Coastal municipality in the province of Cebu,located in the southeastern coast.The people are mainly relying on fishing and farming.Began as a small Christian settlement .Became a chapel of Carcar in 1599, with the small chapel being dedicated to the patronage of the Virgin Mary.
Moro piracy during the Spanish period in the Philippines caused misery for the inhabitants.Those were the sad experiences of the ancient people on this place.They will capture women and children for human trafficking.
Julian Bermejo, an Augustinian priest who played a pivotal role in protecting Cebu and other parts of the Visayas from devastating Moro raids in the 19th century. On October 9, 1802, Fr. Bermejo took over the parish while the church was still unfinished when he got into town.
Fray Bermejo encouraged neighboring towns in building other watchtowers which stretch as far as Carcar town in the north of and at the southern stretch towards Santander town. Remarkably, extant relics of these watchtowers can still be seen near southern Cebu coastlines
Consequently, Fray Bermejo was prompted to plan a protective strategy when he arrived in the town in 1802. With the church still unfinished, he however took up first the construction of a fort surrounding the church complex. The surrounding fort is framed by four fortifications which would serve as its lookout. One of these bulwarks, completed in 1808 is still standing near the sea. It is called “el gran baluarte” and it is a two-story block served as look-out, an ammunition storage and a prison cell.
These towers, at least those that were lined up along the coastal points, continued to be used as optical telegraph using flags in much the same as the ones designed by Bermejo atop Ilihan Hill. “Baluarte” let us never forget its original meaning and how it helped Cebu and Cebuanos avoid eternal slavery.
With the baluartes in place,the coastal settlement would no longer be caught off guard.
Therefore it is but right and proper to promote this heritage town as “The Bastion of Defense in the South”