Cebú Heritage Watch [Archive] - Page 66

densyo

June 5th, 2011, 09:25 AM

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Kabag-uhan (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/12233/kabag-uhan)
By Madrilena de la Cerna
Cebu Daily News
9:22 am | Sunday, June 5th, 2011

Kabag-uhan was a fitting title of the AboitizLand Walk Through Photo Exhibit and the Heritage Photo Show during the Gabii sa Kabilin held last May 27 at the Plaza Parian. It was also something novel in the Gabii sa Kabilin where the destinations were all the 11 museums that participated. The idea was to come up with a Cebu Heritage Photo Show built on the concept of growing up in Cebu. Memories from places, landmarks, the typical Cebuano home, and how these have changed over the years as seen through the eyes of a new generation.

To actualize the concept, the AboitizLand group headed by Chloe Lopez and Arianne Manzo held a photography contest wherein participants were to choose any of the pictures from Lucy Urgello Miller’s Glimpses of Old Cebu. Participants had to submit three entries—first was a photo of the same place or landmark taken from the same perspective as the original, the second photo showed the changes that have occurred with the evidence of research on the changes in the description of the landmark, and the third was an artistic shot of the same landmark. The winning entries were exhibited in enlarged tarpaulins at the Plaza Parian. The photo show was a discussion-presentation about the changes in Cebu’s homes, streetscapes and landscapes with an adult curator and a child curator. Because of the heavy drizzle, there were only three heritage shows instead of four.

Mr. Andoni Aboitiz curated the first heritage show and I curated the second and third. The child curators joined me in the third show and I would like to thank 8-year-old Casey Cruz and 9-year-old Anton Lopez for their wonderful participation even during rehearsals. For the Heritage Photo Show, 33 pictures were picked from Lucy Urgello Miller’s Glimpses of Old Cebu arranged in geographic order. It started with the Cebu Rail Station showing the Grand Central Station (now fronting E-Mall) and the Danao Rail Track and the Argao Rail Bridge. Then there was Plaza San Nicolas, Tres de Abril, the Cebu Provincial Capitol Building in the 1930s and 1960s, U.P. Junior College in the 1930s, Club Filipino (now Ayala Center), Mango Avenue (Gen. Maxilom Avenue), St. Theresa’s College before WWII, Fuente Osmeña, Calle Norte America (now D. Jakosalem St.), Calle Juan Luna (then Jones Avenue, now Osmeña Boulevard), Cebu High School (now Abellana National School), Calle Commercio (now M.C. Briones), Calle Zamora, the Liberation of Cebu, Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral before renovation, Carbon Market, San Carlos Seminary (the old and new campuses), Port of Cebu, Southern Islands Hospital in the early 1920s, Calle Colon (19th century), Calle Magallanes, Calle Martires, Plaza Indepdencia, Cebu City Hall, Plaza Rizal (now Plaza Sugbo), culminating with Plaza Parian, the Parian Church and the Parian Fire Station.

It was a walk to the past and I gladly shared my knowledge and memories of the streetscapes and landscapes and landmarks that were featured. It was very heartening to get the audience’s reactions to the backstories and changes of each landmark. In the interaction with the child curators, the the following questions were asked: How can my generation make sure that Cebu still becomes a more beautiful and progressive city? Where do we go from here? This was answered: Cebu is only as good as its citizens if we decide to clean it up, do well with what we have and keep working on our good ideas. The show ended with the parting words, You may or may not have changed the way you look at Cebu, but it will be transformed according to how YOU act—either as a resident or as a visiting friend. If you have good memories of our Queen City, please share them.

The Walk Through Photo Exhibit and the Heritage Photo Show of AboitizLand was very informative and an effective way of making the new generation interested in Cebuano history and culture.

As one of the judges of the photo contest and curator of the Heritage Show, I learned so much about other means of promoting heritage and culture. The use of an adult and a child curator only shows that there is no generation gap in appreciating our own history and culture. I commend AboitizLand for its practical way of making people remember, appreciate and help preserve our heritage. This is an example of business with a cultural sense. I do hope more business entities follow its path.

Taga Bogo

June 5th, 2011, 04:00 PM

T.

Saw your San Remegio dig feature sa Channel 14

Foremost, my CONGRATULATIONS, hope you wont ever get tired with the efforts. More power

Just somewhat curious, the broken pottery, what kind of binding material (glue?) are your team using to "assemble" back the pieces.

densyo

June 6th, 2011, 12:37 AM

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CHAC: Parian can't collect fees from tourists (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=693565&publicationSubCategoryId=107)
By Garry B. Lao/JPM (The Freeman)
Updated June 06, 2011 12:00 AM

CEBU, Philippines - Officials from Barangay Pari-an cannot collect fees on tourists who want a closer look at the Heritage Monument of Cebu, according to the Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission (CHAC).

Although the tourist site is located within their territory, the structure is owned by the Cebu City Government, explained the CHAC members in their recommendation sent to the Cebu City Council.

Pari-an submitted Barangay Ordinance No. 2011-02 for approval by the Cebu City Council. It proposed to collect P10 per tourist.

Officials said the collected amount will be used to maintain the cleanliness and peace and order within the vicinity of the monument.

If approved, the barangay will then hire a caretaker to be assigned to the area to collect the fees from tourists. The caretaker shall be appointed by the barangay captain. City Councilor Margarita “Margot” Osmeña, chairperson of the committee on cultural and historical affairs in the council, referred the matter to CHAC for comments and recommendation.

Last week, the CHAC told the Cebu City Council that the barangay cannot collect fees because the Heritage Monument is not owned by the barangay but by the City Government.

The resolution was approved by members of the CHAC along with Councilor Rodrigo Abellanosa, cultural consultants Arsenio Pacaña and Dionisio Sy, and Osman Jumalon, Dr. Erlinda Alburo, Architect Melva Java, Connie Jane Cuyos, Dr. Jocelyn Gerra, Nelia Aquino, Rebecca Atillo and Hadriana Samson.

“While it is the power of the barangays to raise revenues and to impose and collect reasonable fees and charges for services, however, Section 152 of the Local Government Code states that service fees or charges for services rendered in connection with the regulation or the use of barangay-owned properties or service facilities,” the CHAC resolution states.

To recall, Cebu City Council Resolution No. 08-1331 dated December 3, 2008, has authorized then acting mayor and now Mayor Michael Rama, for and in behalf of then mayor Tomas Osmeña, and for the City of Cebu, to enter into and sign the memorandum of agreement with the Cultural Heritage Foundation, chaired by Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, in connection with the Heritage of Cebu’s formal turnover for the City Government to assume the operation, maintenance and improvement.

According to CHAC, the maintenance and operation shall be undertaken by the Office of the Parks and Playground commission.

The heritage monument in Parian underwent intensive restoration and preservation which was completed in April 2010.

It was a P2-million project of the Department of Tourism which was later turned over to the Cebu City Government and the barangay for maintenance and preservation. The heritage monument was built in barangay Parian because of the area’s major share in the history of Cebu. It was once an enclave of wealthy families during the Spanish Period. Parian was also a Chinese business district.

The Monument is a tableau of renowned historical figures such as Rajah Humabon, Jose Rizal and Pedro Calungsod. — (FREEMAN)

archaeologue

June 7th, 2011, 01:49 AM

Saw your San Remegio dig feature sa Channel 14

Foremost, my CONGRATULATIONS, hope you wont ever get tired with the efforts. More power

Just somewhat curious, the broken pottery, what kind of binding material (glue?) are your team using to "assemble" back the pieces.

thanks, Boy. we just use mighty bond sparingly, that is in dots along the sherd edges to be glued. then out here in Boljoon, one of the National Museum guys finalized these with plaster of paris, filling in gaps. you will see this in San remigio on Saturday, June 11, when we open an exhibit there at the SR Cultural Center.

Ang Karaang Tawo

June 8th, 2011, 03:24 AM

thanks, Boy. we just use mighty bond sparingly, that is in dots along the sherd edges to be glued. then out here in Boljoon, one of the National Museum guys finalized these with plaster of paris, filling in gaps. you will see this in San remigio on Saturday, June 11, when we open an exhibit there at the SR Cultural Center.

What time is the opening, Jo? Trizer, Rudy and I want to attend this.:)

archaeologue

June 9th, 2011, 02:56 PM

What time is the opening, Jo? Trizer, Rudy and I want to attend this.:)

i think around 6 pm. dinner follows man daw...heheh.

densyo

June 11th, 2011, 01:04 AM

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City, Capitol open Fuente sidewalk (http://cdn.ph/news_details.php?id=10044)
6/11/2011

Maroon bricks on a wide sidewalk near Fuente Osmeña rotunda give a glimpse of the planned Spanish-era styled beautification of Cebu City's streets and landmarks.

A space in front of the unfinished building of Banco De Oro (BDO) was unveiled yesterday as an early example.

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama and Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia together with philanthropist Mariquita Salimbangon-Yeung opened the sidewalk in simple rites at 4 p.m

In a speech, Rama lauded BDO for being the first establishment in the Fuente Osmeña area to beautify its sidewalk.

