Balamban is a 1st class municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. Situated in the northwestern coast of Cebu, it is about 64 kilometers from the main city. It is part of the third district alongside the town of Asturias and Toledo City.
The town is bordered by the municipality of Asturias in the north, and by Cebu and Mandaue Cities by its east. The City of Toledo is at its south and faces the Tañon Strait in the west.
It is one of the towns having the biggest land area with a total land area of 33,700 hectares. It is politically subdivided into 28 barangays namely: Abucayan, Aliwanay, Arpili, Bayong, Biasong, Buanoy, Cabagdalan, Cabasiangan, Cambuhawe, Cansomoroy, Cantibas, Cantuod, Duangan, Gaas, Ginatilan, Hingatmonan, Lamesa, Liki, Luca, Matun-og, Nangka, Pondol, Prenza, Singsing, Magsaysay, Vito, Baliwagan (Poblacion) and Santa Cruz-Santo Niño (Poblacion).
Its topography is characterized by flatlands, scraggly hills, small mountain ranges and deep narrow passages between mountain and hills. Like most of the tropical areas, it has its respective share of wet and dry seasons.
Aside from fishing and farming, which are dominant in most places, Balamban’s major sources of revenue are shipbuilding and cement manufacturing. These are the reasons that catapulted the town to its present status.
History:
According to some octogenarians, Balamban was already an organized unit before 1878 with Capitan Cinaco Gutierez as its first administrator. There are no records that explain the actuality of the events since the official records were destroyed during the devastating World War II.
However, the official Roman Catholic Directory has recorded that the town of Balamban became a parish in the year 1857. Normally, parish was founded first before the establishment of a pueblo or town.
The town has made another history as the tragic accident, the death of the former president, Ramon Magsaysay, took place in Mt. Manunggal where the plane actually crashed.
But despite all that, Balamban has disremembered those catastrophic events and moved on. A decade ago, Balamban was just a mere 4th class municipality and originally a dense forested area with a small portion of land along its coastline.
The introduction of a shipping industry has awakened this sleepy town and advanced into a shipping metropolis. Also, its adjacency to the city of Cebu and Mandaue and the completion of the Trans-Central Highway, a road network that transverses and connects the scenic mountainous parts of Cebu, are the perks to its current disposition.
Now, Balamban is now subject of great interest for housing and tourism programs. Concerts, beauty pageants and street dancing are held during the town fiesta which took place on October 3-4 in honor of its patron saint, St. Francis of Assisi.
How To Get There:
V-Hires from Cebu South Terminal in Cebu City and other private vehicles can travel via Trans-Central Highway with an estimated time of about an hour. Public busses will travel via Naga-Uling which takes two hours to travel before reaching Balamban.
