Madridejos, Bantayan Island: the old town of Lawis in the north.

Madridejos at a glance

Where

Northern tip of Bantayan Island, Cebu province, on the Visayan Sea. Its only land neighbour is the municipality of Bantayan to the south.

Old name

Lawis – “the tip of the land”. People from here call themselves Lawisanon.

Population

42,828 (census, 1 July 2024)

Barangays

14

Land area

about 24 km² (23.95 km² by PSA; 24.43 km² by the town’s own profile)

Income class

1st class municipality since January 2025 (before: 4th class)

ZIP code

6053

Mayor

Romeo A. Villaceran (term ends June 2028)

Vice mayor

Vincent Y. Villacrucis

Town fiesta

Feast of the Immaculate Conception in December, with the Isda Festival – dates in our events calendar

From the ferry

about 20 km from the Santa Fe port, about 15 km from Bantayan town

Figures checked on 8 November 2026. Sources at the end of the page.

Why visit Madridejos

Most visitors to Bantayan Island stay near the beaches of Santa Fe. Madridejos is the quiet, working end of the island: a fishing town with a busy market, a big plaza and one of the best places on the island to watch the sun go down. It is an easy half-day trip from Santa Fe or Bantayan town.

History: from Lawis to Madridejos

The name Lawis. Before it had a Spanish name, the settlement at the northern point of the island was called Lawis, a local word for a point of land reaching into the sea. Many islanders still use it today.

The founder in local tradition. The town keeps few written records of its early years, so much of its story comes from oral tradition. According to that tradition, a settler named Lázaro Mangubat founded the first organised community in the north. It began as a visita (a chapel outpost) of Bantayan, and Mangubat is also said to have built the fort and an early church. Treat this as local tradition, not documented history.

The fort (kota). Raiders from the south attacked Visayan coastal towns again and again in the Spanish period, so the people of Lawis built a stone fort, the kota, as a refuge. A watchtower in Kaongkod, about 4 km away, gave early warning, and a horn (budyong) was blown when ships were sighted. Sources differ on the date: the town’s history page gives 1630, but its own Kota Park page and a 2003 heritage inventory by the Ateneo de Manila place the fort around 1790. The heritage inventory describes a square fort with corner bastions and rubble-stone walls.

The name Madridejos. The town is named after Fray Benito Romero, a Franciscan born in 1812 in the Spanish town of Madridejos (Toledo). He served as Bishop of Cebu from 1876 until his death in 1885. Many pages call him “archbishop”, but Cebu only became an archdiocese in 1934. According to the town, the parish priest Fr. Juan Alcoseba gave Lawis its new name in 1889.

Becoming a town – twice. Madridejos got town status in the late 19th century, but it could not pay its own way, and twice it was merged back into Bantayan. Local leaders kept pushing for independence, and in 1917 Madridejos became a separate municipality for good (2 January 1917 according to Wikipedia – to be confirmed). (Some sources say the name also dates from 1917.)

“Little Alaska of the Philippines”. From 1935, modern fishing operators moved in. The deep, rich waters off the point brought work and money, and the town got the nickname Little Alaska of the Philippines. The town also says the country’s first fish cannery stood here until it was bombed in World War II. We have found no independent source for that claim yet.

What to see

• Kota Heritage Park (sources disagree whether it lies in Poblacion or Talangnan) – the ruins of the old fort, in a park on the northern point. Locals come here for the sunset. Since June 2025 the park also has the small Lawisanon Mini Hotel and the Lawisanon Cafe, both reported to be run by the town.
• Bontay Baywalk – a long wooden walkway from Kota Park out over the water to a two-storey lookout with a view all around. It was closed after the September 2025 earthquake and we have no confirmed reopening date – ask locally before you go.
• Madridejos church and plaza (Poblacion) – the Immaculate Conception parish church on the main plaza. The parish was reportedly founded in 1928 (to be confirmed); the present church dates from the mid-20th century (sources give 1951 or 1961).
• La Kodia (Kodia) – a bamboo footpath through mangroves, run by a local community group. The town counts 14 mangrove species there.
• Temptation Beach (Malbago) – at high tide the beach turns into a small islet, with a wooden footbridge.
• Tanguingui Island (Isla Tangingue) – a small, uninhabited island with a lighthouse, listed by the town as one of its sights. Its lighthouse goes back to 1903. Whether the island belongs to Madridejos or to Carles (Iloilo) is disputed.
• Madridejos Arc – the welcome arch on the road from Bantayan, at the start of a long avenue of mahogany trees.

Fiesta and events

• 1–9 December: town fiesta, with the main day on 8 December, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, the town’s patroness.
• Isda Festival (isda = fish), held with the fiesta: a street dance of thanks for the sea, with costumes and props of fish and sea creatures. It has also competed in Cebu’s provincial festival contest, Pasigarbo sa Sugbo.
• Holy Week: the town holds a procession on foot with life-size images on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

Dates for the current year: see News once the town publishes its programme.

Fishing town

Fishing is still the main work in Madridejos. In January 2024 the mayor said about 80 % of residents depend on it, and that catches are falling as more boats fish the same waters. Poultry and eggs are the other big trade. Local products the town promotes include kulo chips, tago-angkan, fermented scallops and peanuts with dried fish. Illegal fishing is an ongoing problem; police, the coast guard and the Bantay Dagat sea wardens still seize boats off the town (most recently reported in May 2026).

Getting there

• From Santa Fe (ferry port): about 20 km by road, usually 20–45 minutes by tricycle, motorbike taxi (habal-habal) or car – published estimates differ, so ask your driver.
• From Bantayan town: about 15 km. According to the town (2023), jeepneys run from the Bantayan terminal to Madridejos – to be confirmed.
• From Cebu City: see Getting here. According to the town, some Ceres buses from the Cebu North Bus Terminal go via the Hagnaya ferry all the way to Madridejos.
• Money: older listings show a rural bank in Poblacion; whether it still operates is not confirmed. Whether there is an ATM that takes foreign cards is not confirmed – bring cash from Santa Fe or Bantayan town.

Fares: not yet checked on site. Agree the price before you get on.

Important contacts

The town website was offline when we checked on 8 November 2026. These numbers come from its last archived version (December 2023) and are being re-checked by our local guide. In an emergency, call 911 first.

FAQ