He said Cebu City residents can expect more presentable sidewalks in the next few months.

“If all of us will help, beautiful things will happen,” Rama said.

Gov. Garcia lauded Rama for pushing the city government's partnership with the province in upgrading Cebu City's landmarks.

She said the provincial government will improve the entire road stretch from Fuente Osmeña to the Capitol before the province’s 444nd anniversary in August.

Yeung, who heads Cebu City's Beautification Movement, said they already raised P10 million of the target P50 million budget for the project which covers Sanciangko Street to the whole length of Osmeña Boulevard to the Capitol.

Spanish-era themed structures like lampposts worth P2 million will be installed, she said.

Yeung said they hope to finish the beautification project before Christmas. /By Fatrick Tabada, Correspondent

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First completed sidewalk launched (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=695123&publicationSubCategoryId=107)
By John Gestoni Sajulan and Mechievilla Carline Benolerao, USJR WAB
(The Freeman)
Updated June 11, 2011 12:00 AM

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama together with Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia and the members of the Super Beautification Council yesterday led the launching and blessing of the first completed sidewalk at the Fuente Osmeña as part of the Osmeña Boulevard’s restoration.

The completed project, located in front of the new BDO building, was blessed by Msgr. Roberto Alesna yesterday afternoon. The project is estimated to cost between P5 to P10 million.

The unraveling of the tarpaulin of the Beautiful Cebu Movement Foundation was also held yesterday.

The Super Beautification Council, spearheaded by philanthropist Mariquita Salimbangon-Yeung, sister of fourth district Rep. Benhur Salimbangon, was created to beautify the major thoroughfares of the city, especially the stretch of Osmeña Boulevard.

Yeung added that the whole beautification project, which has a Spanish-inspired theme, is expected to finish before Christmas.

The beautification of the road from the Capitol building to Fuente Osmeña will be shouldered by the Provincial Government as promised by Garcia.

In honor of the late President Sergio Osmeña, Sr., the council decided to beautify first Osmeña Boulevard.

In his welcome address, Rama described the launching as “the new beginning of the beautiful Cebu.”

Garcia was all praises for Rama, saying he is the first city mayor to do such a change, to beautify the City of Cebu, within the span of less than a year. (FREEMAN)

densyo

June 11th, 2011, 01:13 AM

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CNU celebrates 100 years (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=695127&publicationSubCategoryId=107)
By Ria Mae Y. Booc/BRP
(The Freeman)
Updated June 11, 2011 12:00 AM

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu Normal University will be celebrating its 100th Centennial celebration on Monday, a “late” celebration as it was already established to have been founded in 1902.

Dr. Marcelo Lopez, State Universities and Colleges president, challenged the university community to reform in the “greatness transformation” from good to great.

“We are to make change not just to the Filipino students but to the nation itself,” Lopez said in his speech during the press conference for the centennial celebration of CNU yesterday morning.

CNU, which was founded in 1902, was supposed to celebrate its centennial year in 2002 but the previous university administration failed to prove its actual founding on that date.

It was only later when the National Historical Commission confirmed its creation in 1902 with Samuel MacClintok as the first principal.

Following the strict review of MacClintok’s annual report and upon the approval of the Malacañang of the university logo, the administration was convinced that the university was indeed founded in 1902.

“Base on the historical information, we want to establish what was true then and members of the Board of Regents were surprised that CNU was older than the UP,” Lopez stated. The University of the Philippines was founded in 1908.

When CNU was established in 1902 it was first named the Provincial Normal School. In 1906, the Cebu Provincial High School was established. In 1915, the Cebu Normal School became independent from the PNS.

From 1941 to 1945, during World War II, CNS was used as the headquarters of Japanese forces.

In 1967, CNS became Cebu Normal College. In 1976, it was converted into a chartered state college and renamed the Cebu State College.

In 1998, CSC was granted university status, and last February this year, CNU became the first state university to attain a highly-coveted status after its College of Nursing and College of Teacher Education were granted Level 4 accreditation.

“It’s not a crime to celebrate the centennial year at CNU’s 109th year,” Lopez jested, adding that they will return the value of the money spent from the people’s taxes back to the people through education. (FREEMAN)

wakeuptoreality

June 11th, 2011, 01:33 AM

scanned from CDN

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densyo

June 12th, 2011, 11:25 AM

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Dr. Jose Rizal's Cebu connection (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=695514&publicationSubCategoryId=111)
By Maria Eleanor E. Valeros
(The Freeman)
Updated June 12, 2011 12:00 AM

CEBU, Philippines - Like tertiary roots, the Rizal clan has reached places far and wide.

There’s the Rizal-Hidalgo in Tanauan, Batangas; the Rizal-Lopez of Morong, Rizal; the Rizal-Ubaldo and Rizal-Cruz of Biñan, Laguna; and the Rizal-Quintero of Manila.

And then the lateral roots began branching out to Cebu.

This is evident in the “Rizal Family Tree” outlined at the foyer of the Jose Rizal Museum a.k.a. Rizaliana Museum at the University of Southern Philippines Foundation-Mabini campus.

The blueprint pointed out that the founders of the USPF are related to the Rizal family by affinity.

It was learned that Dr. Jose Rizal’s elder sister, Doña Lucia (the fifth child of Don Francisco Mercado and Doña Teodora Alonso), married Mariano Herbosa, whose granddaughter Concepcion Herbosa married Escolastico Duterte.

Duterte, who is vice president of the said school in the 1950s, is the nephew of USPF founders Agustin and Beatriz Jereza.

The university was made aware of this relation when Maria Montes Punsalan married Oscar Jereza Sr. – the university’s fourth president.

It is through this family connection that the university acquired the majority of its collection. How did this happen? Further information gathered revealed that on February 11, 1951, Doña Trinidad (the 10th child), donated the personal belongings of his brother.

These memorabilia are now displayed at the USP Rizaliana Museum. Originally housed in the Lahug Campus, the USP Rizaliana Museum retains the largest collection of Rizaliana items outside of Manila.

Says curator Lucio Pulmones, the museum contains many of Dr. Rizal’s articles of clothing, including undershirts, winter coats, and breeches, as well as letters to his colleagues and friends, and sketches of his sisters. It also holds all 14 original postcards with the text of “Mi Ultimo Adios”.

In line with the nation’s commemoration of 150 years of Rizal, USPF Vice President for External Affairs Lourdes “Odette” Jereza is in Manila to supervise the travelling museum at the Mall of Asia which is part of the year-round activities for the sesquicentennial celebration. (FREEMAN)

Ka_Bino

June 12th, 2011, 06:55 PM

densyo

June 13th, 2011, 06:33 AM

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The Fuente Osmeña will be 100 years next year (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=695807&publicationSubCategoryId=109)
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SHOOTING STRAIGHT
By Valeriano Avila
(The Freeman)
Updated June 13, 2011 12:00 AM

For tonight’s special presentation on Straight from the Sky, we bring you a discussion on the issue of Mass Communications in the Digital Age from the eyes of the Catholic Church. Indeed, the Internet Highway is without doubt one of the best inventions of mankind, that’s because a small laptop or PC computer can become your library without purchasing a single book. We now live in a world of instant communication, which has benefited humankind as it has helped education people.

But like all good things that man has discovered, there is always a downside. The Internet has allowed instant pornography, when in the past, it was difficult to secure even for adults. Today, youngsters who use the Internet get porn photos even if they didn’t download it. Since the Catholic Church is the guardian of morality, we have asked Fr. Ramon Ofredo Resident Priest of St. Joseph’s Parish in Mabolo to help us in this discussion. Watch this very interesting show on SkyCable’s channel 15 at 8:00pm tonight.

* * *

During the formal launching ceremonies for the up and coming SM City that will be built at the South Road Properties (SRP), one of its main features will be a strange looking tower that would soon jut out of the Cebu skyline which someday would become one of Cebu’s famous landmarks. But while that has not yet even started, it’s about time that we looked back into Cebu’s history and remember our famous landmarks.

One historical landmark that is distinctly unique to Cebu City is the Fuente Osmeña. I was happy to secure my own copy of Mrs. Lucy Urgello Miller’s “Glimpses of Cebu: Images of the Colonial Era,” which I recommend that all Cebuanos should have in their homes as there really aren’t that many old photographs of Cebu that we can find from that period in time. While it is a photographic collection, it does have a few stories and one of them is the story of the Osmeña Waterworks, the brainchild of Don Sergio Osmeña, Sr. that provided Cebu a good and stable water supply.

This historic project became Cebu’s first water system, a dream come true for Don Sergio because Cebu City had a lot of fires in those days and there was no water that they could use to douse the fire, especially that big fire in 1906 that gutted Cebu’s downtown business district. Without clean water, Cebu was also struck by a cholera epidemic in 1909, which took the lives of 559 people, quite a huge number if you took into consideration that there were only 55,000 Cebuanos living in Cebu City at that time.

