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.