relatively large because it was intended to be the principal prison complex in the Visayas region.

The CPDRC structure was built in 1871. Back then, it was also known as Carcel de Cebu, and it served as the main prison in the province. Among its many incarcerated criminals are members of the Katipunan during the Philippine revolution and some World War II guerillas.

In 1892, the CPDRC was renovated. More buildings were built behind the main structure.  Into the 21st century, the facility continued to serve as a prison until the provincial government transferred CPDRC  to a more modern and more spacious prison complex in Kalunasan, Cebu City.

Following the transfer, the facility was temporarily occupied by the Department of Education until the provincial government decided to convert the place into a museum showcasing Cebuano’s heritage and  history. The facility is now known as Museo Sugbo, or the Cebu Museum.

The museum, which highlights Cebu’s political history, is considered a replica of the National Historical Institute’s Museum of Philippine Political History.  It was declared open to the public in 2008, during the 439th founding anniversary celebration of the province of Cebu.

For a small fee of Php 30.00 for adults and Php 10.00 for students and senior citizens, one can already bear witness to the heroism and unique culture of our ancestors, as evidenced by the artifacts they have left for us. The museum has four galleries, each presenting a political period of Cebu. The artifacts on display include a copy of “Ang Suga” (the first Cebuano newspaper), “The Brownie” (a spy camera used during the Japanese-American war), and a Christmas card written in Cebuano by former president Manuel Quezon.

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Lapu-Lapu Shrine

The Lapu-Lapu Shrine is a 20-meter bronze statue located in the Mactan Shrine park in Punta Engaño, Mactan Island, Cebu. The statue was erected to honor Rajah Lapu-Lapu, the native chieftain of Mactan Island who defeated Ferdinand Magellan during the historic Battle of Mactan in 1521.

The Lapu-Lapu memorial statue is on top of a pedestal surrounded by a low-level fence and shows the Cebuano hero in his native costume with a sword on his right hand and a shield on his left.

The Lapu-Lapu Shrine is inside a plaza commonly known as the Magellan Shrine park that commemorates the events of the Battle of Mactan. Thousands of foreign and local tourists visit the park every year. The park includes the Magellan Shrine and a covered structure that houses a huge mural painting of the Battle of Mactan and a commemorative marker.

The Magellan shrine is a large memorial tower built in 1866 to honor Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and is built on the area where Magellan is believed to have been killed in 1521.

The covered structure in the park houses a mural painting on the wall depicting the Battle of Mactan. A commemorative marker in front of the painting reads “Here on April 27, 1521, Lapu-lapu and his men repulsed the Spanish invaders, killing their leader, Ferdinand Magellan. Thus Lapu-lapu became the first Filipino to have repelled European aggression.”

Every year in April, during the anniversary of the Battle of Mactan, the park hosts the “Kadaugan sa Mactan,” a re-enactment of the epic battle.

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