Metro Cebu

The people of Cebu are called Cebuanos. Some individuals have Chinese, Japanese, Indian and other foreign ancestries as well as ancestries from other Filipino ethnic groups.

Cebuano is the most common language spoken in Metro Cebu. English is commonly used in educational institutions and business transactions. Other languages spoken include Chinese, Tagalog and a range of Visayan languages.

Arroyo taking her Oath of Office in Cebu City on 30 June 2004

On 30 June 2004, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was the first Philippine President to be inaugurated in Metro Cebu. The inauguration was done in front of Cebu Provincial Capitol in Cebu City. This was done in gratitude for the support given to her by the people of Cebu during the election. In a break with tradition, she delivered her inaugural address in Manila before departing for Cebu for her inauguration.

Metro Cebu and other key Philippine cities hosted the 2005 Southeast Asian Games. The event was held from 27 November to 5 December 2005. Venues for this event includes the Cebu City Sports Complex, Cebu Coliseum, Mandaue Coliseum, University of San Carlos and parts of Danao.

The 12th Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), originally scheduled for 10–14 December 2006 was postponed to January 2007 due to Typhoon Utor and the consideration of the safety and welfare of the participants.

The Cebu International Convention Center is a structure built by the Cebu provincial government in time for the 12th ASEAN Summit and 2nd East Asia Summit at a cost of around US$10-million dollars, US$5-million dollars more than expected. It is a three-storey structure with a total floor area of 25,000 square metres (270,000 sq ft) and situated on 3.8 hectares (9.4 acres) of land at the Mandaue Reclamation Area.

The 2016 International Eucharistic Congress, held on 24–31 January 2016, was a gathering of Roman Catholic priests, bishops, lay people, nuns and representatives from different parts of the world. The 8-day congress was observed with religious activities like cathechisis, processions and seminars, It was ended with a Statio Orbis or Closing Mass held at South Road Properties on 31 January 2016, it was attended by the Papal Legate, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo.

Globe Innove IT Plaza

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) is the major phone carrier in the metropolis and the entire province. Globelines Innove and Islacom, both subsidiaries of Globe Telecom came in after the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1995.

There are three wireless telecommunication companies serving Metro Cebu as well as the rest of the Philippines. These are:

• Smart Communications/Pilipino Telecommunications Corp., a PLDT subsidiary – using the brands: Smart, Talk 'n' Text, and Addict Mobile
• Globe Telecom – using the brands: Globe and TM
• Digitel Mobile – using the brand Sun Cellular

Metro Cebu's electricity is mostly supplied from Leyte Geothermal Power Plants operated by PNOC-EDC which is interconnected across Cebu through electrical submarine cables operated by TransCo. It is transmitted by the state-owned National Transmission Corporation (TransCo) through several high tension wires. It is stored and distributed by the Visayan Electric Company (VECO). They put out 220VAC 50 Hz (VECO).

In 1974 the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) took over in distributing potable water to the whole metropolis after the Osmena Waterworks System suffered financial losses. MCWD supplies potable water to the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Lapu-lapu and Talisay and the municipalities of Consolacion, Liloan, Compostela and Cordova from their reservoirs in Lake Plumbero, Minglanilla; Buhisan Reservoir in Cebu City; Casili in Consolacion and Mananga in Talisay.

Water shortage has always been a problem in Metro Cebu due to deforestation and seawater intrusion of the underground water supply.[5] There was a proposal to acquire water from nearby Bohol island because of the water crisis in the metropolis.[6]

In 1998, the Mananga Phase I Project located in Maghuway, Talisay was completed producing an additional 33,000 cubic metres (33,000,000 l; 8,700,000 US gal) of potable water per day. And the other area through a series of 5HP submersible pumps powered by Solar Electric Energy (note: Operates only during daytime) in Minglanilla near Lake Plumbero.

An intersection within Cebu Business Park

Metro Cebu's roadways are among the country's busiest. The south highway, Osmeña Boulevard, Colon Street, and V. Rama are Metro Cebu's major roads. A new highway which is the South Coastal Road or the Cebu Coastal Road is almost complete. The 12 kilometer, 4-lane highway was created to improve traffic in Metro Cebu. It connects Cebu City, Talisay and other southern municipalities. In conjunction with the development of the Cebu South Coastal Road, a roadway underpass nearly a kilometer long is currently under construction to connect the South Coastal Road with the Sergio Osmeña Avenue in the North Reclamation Area. Other planned projects include a series of flyovers in the north district, the Cebu North Coastal Road and Cloverleaf interlink road project.

Mactan is connected to the island of Cebu via two bridges: the Marcelo Fernan Bridge and the much older, Mactan-Mandaue Bridge. The third Cebu-Mactan link which is the Cebu–Cordova Bridge is under construction.

Mactan-Cebu International Airport's recently opened Terminal 2.

Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) is, officially, the only airport in the Metro Cebu. Located in Lapu-Lapu, it is the second busiest airport in the Philippines, after Metro Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

It has two terminals. Terminal 1 is used solely for domestic flights, while Terminal 2, which was opened on July 1, 2018, serves international flights. Together the two terminals have a total capacity of 12.5 million.

The number of weekly international flights to and from MCIA has constantly increased over the years. Currently, there are direct regular and/or charter flights to the following international destinations: Changi Airport, Hong Kong Airport, Narita Airport, Kansai Airport, Nagoya Airport, Incheon Airport, Busan Airport, Taoyuan Airport, Kuala Lumpur Airport, Xiamen Airport, Dubai Airport, Pudong Airport, and Nanning Airport.

Metro Cebu's MCIA is the international gateway to the economic hub of the Central and Southern Philippines. There are numerous daily flights between Cebu and most Philippine cities. Air freight to and from Cebu is reliable and efficient with major international couriers like FedEx, Fastpak Global Express, and 2GO operating here.

Metro Cebu's Port of Cebu is the busiest domestic seaport in the Philippines. Along with the ports areas of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu, Cebu's "seaport complex" is considered as the busiest port in the Philippines in terms of number of annual passengers. It is also the main port of entry in the province of Cebu and Central Visayas Region. It plays a vital role in the Philippine's shipping industry with about 80 percent of the country's shipping companies that are based here. The port is located at the center of the province's east coast. It is nestled in a natural harbor in the narrow strait between Cebu City and Mactan, the latter providing a natural cover and breakwater, making the port one of the safest and operational the whole year round.

Cebu International Port and Cebu Domestic Port serves container vessels and passenger ships with destinations around the country and the world. Cebu International Port is a multipurpose terminal covering an area of 10 hectares with 690 meters of berthing space and a controlling draught of minus 8.5 meters at MLLW. The Cebu Baseport – Domestic Zone is the area for the domestic transactions of different business coming from and going to the different island of the archipelago. It is dedicated to coastwise shipping with 3.5 kilometers of berthing space, 3 finger piers and 3 passenger terminals.