Balamban, officially the Municipality of Balamban ( ceb, Lungsod sa Balamban; tgl, Bayan ng Balamban), is a 1st class

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the g ...

in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outs ...

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 1 ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 95,136 people.

Mount Manunggal Mount Manunggal is the third-highest peak in the island of Cebu after Osmena Peak and Lugsangan Peak. It is located in Barangay Magsaysay in Balamban, Cebu province, rising above sea level. It is the site of the crash of the presidential plane ...

in Barangay Magsaysay (formerly Sunog), is the site of the plane crash on 17 March 1957 in which President

Ramon Magsaysay Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay Sr. (August 31, 1907 – March 17, 1957) was a Filipino statesman who served as the seventh president of the Philippines, from December 30, 1953, until his death in an aircraft disaster on March 17, 1957. An autom ...

and 17 of his presidential staff and news correspondents were killed.

History

Balamban became a town "pueblo" in 1745. A Spanish document attests that the community was recognized as a town during Spanish colonial period. The first administrator was Ciriaco Gutierrez, a Spanish captain.

Cityhood

House Bill No. 1574 was filed last July 8, 2019 for the conversion of the municipality of Balamban into a component city in the province of Cebu. The bill is currently pending with the committee on local government since July 24, 2019. On July 5, 2022, House Bill No. 1018 was filed by Rep. Pablo John Garcia which seeks to convert the municipality of Balamban to be known as the City of Balamban.

Geography

Balamban is bordered to the north by the town of

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive ...

, to the west is the

Tañon Strait The Tañon Strait ( fil, Kipot ng Tañon) is a body of water, separating the islands of Negros and Cebu in the Visayas, Philippines. The strait, which is about long, connects the Visayan Sea in the north to the Bohol Sea in the south. Its wid ...

, to the east is

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Sugbo; fil, Lungsod ng Cebu; hil, Dakbanwa sang Sugbo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines and capital of the Cebu Province. Acc ...

, and to the south is the City of Toledo. It is from Cebu City.

Barangays

Balamban comprises 28 barangays:

Climate

Demographics

Economy

West Cebu Industrial Park (WCIP) is a 540-hectare mixed-used development in Balamban. It is anchored by a 283-hectare Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) registered zone tagged as the "Shipbuilding Capital of the Philippines". It hosts 11 locators from medium to heavy industries and employs 14,000 skilled workers. Located in WCIP in Barangay Buanoy is Tsuneishi Heavy Industries (Cebu), Inc. (THICI). It builds merchant ships of up to 180,000 deadweight tons using the same high quality shipbuilding technologies and standards as those in Tsuneishi Japan. Also located in WCIP in Barangay Arpili is Austal Philippines Pty. Ltd. which caters to market demands for high speed ferries, workboats, fast crew transfer boats, other commercial vessels and defense vessels. Other locators include Aboitiz Construction, Air Liquide, Linde, Balamban Enerzone, Mactan Rock Industries, Inc. Tsuneishi Holdings, Tsuneishi Technical Services (Phils.), Inc., K & A Metal Industries, Inc. Shillon Global Construction, Inc., and Advanced Composites Group, There are currently two shopping malls. The Gaisano Balamban Town Center and Gaisano Grand Balamban. A number of banks and financial institutions are operating in Balamban. This includes Metrobank, RCBC, Landbank, City Savings Bank, BDO Network Bank, Rizal MicroBank, Banco Maximo and Sugbuanon Rural Bank. TransCentral Highway (TCH) which runs through the mountains connects Balamban to Cebu City. It is popular by road trippers, bikers and riders for its tourist attractions, restaurants and cafes.

References

External links

* Philippine Standard Geographic Code {{Authority control Municipalities of Cebu