Lapu-Lapu is also the common name of the grouper fish in the Philippines, named after the hero.

Lapu-Lapu (Caliph Pulaka) is considered to be the first hero of the Philippines. As the chieftain of Mactan Island, he resisted the attempts of Ferdinand Magellan to colonize it. While Magellan succeeded in befriending other inhabitants of the Philippine islands, he faced his first opposition in Lapu-Lapu, who refused to pay tribute to the Spanish king and be converted to Christianity.

On the morning of April 27, 1521, Magellan, together with his soldiers, went to Mactan Island with the goal of punishing Lapu-Lapu and setting an example. Magellan was killed instead, and his force defeated. The popular idea is that Lapu-Lapu is Magellan's killer, but historians generally agree that it was one or two of Lapu-Lapu's people who wounded and killed Magellan. The battle came to be known as the Battle of Mactan.

In his honor, the town of Opon on Mactan Island in Cebu province was renamed Lapu-Lapu City. An early Church of Lapu-Lapu can be seen near the shoreline facing Mandaue City.

See also

• Battle of Mactan