Hidden Origin

I am from a decent and simple town of Tipolo. The place was not that very popular or known by people before, but as time and technology advances, it later becomes one of the business rendezvous. Today, it is already known of it's big factories and infrastructure such as, CICC (Cebu International Convention Center ), SMB Inc. (San Miguel Beer Incorporated) and etc. Since it is found in the center of Mandaue, Tipolo is often called as "highway", where people usually wait jeepneys to ride.

Behind the unusual name of the place, there is a hidden origin where Tipolo got its name.

Tipolo is one of the highly urbanized barangay of Mandaue City. It is one of the highest-earning barangay at the same time. Present day Tipolo credits its present-day status to its rich history. Barangay Tipolo was named after the Tipolo tree. The Tipolo tree is tree related to Breadfruit under the family Moraceae. These gigantic trees were once abundant in the area.

On the year 1951, Ferdinand Magellan landed and settles in the Cove of Cebu . Five decades after the death of Ferdinand Magellan, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi came back to the Philippines. In 1565, upon reaching the Philippines, he established the country’s first dry-dock complex in the said cove.

A few meters from the cove is a spring surrounded by trees of Tipolo. People from other places flock to the spring to wash their clothes and take a bath. Close to the spring and in between the Tipolo trees laid the old railway.

In the 60's San Miguel Corporation was expanding its operations in Cebu province. Mandaue was picked the location of the new brewing complex. The complex was built in Tipolo due to its strategic location. The 2.71-hectare SMC complex occupies what used to be farmlands in Tipolo. Since then the brewery has been a landmark in the barangay and in the city of Mandaue. One can tell that he is close to barangay Tipolo when one sees the SMC building.

At present, not a single Tipolo tree can be found in the barangay. The spring has dried out. In the site of the spring passes a canal where the wastes from SMC flows. Above the canal is the Tipolo bridge. Connected to the bridge is a highway, M. C. Briones St., were the railway once laid. The shores of Tipolo, the root of barangay Tipolo, is now gone. It was reform and recover in the year 1990's.