With Don Sergio Osmeña’s stature, he was about to get funding from Governor General William Cameron Forbes (yup Forbes Park is named after him) who came twice to Cebu with Don Sergio to look into this project, which is what we now call the Buhisan Dam. At this point, you must have realized that the Osmeña Waterworks has evolved into the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD). Work on the dam started in 1911 and it was inaugurated on Feb.12, 1912. Yes if you didn’t know, MCWD will soon be celebrating its 100th years.

As the Buhisan Dam was so far away, the Osmeña Waterworks project constructed a fountain in uptown Cebu City, which is now known as the Fuente Osmeña. Just to put you in the right perspective, Cebuanos in those days found the Fuente Osmeña too far from the main city, hence they still chose to go to the Plaza Independencia for their socializing. Anyway, it was in Fuente Osmeña when the whole Osmeña Waterworks system was formally inaugurated on Feb,12, 1912. Gov. Gen. Forbes was the main guest for the affair and when he turned on the switch for the fountain, water gushed out of the fountain, and a strong breeze moved the water into the direction of the well-dressed guests who all got wet… but I’d call that a blessing for Cebu!

Now that there is no more political animosity between the Mayor of Cebu City and the Governor of Cebu, perhaps now is the time for Gov. Gwen Garcia and Mayor Michael Rama to come up with preparations for the Centennial Celebration of the Fuente Osmeña, which happens just a week before the Charter Day celebration of Cebu City. At least we still have eight months to prepare for this celebration, which should also be a great tourism drawer if it is properly marketed by our Tourism Industry.

* * *

Today, the newly-expanded “Halad Museum” founded by Sir Jose “Dodong” Gullas as a tribute to his parents, Don Vicente and Inday Pining Gullas will be opened to the public, right after the Holy Mass and blessing by his Eminence Ricardo Cardinal Vidal. This museum houses the memorabilia of Cebuano musical greats, who have kept our Cebuano culture alive. This is a very unique museum to preserve Cebuano Culture for our generations to come.

* * *

Email: vsbobita@mozcom.com

densyo

June 15th, 2011, 06:11 AM

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Pagsugid: An account of "Herstory" (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/lifestyle/2011/06/14/pagsugid-account-herstory-161151)
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Cherry Claire Petiluna

BEHIND every history is an untold story, if not lost in memory.

That is the void of which Ruel Antipuesto seeks to fill in as he leads the journey towards the discovery of Cebu Normal University’s (CNU) “herstory.”

Wait. Have you heard of the feature film Confessional? To name some of the award-giving bodies that acclaimed it are Cinema One Original, PMPC Star Awards, Osian Cinefan in India and Cinemanila International Film Festival. How about Sabongero, which is now an official selection to the Short Film Corner Film Festival de Cannes in France? Antipuesto is actually the mind, more than just the man, behind those and more others.

Back to the point. This award-winning film maker comes up with another worth-more-than-just-a-while project. And who would have thought, this time, it is for the love of yesterday.

Pagsugid: From good to great, CNU tells the world HerStory is the title of Antipuesto’s newest five-minute film as a tribute to the university, which he claims to have “always been close” to his heart, for the celebration of its first centennial. It is in reality the 109th year already but as they say, it is better late than never. After all, the best is almost always saved for later.

Pagsugid is “not a traditional documentary” as Antipuesto puts it. He would rather say “it is a narrative that uses an approach that gives you an impressionistic view of how the university came about”, figures how it got its title. He further explained that it would bring out the essence of the university without necessarily focusing on figures and people. Interesting.

Just when you thought Pagsugid is just another commissioned tribute to a school, you would realize that there is actually more to it than what there seems to plainly exist. Antipuesto revealed that “it talks about the past, present and future” of CNU and, surprisingly when you see the film, Cebu most importantly.

Shooting the film served Antipuesto strange feelings of mixed nostalgia and amazement as he affirmed that “the history (of CNU) also shows the growth of Cebuanos and Cebu itself.” He added that “the viewers will see the things almost forgotten” as he further commented that “people don’t know the importance (of CNU) to the heritage of Cebu.”

Take a sneak peak. One of the highlights is the revelation of CNU administration building being one of the three surviving structures that remained standing in Cebu after the war. When the Japanese took over the building, its basement became a dungeon for the guerillas and their sympathizers, who were later brutally tortured and mercilessly executed.

“I get to discover a lot about myself as Cebuano” was Antipuesto’s finishing line as he described his shooting experience. True enough, those are no information one would casually learn from merely anywhere else. That is why, for Antipuesto, it is a point of paramount significance that “the community must know” about these relevant historical accounts.

“Shooting the video was like making love to history,” was an anonymous person’s random statement. Of course, what else could feel more fulfilling than to connect with your own story of legacy?

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on June 15, 2011.

densyo

June 16th, 2011, 06:01 AM

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Museum rewiring needs P2M (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/local-news/2011/06/16/museum-rewiring-needs-p2m-161397)
By Bernadette A. Parco
Thursday, June 16, 2011

AT least P2 million is needed for the electrical rewiring works in the two-century-old Cebu Cathedral Museum, which houses priceless religious artifacts and statues.

Msgr. Carlito Pono, chairman of the Archdiocesan Commission on the Cultural Heritage of the Church, said the museum’s facilities need to be upgraded but the archdiocese does not have the funds for it.

He said he could not remember when the electrical wires in the building were last repaired.

In a press conference yesterday, Pono announced that a "Dinner for a Cause" was organized to raise funds for the rewiring project.

Through the activity that the Knights of Columbus will help organize, the commission hopes to raise P1.8 million and expects 500 to 600 guests to attend.

Pono said they will accept donations during the event, which will be held at the Cebu Grand Convention Center on July 20.

“We need more funds to have good facilities. (At present), we cannot switch on major electrical equipment because of the old wiring,” Pono said.

The Cathedral Museum was built in the 1800s and was first used as a rectory for priests assigned at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral.

No construction record

According to the book “Balaanong Bahandi (Sacred Treasures of the Archdiocese of Cebu),” there is no record of the date of the construction of the building, which is made of stone, timber and tile roofing.

The records were included in the centuries-old archives of the archdiocese that were burned when the Cathedral and the Archbishop's Palace across it were bombed by the US in September 1944, according to the book.

After the war, the building was used as the Teacher Training Center of the then Colegio de San Carlos. The priests occupied the building again after the reconstruction.

Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal initiated the renovation and rehabilitation work and reopened the building in November 2006, when he was still archbishop.

Today, the two-story building houses some of the personal items of Cardinal Vidal, who lived in the building when he was assigned as Cathedral parish priest almost three decades ago.

Antique religious statues from the different parishes in the archdiocese and some mementos from the visit of Blessed Pope John Paul II to Cebu in February 1981 are also kept there.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on June 16, 2011.

densyo

June 16th, 2011, 06:06 AM

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So: Plaza Independencia (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/opinion/2011/06/16/so-plaza-independencia-161389)
By Michelle P. So
Caught in the net
Thursday, June 16, 2011

RUNNING at Plaza Independencia last Sunday afternoon, I felt liberated from my worries. I had my attention on the two young men who were carrying the expression of lovers about to be stood up by their dates.

I kept track of them and the couples seated under the acacia trees every seven to eight minutes, the length of time I ran one loop of the park. I made up love stories for them. After all, Plaza Independencia has long been the Sunday assignation for the indays and dodongs of many households.

That was the first time I was at the Plaza Independencia on my own for the purpose of running, which is to say that I’d been there with someone else for some purpose other than running. May God rest my friend’s soul. He died soon after I dragged him to Plaza Independencia one late Sunday afternoon just to feel how it was to date there. (Not advisable.)

But the Plaza Independencia I saw last Sunday was far from the one I was in ages ago when it smelled of urine stench and was littered with dog shit. It is now a park in its definitive sense. It is a park intended for rest and recreation. It should be. After all, the Cebu City Government had spent P40 million for its renovation and beautification.

There’s a paved running path that is wide for two persons to comfortably run side by side. One loop is about a kilometer.

The acacias and other trees provide shade. The gardens are beautifully landscaped. The plants and flowers in the gardens will remain unidentified for reasons of my flora ignorance.

In the middle of the park is a white gazebo. There are comfort rooms, benches, a mini watch tower for the security guy and a large bronze statue of some dead VIP or hero in Cebu City.

Speaking of security, tanods and blue guards are deployed at Plaza Independencia the whole time the park is open. They mind the littering and stepping on the grass but not the labing-labing of inday and dodong. I heard a guard whistle at someone for violating some park rules.

There is no vending inside the park. Eating is allowed but littering is not.

Plaza Independencia is located downtown and offers a different view from all sides. As I ran around the park, I saw the sunset at the Cebu harbor, the façade of Malacañang of the South, the imposing Fort San Pedro, the downtown streets of the city, the mouth of the tunnel leading to the South Coastal Road, and different folks with different strokes.

I enjoyed my run at Plaza Independencia for many reasons. I was the only runner that Sunday afternoon and had the entire running path to myself.

