Talisay City, Cebu History

History

Talisay was founded in 1648 as an estate owned by the Augustinians. In 1849, it was converted into a municipality with Silverio Fernandez as its first gobernadorcillo and Pedro Labuca as captain.

Some accounts claim that Talisay got its name from the Magtalisay trees which are endemic in certain areas of the municipality, while others claim that Talisay got its name from a town in Spain.

During both the American colonial period and World War II, Talisay served as a haven of colonial military forces. The municipality served as the center of guerrilla intelligence operations for the Philippine resistance movement in Cebu during World War II. The returning U.S. liberation forces landed on the beaches of Talisay on March 28, 1945, and were helped together with the Philippine Commonwealth forces and the Cebuano guerrillas, an event that marked the eventual surrender of Japanese forces on Cebu. That day is now an official holiday in the province of Cebu.

In 2000, the municipality of Talisay was converted into a city.[1] The municipality is now linked to Cebu City via the new South Coastal Highway from Lawaan, opened in 2004. This has brought some recent inward investment in the form of sub-divisions, some hastily planned and plagued by problems. Conflict has occurred between the residents of the mountain barangay of Maghaway and those of Crown Asia's Azienda Milan and Venezia sub-divisions. According to the National Statistics Office in its 2000 report, some 70 percent of the population of Talisay belongs to the urban poor. Talisay remains an important center for the production of blasting caps used in dynamite.

The vision of the City of Talisay is to become:

1)An environmentally friendly city that provides quality of life to the Talisaynons;

2)A city by the sea which encourages and promote the balance of employment, business opportunities and human development;

3)An alternative commercial and industrial center to the highly urbanized cities of Cebu and Mandaue;

4)A tourism destination that promotes sustainable development of the waterfront area and appropriate eco-tourism activities to the upland areas;

5)A settlement haven that offers better living environment to its residents;

6)A city that promotes sustainable utilization of its natural resources.

To attain this vision, the City of Talisay aims to:

1)Enhance and optimize existing and proposed residential and commercial sites in the waterfront and central areas of the city;

2)Capitalize on waterfront development, shoreline rehabilitation, river enhancement and greenbelt promenades;

3)Enhance and develop the coastal zone areas for tourism-oriented activities and improvement of environmental quality;

4)Optimize residential areas to provide the housing needs of the population in a safe, healthy and better living conditions;

5)Improve for agricultural production in the upland areas and provide appropriate amenities that are essential for eco-tourism activities;

6)Develop a management plan to conserve and protect fragile and sensitive ecosystem of the Mananga watershed and forestland areas;

7)Improve existing infrastructure and other support facilities to encourage employment opportunities and economic activities.

Demography

The City of Talisay registered a total population of 150,128 in 2000 recorded in NSO Census of Publication book with an average population growth of 4.25 percent.   However, a special census conducted by National Statistics Office sometime in May 2000, specifically for the application of the then Municipality of Talisay for Cityhood yielded a population of 150,238 based on the number of residents working & studying in schools in other component cities, and residential subdivisions of the city. For the purpose of planning and drafting the CLUP 2001-2010, however, and considering the availability of socio-economic data, the NSO Population 2000 was used as basis.   There were a total of 28,751 households in 2000 and the population density was recorded at 36.23 persons/hectare. It is projected that the city's total population will reach 224,587 by 2010.

Based on the 1995 census figures, the dependency ratio of the City of Talisay was at 66 per cent. Cebuano is the predominant dialect (96 per cent) of the inhabitants of the city.

Celebrations

TALISAY CITY CHARTER DAY - 2nd Week of January Held every 12th day of January.

AMERICAN LANDING ANNIVERSARY –March 26 A parade and re-enactment from the Armed Forces and war veterans highlighted the yearly celebration to honor & remember the American & Filipino Soldiers who shed blood to liberate the province of Cebu.

FOUNDING DAY - 2nd Week of August Talisay City commemorates its Foundation day celebration every 16 August with a series of week-long cultural sports and other events.

FIESTA SA TALISAY – October 15 Talisaynon celebrates its annual Fiesta on the 15th day of October in honor of Patron St. Sta. Teresa de Avila.

HALAD FESTIVAL - October 15 It is the traditional gesture of thanksgiving by the Talisaynons during the annual fiesta celebration. People from all walks of life flock to the city to dance, offer and join the merriment as one grateful community.

INASAL FESTIVAL - October 15 The city’s famous specialty, lechon inasal is served in every resident’s banquet. The festival is a showcase of lechons in various costumes and decorations.