Buyong Village

Buyong is one of the five sitios of Barangay Maribago, that lies on the eastern side of Mactan Island.  Mactan Island is adjacent to the central Philippine city of Cebu.  Mactan is the place where Ferdinand Magellan met his death at the hands of Lapu-Lapu in 1521.  The island is covered with coral and rocks that make farming extremely difficult.  Island products are guitars, wooden furniture and carvings, and items made of native stone and shells.  Mactan-Cebu International Airport is on the northwest corner of the island, while the island's

only city, Lapu-Lapu, is on the west side opposite Maribago and Buyong,

Buyong, like much of Maribago, is squeezed between beach resorts that claim most of the shoreline.  The local people have only a narrow access to the water, limiting the area they can use for boating and fishing.  Families of eight to twelve live in small homes.  Pigs, goats and chickens wander freely through the village.  Tuberculosis and leprosy are endemic to the village.  Most houses have electricity now.  Running water has been extended to some of the village homes that are near the main road.  A few homes have toilets, but there is no sewage system.  Shallow, salty wells provide water for bathing and washing clothes.  Many families must purchase their drinking water from vendors.

Villagers work as boatmen, dive guides, and vendors.  Some work in the nearby resorts, some in the factories, located in the Mactan Export Processing Zone (MEPZ) near the airport, but many are unemployed.  Even when there are job openings, the factories and resorts are often reluctant to give long-term contracts to local residents.  A high school or college diploma is needed for permanent work, yet only a small minority of Buyong adults have graduated from high school.

Mactan Island is adjacent to the central Philippine city of Cebu on the island of Cebu

The edge of Buyong Village

Street scene

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