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Cebu is making headlines.

Cebu City lands as eight in the Top 10 Asian Cities of the Future, along with Philippine cities, Quezon and Davao, at seventh and tenth, respectively.

Finance Direct Investment (fDi) magazine of the Financial Times Group also ranked Cebu City fourth in the list of 10 most cost-effective cities, seventh in the best quality of life category and second in development and promotion, next only to Singapore.

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They come in all shapes, sizes and styles… but what’s outstanding in their features is the color.

There are odd myths surrounding this religious icon, the Sto. Niño (a small statue of the Child Jesus adorned in textiles and intricate accoutrement), which is the greater subject of devotion and cultural celebration during Cebu’s primary event and grandest fiesta: The Sinulog.

Why is it black?

When the Spaniards returned to the Philippines in 1565 (after the untimely demise of Ferdinand Magellan at the hands of Datu Caliph Pulaka a.k.a. Lapu-Lapu), Basque explorer Miguel López de Legazpi defeated Rajah Tupas (nephew to Rajah Humabon — Magellan had convinced Humabon and his wife, Hara Amihan, to pledge their allegiance with Spain) in an encounter. Tupas’ village was destroyed.

Amid the rubble and destruction, inside the burnt village’s chapel, the Sto. Niño was found. Historians note it was “relatively unscathed.” That event was widely received as a miracle.

Although the venerated icon wasn’t smothered to ashes during the process, was the burning a direct cause of the “black” Sto. Niño?

However, another theory can be attributed to that of Filipinos as “brown-skinned inhabitants.” Ergo, as a cultural affinity for the natives, the original creators of the statue had created an indigenous version of it.

Amid the rubble and destruction, inside the burnt village’s chapel, the Sto. Niño was found. Historians note it was “relatively unscathed.” That event was widely received as a miracle.

If you want to know more of this religious and historical significance that helped shape Cebu, we invite you to a free lecture, “Sa karaang tawo palangga: The search for the black Santo Niño de Cebu.”

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The news story below is a strange case of swindling involving fantasy characters here in Cebu City.

We may be familiar with these types of scams. However, to the potential, unwitting, hapless victim, it only takes two letters for self protection: NO!

For instance, if you are meeting somebody who is “remotely unknown to you” — insisting to meet you somewhere (probably through your new text mate or from online chat) — please bring a chaperon or buddy. Otherwise, you can always ignore at their fishy offers. As with any particular city with possibilities to nonsensical proportions of unfortunate events, Cebu is not an exception to this.

You, as visitors and good netizens of this republic, please take extra precautions against fraud and swindling.

In the news

A FIREMAN and his wife in Minglanilla town got so worried over news that their only daughter would die after the Sinulog that they believed the claims of a couple that their connections with dwarves and ogres (duwende and agta) could help save her.

But when the “dwarf” later asked for P3 million, they began to get suspicious.

FO2 Ricardo Marte-zano and his wife Norma were distraught when they ran into Revelyn Quijano and Raul Abadilla last Thursday. Quijano and Abadilla are live-in partners.

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