It was a new environment. It was cool and shady. When dusk fell and the lights of Fort San Pedro and Plaza Independencia were switched on, Wow!

But it was watching the visitors of the park that made my run fun. One of the two guys I saw earlier had been moving from one bench to another and looking more and more forlorn every seven to eight minutes. One of the young couples I saw smooching under the acacia tree was gone on my eighth loop.

Plaza Independencia is no longer the Plaza Independencia of old. I was there for more than an hour and never had to feel my security threatened.

The park is open between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Monday to Friday and between 5 a.m. and midnight on Saturday, Sunday and holidays. There is ample parking space and hundreds of stories to make up about the visitors.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on June 16, 2011.

densyo

June 16th, 2011, 06:10 AM

http://www.frizberryyogurt.com/cebu_daily_news.jpg
PAST FORWARD
Digging and displaying in San Remigio (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/15355/digging-and-displaying-in-san-remigio)
By Jobers Bersales
Cebu Daily News
8:20 am | Thursday, June 16th, 2011

San Remigio—It is exhilarating to see 1,800 students from one school alone, the San Remigio National High School, coming over to learn about the past here.

Jose Rizal, on the occasion of his 150th birth anniversary this Sunday, would have been proud of this.

They have been arriving in batches of 60 every hour from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. since Tuesday to view a 10-day special travelling exhibition at the San Remigio Cultural Center. Titled “The Iron Age in San Remigio,” the exhibit features 12 large panel board posters and eight display mounts containing some of the significant finds we made during our excavations here in April and March. It is funded by the University of San Carlos Museum and co-sponsored by the National Museum of the Philippines and Cebu Provincial Tourism and Heritage Council. This is the first travelling exhibition of its kind ever in Cebu and we are not wasting any resources to get as many people, young or old, to know more about the past.

Invitations have also been sent out to other elementary and high schools in and around San Remigio. Just yesterday, students and faculty from faraway Lambusan National High School also came over. The local tourism and heritage councils of Bogo City, Medellin, Tabuelan, Tuburan, Borbon, Catmon and Sogod have also been asked to view this unique travelling museum of sorts.

The exhibition is very apt in that just a few meters from this beautiful white-sand beach venue a multination excavation, headed by the University of Guam and supported by archaeologists from USC and UP Diliman, is going on. Just yesterday, another burial, Burial No. 7, was exposed by a team of Thai, Vietnamese and American students a few meters from where we recovered six burials in March and April this year. And before the day was out, three earthenware potteries were also exposed near the feet of the burial.

These pots surely contained food as the dead travelled to the next world. But the white powdery sand on which they are buried has not been generous to these pots nor the burial. Our only concern is that one of the three pots is still partially exposed as it lies hidden beneath a pile of argamasa, Spanish-era coral rubble equivalent to today’s cement concrete, that leads directly to what was once the main portal of the Spanish-era church before it was turned the other way around in the 1980s. This appears to be way above the burial, though, and it will have to be removed by tomorrow using picks.

Gradually the pattern is emerging from the burials recovered then as well as now. Not just one but two or three pots appear to always accompany each burial. The pots are often carinated, that is, their bodies are not rounded but slope down to a sharp angle, as if creating a hip which then rounds off in an ovoid form at the bottom. We certainly hope to find more iron tools in these burials.

San Remigio is a wee bit luckier than all the other towns and cities in Cebu today. For not only do they have an international team of archaeologists and students excavating their past, their students and all residents interested in that past also have the opportunity to get a full view of how it is done (through the ongoing dig) and what have been found so far (through the travelling exhibition). Therefore, if you’re a San Remigiohanon, it is time to come back and get a glimpse of the past.

* * *

Apropos the HP printer that didn’t work in Boljoon, the one that got replaced while we were here in San Remigio: I brought it to the Ngenius shop in Ayala Center and voila! It worked fine. All the other six or nine printers brought by my sister in February also work fine. So now we are wondering if the burials do not like us to tinker with modern technology! But kidding aside, I still trust in Hewlett Packard: my laptops and my printers are still HP, although I’m still crossing my fingers that this same printer will not fail us here in San Remigio, now that we have found another burial.

bakasaurus

June 16th, 2011, 06:40 AM

Would love to visit San Rem and Boljoon again and see those digging sites. Am not a history major myself but I am always thrilled by these things, and in a sense, I am a romantic. When I travel these places, I always imagine how things were in the past. Heck, even in my own Mactan Island, I often think about how it was back then in my grandparents' time and beyond. Sorry for gushing there, but how, if I may ask, can we access these digging sites? Are they open to the public? Do we have to contact someone and make reservations? And just so there isn't any diffusion of responsibility in answering my questions, I'm addressing these to Sir Jobers, or anyone? Thank you in advance for your kindness.

archaeologue

June 16th, 2011, 11:51 AM

^^

i am not a historiy major either. i am an archaeologist and these digs are carried out by us since legally only archaeologists are authorized to carry out this kind of work.

yes, you are free to go to the site but i have already finished excavating in boljoon. our finds are inside the Boljoon Parish Museum.

i am now in San Remigio and will be here till june 23. we leave at 9 am that day.

you can come any time in san remigio while we are here.

all archaeological work is open to the public, in fact what i am doing in this traveling exhibition is called public archaeology. the more people know about our work, the less they will think that this is treasure hunting. which is why after viewing the exhibits, i bring the students right to the site which is about 20 meters away only.

tukog banog

June 18th, 2011, 12:42 PM

[QUOTE=densyo;79717238]http://www.sunstar.com.ph/sites/default/files/images/logo/sunstar-cebu.png?1286170363
So: Plaza Independencia (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/opinion/2011/06/16/so-plaza-independencia-161389)
By Michelle P. So
Caught in the net
Thursday, June 16, 2011

In the middle of the park is a white gazebo. There are comfort rooms, benches, a mini watch tower for the security guy and a large bronze statue of some dead VIP or hero in Cebu City.
-----------------------
What a pity! The favorite president of the common tao then is not recognized anymore now by the present generation.

Plaza Independencia is located downtown and offers a different view from all sides. As I ran around the park, I saw the sunset at the Cebu harbor, the façade of Malacañang of the South, the imposing Fort San Pedro, the downtown streets of the city, the mouth of the tunnel leading to the South Coastal Road, and different folks with different strokes.
---------------

The Cebu harbor is facing east so it must not have been the sunset that she saw.

archaeologue

June 18th, 2011, 03:51 PM

LordCarnal

June 19th, 2011, 06:05 PM

You can actually still see the Sun setting down to the mountains from the Cebu harbor, hehehe. Maybe that was what she meant.

archaeologue

June 21st, 2011, 11:04 AM

Some important finds from San Remigio Parish Church Archaeological Site (we suspect these to be of the Iron Age, ca. 500 BCE to 900 CE)

We are just a day from closing the USC-Univ of Guam-UP Dilima Archaeological Fieldwork in San Remigio, Cebu, which coincides with the University of Guam Archaeological Field School 2011.

I think it is time to introduce just two of the six burials uncovered during this dig, and their burial cache or associated cultural materials, as we archaeologists are wont to say:

Here is Burial 7:

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i150/jbersales/San%20Remigio%20Archaeo%20Fieldwork/jar13.jpg

We suspect him to be quite an important burial: six earthenware jars, including the largest on record, plus an iron tool clasped on the right hand and placed over the chest, as well as a wild pig mandible and a bracelet made from a Trochus sp. shell.

here are some of his earthenware goods, placed near his feet (two of the pots had their rims trapped in argamasa from a Spanish-era structure that almost intruded into the burial):
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i150/jbersales/San%20Remigio%20Archaeo%20Fieldwork/new17.jpg

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i150/jbersales/San%20Remigio%20Archaeo%20Fieldwork/expose18.jpg

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i150/jbersales/San%20Remigio%20Archaeo%20Fieldwork/jar18.jpg

and here is Burial 8, which had small carinated pots which had designs near the carination. amazingly, this burial had a strange earthenware object of some kind.

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i150/jbersales/San%20Remigio%20Archaeo%20Fieldwork/jar14.jpg

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i150/jbersales/San%20Remigio%20Archaeo%20Fieldwork/expose15.jpg

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i150/jbersales/San%20Remigio%20Archaeo%20Fieldwork/expose16.jpg

above is our object of interest. in my facebook account are two possible explanations of what this is, both say it's a weapon.

densyo

June 22nd, 2011, 09:59 AM

PIA Press Release
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Cebu town to build museum for newly discovered artifacts (http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=1&t=1&id=39465)
by Eli Dalumpines

CEBU CITY, June 22 (PIA) -– The mayor of the northern Cebu town of San Remigio announced over the weekend that local officials are planning to build a museum to house the artifacts recently discovered at a local church’s backyard.

San Remigio Mayor Jay Olivar, during a recent dialogue with members of the Cebu Association of City and Municipal Public Information Officers (CAOCAMPIO), said he had just visited the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) to ask for guidelines on what they are going to do with the relics.

