Daanbantayan

History

The name Daanbantayan was derived from two words: the word "daan", which means "old" in Cebuano, and the word "bantayan", which refers to a place that served as a look out for Moro raiders during the Pre-Hispanic Philippines. The original site of the town might have been at an elevated vantage point near Punta, in Tapilon.

On 8 November 2013, 9 people were killed and 50 injured when Super Typhoon Haiyan (known as Yolanda within the Philippine area of responsibility) passed over Daanbantayan.{{cite news | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131118211731/http://www.businessinsider.com.au/typhoon-haiyan-damage-is-worse-than-hell-2013-11 | archive-date = 18 November 2013 | url-status = live

Geography

Located at the northern tip of Cebu, Daanbantayan is bordered on the north by the Visayan Sea, to the west by Bantayan Island, on the east by the Camotes Sea, and on the south by the town of Medellin. It is 136 km from Cebu City.

Islands and thalassic attractions

There are several small islands/islets and diving spots, with the list below arranged by latitude from nearest to farthest from Cebu island:

• Chocolate ()
• Monad Shoal ()
• Malapascua () 600 ha
• Gato cave & islet () 4.5 ha
• Maria () 1.5 ha
• Carnaza () 175 ha

Barangays

Daanbantayan is politically subdivided into 20 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

Climate

| access-date = 10 May 2020 }}

Demographics

Economy

Transportation

Ceres Liner (And Sugbo Transit), White Stallion Express (Subsidiary Of Rough Riders) and Cebu Autobus are among the bus companies with regular service to and from Cebu city (North Bus Terminal). Jeepneys, tricycles, and trisikads are the main modes of transportation within the town.

Tourism

Daanbantayan is now known for its pristine, white powder-like sandy beaches – one of which is Malapascua Island. With its vast and rich marine resources, it hosts a long string of dive sites offering unique marine life and beauty.

As a tourist destination, Daanbantayan stages the Haladaya Festival every year as an added attraction to local vacationers, holiday-makers, Filipino expatriates, and foreign tourists from as far away as North America, South America, and Europe.

Attractions

The church of St. Rose of Lima was damaged in the 2025 Cebu earthquake. St. Rose of Lima Parish Church in Daanbantayan, Cebu.jpg|Santa Rosa de Lima Church Approaching Gato Islet.jpg|Approaching Gato Islet Malapascua1-AirView.jpg|Malapascua island from the air Malapascua (island), Bounty Beach, Bungalow, Philippines.jpg|Malapascua Island

• Municipal hall – built in 1916.
• Santa Rosa de Lima Church – inaugurated on 10 April 1858 and finished in 1886.
• Town plaza – site of a battle between the so-called Daanbantayan Volunteers and 19 well-armed bandits led by Capitan Berinoin 1898.
• San Pedro River - its northern bank has an abandoned Muslim settlement founded by Datu Daya during the pre-Spanish era.
• Tapilon point (also known as Punta Sampero) – site of the watchtower of Kandaya, called "daang bantayanan". But there are no remains of the watchtower.
• Malapascua Island – is situated across a shallow strait from the northernmost tip of Cebu. This small island is known for its wide white sand beach, Bounty Beach; it has also become known as a superior diving destination.
• – a small sharp rocky island rising in the middle of the Visayan Sea, about 15 km from Malapascua. The 83 m island is home to nesting seabirds, a colony of flying foxes, soft coral canyons, and rare and unusual nudibranchs.
• Monad Shoal – a 20 m seamount known for its thresher sharks, making the shoal popular for recreational divers. The common thresher shark (alopias vulpinus) and pelagic thresher shark (alopias pelagicus) normally live in depths as deep as 350 m, but the shoal offers opportunities to see them in less than 20 metres of water.

References

References

1. {{DILG detail
2. Salcedo, Mary Joy. (September 30, 2025). "6.9-magnitude quake kills child, damages heritage churches in Cebu".
3. "Local Heritage". Municipality of Daanbantayan, Cebu.