Uncommon
to other Filipinos, Lapu-Lapu's real name was "Kalipulako." According
to the locals, Spaniards could hardly pronounce "Kalipulako." Thus,
Spaniards called it Lapu-Lapu althoughLapu-Lapu's real name can also be traced
back to Antoine Pigafetta's chronicle. From Pigafetta's records, Lapu-Lapu's
real name was Cilapulapu. The prefix "Ci" was an honorific title for
Lapu-Lapu as one of the Chieftains of Mactan then along with Zula.
Lapu-Lapu,
of Bornean descent, arrived in Cebu to settle long before the arrival of the
Spaniards and welcomed by Raja Humabon who was then the King of Cebu. With the
rising power, tension, assertion and economic threat, like act of piracy, of
Lapu-Lapu, Humabon became alarmed. Later on, Humabon and Lapu-Lapu engaged in strife
that the former purportedly prompted troops of Magellan to attack and encumber
Lapu-Lapu in the shore to encourage him to respect the ruling monarchy and
Spain. The rest is history.
