Mount Lantoy is a mountain located inland from the municipality of Argao, Cebu province in the Philippines.
Watershed forest reserve
Mt. Lantoy was declared as a
Drainage basin Nature reserve by virtue of
Presidential Proclamation No. 414 on June 29, 1994. The initial protected area was reduced in December 2006 via a new
Executive Order issued by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, reducing the watershed reserve area coverage to .
In Philippine mythology
In Philippine mythology, Mount Lantoy is said to be the domain of
Maria Cacao, a
Anito who lives in a cave in the mountain. Outside her cave grow numerous
Theobroma cacao trees, which are said to be her plantation. After harvest time come rains that wash down the mountain, enabling Maria Cacao
to float down to the towns below in her golden ship to sell her products.
The original name of the Maria Cacao is unknown as it was not recorded before the Spanish changed her name in a bid to instill Roman Catholicism in the natives. But it is widely assumed her name is not indigenous as 'Cacao' is an imported term that came from Latin America when the Spanish arrived. Additionally, the term 'Maria' was added by the Spanish to turn her into 'Catholic', in an effort to widen Spanish rule in southern Cebu.