Olivar said that at this point, the objects that are being uncovered by a team of archeologists from the University of San Carlos (USC), University of the Philippines and the University of Guam are being brought to Museu sa Sugbu located at the provincial capital because the town has no museum yet.

Last March, archeology students from the USC led by Prof. Jojo Bersales conducted an archeological dig at the backyard of San Juan Nepomuceno Church. They uncovered six burial sites and various earthen pots that dates back to the Iron Age (from 500 B.C. to 900 A.D.).

Late last week, the joint team discovered in another burial site containing an artifact believed to be that of a woman, and some additional potteries.

Olivar said these discoveries placed San Remigio, a third class town, in the spotlight for being the site of the oldest civilization in Cebu.

“Now we can claim that our place nurtures the oldest civilization in this part of the country,” he said.

“We hope that our children will be able to know and appreciate the rich cultural heritage of our town,” the mayor added. (FCR/ECD/PIA 7-Cebu)

bakasaurus

June 22nd, 2011, 02:19 PM

archaeologue

June 23rd, 2011, 12:40 AM

Sorry for that, how dense of me to confuse archeology work with history hehe. But it's too bad I would come home for a short break (just a week) by the end of August so I wouldn't be able to visit and see you in action.

Would the burials remain after your work Sir Jobers? Would the museum be up and running by then?

no problem.

the burials were retrieved. they are awaiting lab work and study this sem by my students n physical anthro. we are required to retrieve all burials that are still worth studying.

i do not think the museum can be set up that fast. but we did have a traveling exhibition of the artifacts right near the site as the excavation was going on. you can check out our blog: <archaeosanremigio.blogspot.com> for the first excavation. and also at facebook: Archaeo San Remigio I.

archaeologue

June 23rd, 2011, 12:43 AM

densyo

June 23rd, 2011, 04:49 AM

http://www.philstar.com/images/logo_Freeman.jpg
Council lauds Gullas for Halad Museum (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=699005&publicationSubCategoryId=107)
By Garry B. Lao/JMO (The Freeman) Updated June 23, 2011 12:00 AM

CEBU, Philippines - The City Council yesterday commended The FREEMAN Chairman Jose “Dodong” Gullas for helping preserve Cebu’s cultural heritage through the JRG Halad Museum.

The Council made the commendation through a resolution sponsored by Councilor Margarita Osmeña, chairperson of the Council’s committee on tourism and culture. Osmeña herself was present during the museum’s formal blessing and launch last June 13.

“There is a need to congratulate and commend Mr. Jose Gullas for opening the JRG Halad Museum. Remember, it’s the only musical museum in the Philippines,” Osmeña’s resolution reads.

Osmeña said she will recommend the museum to the Department of Education (DepEd) through the Cultural and Historical Commission (CHAC). She said the museum is a very informative place for students to visit because it houses valuable musical memorabilia from Cebu’s legendary musicians, as well as art pieces created by Cebuano artists.

“The JRG Halad Museum is in line with the city’s effort to preserve the Cebuano’s cultural heritage,” the resolution reads further.

The Halad Music Gallery, for one, displays composers from the 20th Century who have produced songs, both immortalized and not duly recognized, as well as artists who had earned recognition in the international scene for their talents. Highlights include original music sheets and musical instruments played by the composers themselves and numerous awards and personal items from gowns to gadgets owned by the artists.

Visitors will also get the chance to listen to Cebuano songs from old-school phonographs and digital music stations.

The other galleries the museum features include the Kinaiyang Sugbuanon Gallery and the Jose R. Gullas Memorabilia Gallery.

The newly-expanded Halad Museum is located at JRG Building at the corner of V. Gullas and Jakosalem Streets. The building used to house the offices of The FREEMAN and Banat News.

Gullas said the museum is dedicated to his parents, Don Vicente “Papa Inting” Gullas and Lady Josefina ‘Mama Pining’ Rivera Gullas.”

He said the museum aims to be a repository of Cebuano and Visayan musical treasures, including composers, artists and other memorabilia as well as a destination for an experience of Cebuano music and performing arts, cultural heritage and exhibitions.

The JRG Halad Museum is open on weekdays from Mondays to Fridays, 9:00am-5:00pm, and on weekends by appointment. Entry for Senior citizens is free. Interested parties may call (032) 268-2579 for details. — (FREEMAN)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.philstar.com/images/logo_Freeman.jpg
Halad - museum for the heart (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=699084&publicationSubCategoryId=109)
http://www.philstar.com/NewPhilstar/www/image/columnistPhotos/Eladio-Dioko.jpg
STRAWS IN THE WIND By Eladio Dioko (The Freeman) Updated June 23, 2011 12:00 AM

Last week a very memorable event took place in Cebu. This was the formal opening of Jose (Dodong) Gullas’ Halad museum. Designed as a simple and quiet happening, the affair was attended only by select guests, among whom were His Eminence Ricardo Cardinal Vidal and Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma. A klatch of culture-conscious Cebuanos were also on hand to give meaning to the occasion. And the composers themselves, at least those whom the years have been a little kinder, venerable presence all, with their loved ones, were also there.

In this city there are actually a number of museums most of which house the usual museum artifacts – ancient pottery, and gadgetry, Spanish-era appliances and furniture, photographs of long forgotten people, places and others. But not one of them contains the treasures of the Halad museum: Records of traditional Cebuano songs and information on their composers plus the musical instruments with which they were created. In this house of songs, for example, you can see the very piano which Ben Zubiri or “Iyo Carpo” used in giving birth to his immortal “Matud Nila.” And as you gaze in awe at this almost sacrosanct object you can get lifted up in ecstatic state as you listen to the haunting strain of this nostalgic love song.

Singer and songs transport you to your days of wine and roses when the grass was greener and tender always was the night. And you ask yourself, “Whose voice is that?” A few footsteps and you see a blown-up portrait of the Philippines’ diva of romantic songs: the ageless Pilita Corales. And you can see too in readable prints the very lyric of what you are hearing and your joy becomes complete.

“Matud nila ako dili angay nga mag-manggad sa imong gugma. . .” A sad statement of a sorrowing heart, your own heart perhaps, for like the songwriter, most of us once felt that way when we were young. That song is actually a ballad of Cebuano love, always sad but always sweet, really reminiscent of the poet Tennyson who says that people “Look before and after/and pine for what is not. . . / Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thoughts.” Tennyson, an eighteenth century poet, must not have known about us, Cebuanos, but this line is reflective of a genuine Cebuano sentiment which, of course, is truly Filipino.

This is the beauty of a museum for traditional music like the Halad. It appeals to your mind but at the same time it touches your heart. Knowing the past is important, but feeling that past is doubly important, for what is learning without the underpinning of soulful experience?

On this score, the Halad is therefore unique. That’s why it is said to be the only one of its kind in the entire country. And the fact that it is in Cebu should make every Cebuano proud. Pride of one’s heritage – this is exactly what Dodong Gullas, the brain behind this project, wants to awaken in Cebuanos. This explains why in the past few years there has been a series of Halad cultural presentations in this city, all courtesy of Dodong Gullas, whose obsession has been the preservation of Cebuano cultural heritage, particularly in music and performing arts.

This explains too why through his initiative and that of wife Nena, he has revived the UV chorale which to date, has become a globally recognized and multi-awarded singing ensemble whose native love songs have awakened in many Cebuanos love and appreciation of their ethnic culture.

A presentation or a concert, however, is a one shot event, an ephemeral moment of delightful experience. After a few days that experience starts to fade until later only the ghost of it lingers in the mind. But if the music is captured in a software, it can be played and replayed indefinitely, thus keeping it fresh always for music lovers to delight on. And if the original composition is preserved with its lyric and notes, how enduring becomes the composer’s creation!

The Halad museum is therefore a tribute to Cebuano talents in music and arts as well as to all lovers of these. It is inspired by one man’s desire to showcase to the whole world the enduring appeal of Cebuano songs and music, a desire he must have inherited from his parents, the late Don Vicente Gullas and Inday Pining Gullas, both of whom were strong advocates of Bisayan performing arts.

nangamote

June 23rd, 2011, 04:51 AM

Some important finds from San Remigio Parish Church Archaeological Site (we suspect these to be of the Iron Age, ca. 500 BCE to 900 CE)

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i150/jbersales/San%20Remigio%20Archaeo%20Fieldwork/expose16.jpg

above is our object of interest. in my facebook account are two possible explanations of what this is, both say it's a weapon.

archaeologue:

I poked around and came across this image from http://www.users.on.net/~mkfenn/page6.htm

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-p-Cy9GDbAqc/TgKnkzwY0II/AAAAAAAABrE/iEjtovnG2Gg/s720/Bronzeaxerotiindonesiacopy2.jpg

The label on the image from the web site says "Bronze axe Indonesia" but this page was about Lapita pottery. Both artifacts appear similar. There are other similar images out there that are labelled "axe heads."

densyo

June 24th, 2011, 04:27 AM

http://www.frizberryyogurt.com/cebu_daily_news.jpg
PAST FORWARD
Where’s the gold? (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/17320/where%e2%80%99s-the-gold)
By Jobers Bersales
Cebu Daily News 8:31 am | Thursday, June 23rd, 2011

San Remigio—Call it plain ignorance and stupidity or these people were absent when the discussion on the pre-Spanish period was made by their teachers (or maybe their teachers also had no idea about it). But the archaeological excavations here have apparently whipped up interest of another kind: that we have found gold and are not showing it to the public.

