Datu Daya

According to local oral tradition, Datu Daya was the ruler of the first settlers in northern Cebu. Under his leadership new settlers cleared forests and within a few years established a progressive community. The settlement was repeatedly attacked by Muslim Moro raiders until the community constructed a bantayan (watchtower) to defend the town. The place-name Kandaya (kang Daya — 'Daya's place' in Cebuano) preserves his association with the locality and the town later became known as Daanbantayan.

The available sources present Datu Daya as a legendary human ruler and tribal chief; they do not provide physical description, iconography, or accounts of an apparition. He is referenced in narrative terms as a lord and leader rather than in terms of specific bodily features.

Sources attribute to Datu Daya the role and actions of a community leader: leading settlers in land clearance, the establishment of a progressive settlement, and organizing or inspiring defensive measures (the construction of a bantayan/watchtower). The texts note that "for his glory, Datu Daya was idolized," indicating veneration and commemorative honor in the town rather than any described supernatural powers.