Let me therefore spend this space enlightening all the ignoramuses out there who do not understand what the Philippine Iron Age is all about in the hope that this ignorance coupled with rumor-mongering will finally come to an end.

The Philippine Iron Age is generally thought by archaeologists to date from 500 BC to AD 900. It is marked by the introduction of iron as an important ingredient in the manufacture of jewelry (at first) and then tools (later). The first evidence of the use of iron in Southeast Asia was recovered in Thailand and dates to 700 BC so that Thailand’s own Iron Age begins at that period while ours comes 200 years later.

The period between AD 900 to AD 1565 is often called the Porcelain Age or the Age of Contact, when our ancestors began intensive trading with Chinese, Arab, Vietnamese and Thai seafaring merchants. It ends in 1565 because by then the Spaniards had begun taking over this trade and monopolizing the sale of Chinese and other Asian trade ware ceramics out from the ancient trade centers in many islands of the archipelago and centralize Manila for the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade.

Note that some archaeologists extend the Philippine Iron Age well into the Porcelain Age and call it the Late Iron Age. This is because, as in most societies, trading with the Chinese, Arabs and other Asians was not even all throughout the archipelago so that some settlements, especially those away from the coastal areas, were still deep in the Iron Age.

It was the Chinese and Arab merchants, who first arrived in Butuan, Pangasinan, Mindoro, and Sulu around the 10th to 11th centuries, when gold began to be appreciated by our ancestors — and by salivating looters in the 1970s and 1980s. These merchants, bringing with them goods from their own regions, were looking for items of exchange, showing our ancestors’ works of jewelry made of gold. Of course, Mindanao and many of our country’s rivers were awash with gold but before this time, no one apparently took notice of it. Or if they did, archaeologists have not found gold as funerary or burial object until after this period.

This explains why one cannot find gold in the Iron Age burials that we have recovered here: six by the USC team in March and another six by the joint team of USC, University of Guam and University of the Philippines-Diliman archaeologists.

So why this incessant ill-informed noise about all this gold supposed to be in our burials? Where were these people when the 12th-14th century burials full of ceramics and gold jewelry were being carted away here in San Remigio and elsewhere? Why did we not hear of these lamentations when Cebu’s coastal areas were raped and ravaged by antique traders and collectors 20 to 30 years ago? Or is this a case of belatedly guilty consciences?

Let me state with finality therefore for the official record what we have found here thus far: 12 burials in two excavation seasons; 22 magnificently beautiful earthenware jars of varying shapes, sizes and decoration; an intriguing high-fired decorative object or weapon; over 4,000 sherds (not shards as these refer to glass and we found no glass beads or objects made of glass); animal bones; and shells indicating the kind of food sources available then. All these point to a site that is between 1,000 and 2,000 years old—well within the Philippine Iron Age. The pottery alone here is reminiscent of the Manunggul Jar, which is roughly dated to AD 400.

The most important result of this dig is that this will be the first Iron Age site of its kind that will have a definite radiocarbon date and DNA material if plans push through to bring samples to the United States. Even the pottery will be properly sourced with the samples being taken for this purpose.

So, pray tell me, would a team of archaeologists spend nearly a million pesos on a dig or just use this money to buy all the gold it can and make fake 12th-century jewelry out of them to display in a museum and make us all famous? Surely, ignorance has its limits.

densyo

June 24th, 2011, 04:34 AM

http://www.frizberryyogurt.com/cebu_daily_news.jpg
San Remigio dig yields Philippine Iron Age artifacts (http://cdn.ph/news_details.php?id=10192)
6/24/2011

ARCHEOLOGICAL artifacts dating back to more than 2,000 years ago were unearthed in San Remigio this month.

Jose Eleazar Bersales, co-director of the University of San Carlos and University of Guam Joint Archaeological Fieldwork in San Remigio, said that the artifacts would be sent to the United States for radio carbon dating to determine the “absolute date” of the materials.

“The samples from San Remigio would be the first to undergo radio carbon dating in the Philippines,” Bersales told Cebu Daily News over the phone.

Bersales said that they had unearthed around 4,000 specimens from their archeological dig in San Remigio, composed of 27 multinational archeologists.

Bersales said in a statement that they had uncovered six burials and 14 earthenware jars and some 3,000 accessioned artifacts believed to be dated back from the Philippine Iron Age, which is between 500 BC and AD 900.

Bersales said that it was the first time they had recovered artifacts dating from the Philippine Iron Age in Cebu.

“It strongly suggests that there's already a thriving settlement in Cebu,” he said.

The Archeological team, lead by the University of Guam and University of San Carlos, ended their three-week excavation in San Remegio last Wednesday.

It was organized by Archaeologist Dr. Stephen Acabado as University of Guam’s field school for 2011 and was conducted in collaboration with USC, National Museum of the Philippines, University of the Philippines-Diliman, and Cebu Provincial Tourism and Heritage Council.

Their recovered artifact include one burial interred with six different types of earthenware jars near its feet, an iron tool near its chest and the jaws of a wild pig placed near its left wrist.

Bersales said that many of the earthenware from the burials had bodies that angled sharply to create a hip, which are typical to the sa Huynh-Kalanay Pottery complex, which was also recovered in Vietnam and in Masbate.

The rest of the specimen are stored and displayed in the Museo Sugbo.

densyo

June 24th, 2011, 04:40 AM

http://www.philstar.com/images/logo_Freeman.jpg
Gullas thanks council for lauding his work (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=699393&publicationSubCategoryId=107)
By Garry B. Lao (The Freeman) Updated June 24, 2011 12:00 AM

http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/3029/freemanpichires.jpg
JRG Halad Museum

CEBU, Philippines - The FREEMAN chairman Dr. Jose “Dodong” R. Gullas, yesterday thanked the Cebu City Council for recognizing his efforts in preserving Cebu’s cultural heritage through the JRG Halad Museum.

During last Wednesday’s council session, the council made the commendation through a resolution sponsored by Councilor Margarita “Margot” Osmeña, chairwoman of the council’s committee on tourism and culture.

Osmeña herself was present during the museum’s formal blessing and launch last June 13.

“For the prime mover of the resolution by the Cebu City Council for our JRG Halad Museum, I would like to extend my million salamat to Councilor Margot Osmeña for recognizing our efforts in the preservation of Cebuano culture and revival of long forgotten Cebuano music and compositions,” Gullas said.

The JRG Halad Museum is located in the old FREEMAN building at corner V. Gullas and D. Jakosalem. It is open to the public Mondays to Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on weekends by appointment.

Gullas was inspired to preserve the songs and the memory of their composers after being made aware, during his term as a congressman, of the common misconception that the widely-popular Christmas carol “Kasadya Ning Takna-a” was translated from Tagalog; when in fact, it was the other way around, spinning off the version “Ang Pasko ay Sumapit”.

Osmeña said that only Gullas has the passion and the heart in preserving Cebuano cultural heritage.

“It’s something that he has the heart and passion, and nobody does it except him. I really thank him for giving it (Halad Museum) to Cebu City,” Osmeña said.

Osmeña already said she will recommend the museum to the Department of Education through the Cultural and Historical Commission. She said the museum is a very informative place for students to visit because it houses valuable musical memorabilia from Cebu’s legendary musicians, as well as art pieces created by Cebuano artists.

The museum displays items, original music sheets and musical instruments from composers from the 20th Century who have produced songs, both immortalized and not duly recognized, as well as artists who have earned recognition in the international scene for their talents.

Visitors will also get the chance to listen to Cebuano songs from phonographs and digital music stations.

The other galleries the museum features include the Kinaiyang Sugbuanon Gallery and the Jose R. Gullas Memorabilia Gallery. The museum is also dedicated to Dodong Gullas’ parents, Don Vicente “Papa Inting” Gullas and Lady Josefina ‘Mama Pining’ Rivera Gullas.” —/BRP (FREEMAN)

archaeologue

June 24th, 2011, 03:46 PM

archaeologue:

I poked around and came across this image from http://www.users.on.net/~mkfenn/page6.htm

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-p-Cy9GDbAqc/TgKnkzwY0II/AAAAAAAABrE/iEjtovnG2Gg/s720/Bronzeaxerotiindonesiacopy2.jpg

The label on the image from the web site says "Bronze axe Indonesia" but this page was about Lapita pottery. Both artifacts appear similar. There are other similar images out there that are labelled "axe heads."

wow, that's possible. but here are the intriguing answers from my facebook account on this one.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150229636561520&set=a.10150229636206520.349095.124360976519&type=1&pid=7453398&id=124360976519

and this one, which is similar to the one you suggested:

http://www.glowimages.com/imagedetails/24353842/image_of_323ig0980.Blade%20from%20a%20ceremonial%20axe%20The%20decoration%20is%20thought%20to%20be%20influenced%20by%20the%20Dong%20Son%20culture%20of%20SE%20Asia%20Country%20of%20Origin%20Possibly%20from%20the%20Roti%20I.html

thanks, for the response.

nangamote

June 25th, 2011, 04:30 AM

wow, that's possible. but here are the intriguing answers from my facebook account on this one.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150229636561520&set=a.10150229636206520.349095.124360976519&type=1&pid=7453398&id=124360976519

and this one, which is similar to the one you suggested:

http://www.glowimages.com/imagedetails/24353842/image_of_323ig0980.Blade%20from%20a%20ceremonial%20axe%20The%20decoration%20is%20thought%20to%20be%20influenced%20by%20the%20Dong%20Son%20culture%20of%20SE%20Asia%20Country%20of%20Origin%20Possibly%20from%20the%20Roti%20I.html

thanks, for the response.

I think I found a real nice image, showing the evolution of the axe/adze in the area. Check out the "axe head" on the lower right corner. Also, the image I posted previously appears to be the "axe head", 2nd from left, bottom and the caption reads "ceremonial bronze axe, Roti." Looks like the "fan" design was already "knocked off" as early as the Metal Age :) From http://www.tslr.net/2007_12_01_archive.html

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Z2NEPtUvm_k/TgVFsIDXggI/AAAAAAAABrc/ZmN-lmtHbyc/image0-12.jpg

Taga Bogo

June 25th, 2011, 06:38 AM

archaeologue

June 25th, 2011, 01:27 PM

^^

i already made 6 corrections on the support the moment i saw it last thursday. i was told the new footages were put in today.

honest mistake of the editor who had no idea about the Philippines-American War.

i saw it late in the evening of thursday when they gave me a dvd during the farewell dinner at museo sugbo. iwas shocked!!!!

i had no time to view it as we were all in san remigio excavatiing. ako pa ang di ka bantay ato? hahah.

there are 5 other historical support errors you did not see. hahah.

nangamote

June 25th, 2011, 03:43 PM

archaeologue and harve

The kabilin Tres de Abril is a WOWER. Dramatization, props and scenery is definitely new to kabilin, a definite improvement.

Just a teeny bit. The video showed Liberators dropping bombs as Jobers was talking about the 1899 American bombing. Mga 39 years apart man ang 2

Consolidated B-24 Liberator
The Liberator originated from a United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) request in 1938 for Consolidated to produce the B-17 under license. This was part of "Project A", a program to expand American industrial capacity for production of the key components of air power

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consolidated_B-24_Liberator

LOL. I'm in the midst of trying to write a grant proposal and I come across this and I'm trying to picture that if one watches this video, one's understanding of history will get messed up pretty quickly. I am sure if the editors had time to fact check the timeline of heavier than air flight, they would have found out that the Wright brothers first flew in 1903. Of course growing up, I was always told that funny things flew out of Naga---growing up in Tungha-an, you think about these things. Sorry for the OT. Back to the grind...

archaeologue

June 25th, 2011, 03:53 PM

indeed. my response is before your post, sir. honest mistake to.
the editor was medyo tanga about history.

i told the staff not to air it until i was finished excavating for a month in san remigio. apparently they could not wait, thus this and 5 other erroneous photos.

this is what happens when you have to do archaeology and still do videos on heritage at the same time.

i'm sure people will understand these mistakes when you are up to the neck with so much work to do to make up for lost time in archaeology and heritage.

Taga Bogo

June 26th, 2011, 02:40 AM

^^i.

LOL.

"had no time to view it as we were all in san remigio excavatiing. ako pa ang di ka bantay ato? hahah." - that among all others, many others, quite understandable kaayo

"there are 5 other historical support errors you did not see. hahah" - Other than the very obvious do not want to critique on a well intentioned pioneering effort that promotes Cebu's history. During its infancy National Geographic must have started with the same growing pains.

archaeologue

June 26th, 2011, 03:50 AM

Ang Karaang Tawo

June 26th, 2011, 05:22 AM

^^

i normally review the video outs before they get aired but the two months of excavation in boljoon and then in san rem prevented me from going back to the city to view the final outs. so there.

now that i'm back in the city, the next episode, Gabaldon Schools, will probably have none of those errors anymore.

did you notice the old wooden fort san pedro on the episode? 1565 pa to and the episode is about 1898! jesus santa maria y jose!

also, the mention of the cebu tribunal, now city hall? and the video showed Vision thearer after WW II? haynaku!

and many more.

first thing i dis after arrival last Thursday, i drove straight to museo and asked for a copy to review it. na-air gyud diay nila the day before. oh well.

I would probably point out some errors too had I seen the whole show. I trust that you'd be the first one to see any mistake and am also sure that you'd take to task the ones at fault!!! ha ha ha poor guys. But the writing or presentation of history is a very sensitive matter. It's like erroneous newspaper accounts, they get to be bible truth if nobody corrects them. And yet some wrong news or data that see print gets to be bible truth no matter the corrections.

As always, you have to be commended for this job you are doing for the history of Cebu!!!! :applause::applause::applause:

archaeologue

June 26th, 2011, 07:55 AM

"had no time to view it as we were all in san remigio excavatiing. ako pa ang di ka bantay ato? hahah." - that among all others, many others, quite understandable kaayo

"there are 5 other historical support errors you did not see. hahah" - Other than the very obvious do not want to critique on a well intentioned pioneering effort that promotes Cebu's history. During its infancy National Geographic must have started with the same growing pains.

sus, boy, i just watched it a few minutes ago and the corrections have all been addressed na....well except one where i just realized I made a serious grievous mistake! i said holy monday when tres de abril 1898 was a palm sunday!!!! atay...i will strike that off the video...or else historians will butcher me!!! i wonder why i lost track of time? hmmmm....maybe because i was thinking of the upcoming excavations more than this when we were taping the show? mea culpa!

maau gani ako pa ang nakabantay...lain pa to,,patay!

archaeologue

June 26th, 2011, 02:20 PM

I would probably point out some errors too had I seen the whole show. I trust that you'd be the first one to see any mistake and am also sure that you'd take to task the ones at fault!!! ha ha ha poor guys. But the writing or presentation of history is a very sensitive matter. It's like erroneous newspaper accounts, they get to be bible truth if nobody corrects them. And yet some wrong news or data that see print gets to be bible truth no matter the corrections.

As always, you have to be commended for this job you are doing for the history of Cebu!!!! :applause::applause::applause:

thanks, Ang Karaang Tawo...

Taga Bogo

June 26th, 2011, 05:40 PM

^^

i normally review the video outs before they get aired but the two months of excavation in boljoon and then in san rem prevented me from going back to the city to view the final outs. so there.

now that i'm back in the city, the next episode, Gabaldon Schools, will probably have none of those errors anymore.

did you notice the old wooden fort san pedro on the episode? 1565 pa to and the episode is about 1898! jesus santa maria y jose!

also, the mention of the cebu tribunal, now city hall? and the video showed Vision thearer after WW II? haynaku!

and many more.

first thing i dis after arrival last thursday, i drove straight to museo and asked for a copy to review it. na-air gyud diay nila the day before. oh well.

"did you notice the old wooden fort san pedro on the episode?" - yup, a copy of that drawn depiction displayed near the entrance/gate of the fort

"also, the mention of the cebu tribunal, now city hall? and the video showed Vision thearer after WW II" - this can be easily missed if one is not familiar of how it looked then :ohno:.

As I had mentioned before "Other than the very obvious do not want to critique on a well intentioned pioneering effort that promotes Cebu's history."

Gamay ra to Jo, it can not be held against you. The plus you had created for heritage/archaeology far outweigh those. :cheers: let's drink to that :)

Ang Karaang Tawo

June 26th, 2011, 05:49 PM

nangamote

June 26th, 2011, 06:27 PM

"did you notice the old wooden fort san pedro on the episode?" - yup, a copy of that drawn depiction displayed near the entrance/gate of the fort

"also, the mention of the cebu tribunal, now city hall? and the video showed Vision thearer after WW II" - this can be easily missed if one is not familiar of how it looked then :ohno:.

As I had mentioned before "Other than the very obvious do not want to critique on a well intentioned pioneering effort that promotes Cebu's history."

Gamay ra to Jo, it can not be held against you. The plus you had created for heritage/archaeology far outweigh those. :cheers: let's drink to that :)

This is an example of Web 2.0/social media's "crowdsourcing." In a world where videos can be uploaded within a few seconds of an event, crowdsourcing becomes a collaborative way of verifying the authenticity of an event (or id people). A good example is how rapidly the rioters in Canada were id'd via Facebook and other social networking sites. When OBL's Pakistan hideout was in the process of being besieged, it wasn't CNN that broke the news first, rather it was an innocent real-time tweet about noisy helicopters. In our case, further propagation of historical errors have been avoided precisely because we are on this forum, a Web 2.0 platform, pointing out errors and historical anomalies. In pre-Web 2.0, one of the unique features of the Toyota Way is that any person in the production process can pull a rope ("andon") to slow or stop production so that a problem can be quickly fixed. In this case, Boy "pulled the rope," leading to a better product (a historically accurate depiction of events). I'll drink to that as well.

s_w_stars

June 26th, 2011, 07:12 PM

Mercato

June 26th, 2011, 07:23 PM

Ang Karaang Tawo

June 27th, 2011, 02:45 AM

But there is gold. But I did see pictures of long gold necklaces being posted on this very thread! Or on previous chapters of this thread. I do believe all the regulars on this thread must have seen them sometime last year.

Those gold necklaces were from the diggings in Boljoon. Please read the previous postings. Archeologue's article referred to the diggings in San Remegio. He didn't say there's no gold in Cebu. ONLY in the San Remegio dig.
:ohno:

archaeologue

June 27th, 2011, 11:44 AM

Something doesn't compute here. Read a reference to Laszlo, in a 1988 Arts of Asia, that gold artifacts originating from the Philippines were foundin Egyption archaeological digs. Also read (somewhere can't remember the reference) that the Iron Age was kinda short and that ancient Filipinos started mining and processing gold as early as around 200 BC in Mindoro. Also contacts with the other parts of Asia particularly the Southeast Asian peninsula were earlier than the Chinese (9th century). Some of the eye patches in the Ayala Museum predated the dates he gave. Finally the Manunggul Jar is dated around 790 BC, not 400 BC, according to the inscription at the National Museum.

I'm not question why there is no gold, just pointing out discrepancies in his article vs other articles I've read.

the mines you are referring to are probably in Paracale, Camarines. the early spanish missionaries reported that this was already in existence when they arrived. but there is still no precise date as to when these mines began.

i think you should not believe everything you read. when it comes to archaeology-based information (read: pre-spanish), i would recommend that you read those written by archaeologists in scientific journals. laszlo? i think he's an art historian. not an archaeologist. and those views of philippine gold coming out of egypt have not been published in scientific literature. or else a debate would have ensued. archaeologists cannot even say where all these gold from surigao came from. or for that matter, whether all of those in the ayala museum are really genuine. i shall not print here what some archaeologists i know say about the ayala museum collection and their intriguing comments regarding the gold.

some gold beads were indeed recovered from Guri Cave, dated to around 500-300 Bc but there is no definite radiocarbon date for this site and therefore the jury is still out whether this is a good date.

even the ayala museum and bangko sentral gold collections are roughly dated. ca. 13th-15th c. only. you know why? because all their gold were from looters and treasure hunters. none was ever retrieved in controlled excavations with archaeologists present. who knows how many of these were fabricated and sold as pre-spanish? you wanna bet? i wouldn't because that is like pining for the moon. not a single one of those gold pieces carry even a definite radiocarbon date.

but i do hear whispers. and the source kuno of the fabrication, if indeed true, was cebu in the 1980s.

archaeologue

June 27th, 2011, 11:54 AM

Those gold necklaces were from the diggings in Boljoon. Please read the previous postings. Archeologue's article referred to the diggings in San Remegio. He didn't say there's no gold in Cebu. ONLY in the San Remegio dig.
:ohno:

thanks, Ang Karaang Tawo. i invite everyone to two museums where some of the gold we excavated (USC and National Museum) can be found:

the first and only archaeologically-obtained sets of gold facial covers are in Museo Sugbo. all others are from looted sites, no provenience, no value to history.

the first and only archaeologically-obtained gold earring and necklaces are now at the Boljoon Parish Museum. go see for yourself everyone.

all other gold you see, whether in Bangko Sentral or Ayala Museum, have no iota of archaeological provenience whatsoever. no site reports, no matrix, no coordinates, no depth, no layer, not even a map to show where these came from in which particular excavation unit or square. all illegally obtained. all are from looters and no one knows which is fake and which is not.

archaeologue

June 27th, 2011, 01:11 PM

This is an example of Web 2.0/social media's "crowdsourcing." In a world where videos can be uploaded within a few seconds of an event, crowdsourcing becomes a collaborative way of verifying the authenticity of an event (or id people). A good example is how rapidly the rioters in Canada were id'd via Facebook and other social networking sites. When OBL's Pakistan hideout was in the process of being besieged, it wasn't CNN that broke the news first, rather it was an innocent real-time tweet about noisy helicopters. In our case, further propagation of historical errors have been avoided precisely because we are on this forum, a Web 2.0 platform, pointing out errors and historical anomalies. In pre-Web 2.0, one of the unique features of the Toyota Way is that any person in the production process can pull a rope ("andon") to slow or stop production so that a problem can be quickly fixed. In this case, Boy "pulled the rope," leading to a better product (a historically accurate depiction of events). I'll drink to that as well.

thanks, but actually for the record i saw the error at 11 pm of thursday after i went home from the farewell dinner for archaeologists from guam/hawaii etc. i arrived thursday afternoon from nearly two months of excavation and, after a shower, went straight to museo sugbo for the dinner with instructions for sugbo tv to send me a copy of the video. i precisely asked that a copy be sent to me the moment i arrived from the city because i was had no idea how the video looked.

when i noticed the mistake that same night I fired off a series of instructions by text and by phone on thursday evening and well into midnight. boy posted his reactions here saturday morning. the error was remedied friday morning and by saturday, when boy posted his comment, the corrections were already acted upon and a revised version had already aired that satiurday morning.

but one more error, very grave, was remedied only today----and i was the one who also noticed it: holy monday in lieu of palm sunday.

let's all drink to this then

and hope this one won't ever haunt us again.

:cheers:

archaeologue

June 27th, 2011, 01:22 PM

I think I found a real nice image, showing the evolution of the axe/adze in the area. Check out the "axe head" on the lower right corner. Also, the image I posted previously appears to be the "axe head", 2nd from left, bottom and the caption reads "ceremonial bronze axe, Roti." Looks like the "fan" design was already "knocked off" as early as the Metal Age :) From http://www.tslr.net/2007_12_01_archive.html

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Z2NEPtUvm_k/TgVFsIDXggI/AAAAAAAABrc/ZmN-lmtHbyc/image0-12.jpg

thanks.

the nagging thing about the object we found is that it is not sharp. it is about a half-inch thick and not tapering to a sharp or seemingly sharp edge at all. same thickness all throughout down to the edge of the rounded object.

it is clearly not good for chopping or cutting something. it looks therefore very ceremonial.

nangamote

June 27th, 2011, 03:04 PM

thanks.

the nagging thing about the object we found is that it is not sharp. it is about a half-inch thick and not tapering to a sharp or seemingly sharp edge at all. same thickness all throughout down to the edge of the rounded object.

it is clearly not good for chopping or cutting something. it looks therefore very ceremonial.

That's what I thought it was---a ceremonial object. I didn't think a ceramic-type axe head would be of practical use for hacking away at trees or animals in the real world. My simple-minded thinking is that an artisan did an excellent job of creating a ceramic (?) ceremonial axe head from the real metal-based tool. It would be interesting to determine the source of the material used to make the object, i.e., locally made vs. "imported." I am sure you have a long list of to do's and this is just another item to check off.

archaeologue

June 27th, 2011, 03:10 PM

^^^^

indeed. but unfortunately this is still a one-of-a-kind thing and to do thin sections of it would be a calamity of the highest proportions. but we do plan to take samples of small earthenware sherds and do thin sectioning and other methods to eventually trace the source.

the problem. indeed, is that there is very little that has been done in the philippines, moreso of the central philippines, about earthenware sourcing.

s_w_stars

June 28th, 2011, 05:24 AM

But there is gold. But I did see pictures of long gold necklaces being posted on this very thread! Or on previous chapters of this thread. I do believe all the regulars on this thread must have seen them sometime last year.

I was commenting on the article, "Where's the gold," I wasn't questioning the whereabouts of the gold in San Remigio but his references to the gold in the Philippines. He seems to imply that gold in the Philippines came at a later time contrary to articles I've read. Yes, I've seen the Surigao gold treasures at the old Ayala Museum way back when, and now at the Greenbelt.

s_w_stars

June 28th, 2011, 05:40 AM

the mines you are referring to are probably in Paracale, Camarines. the early spanish missionaries reported that this was already in existence when they arrived. but there is still no precise date as to when these mines began.

i think you should not believe everything you read. when it comes to archaeology-based information (read: pre-spanish), i would recommend that you read those written by archaeologists in scientific journals. laszlo? i think he's an art historian. not an archaeologist. and those views of philippine gold coming out of egypt have not been published in scientific literature. or else a debate would have ensued. archaeologists cannot even say where all these gold from surigao came from. or for that matter, whether all of those in the ayala museum are really genuine. i shall not print here what some archaeologists i know say about the ayala museum collection and their intriguing comments regarding the gold.

some gold beads were indeed recovered from Guri Cave, dated to around 500-300 Bc but there is no definite radiocarbon date for this site and therefore the jury is still out whether this is a good date.

even the ayala museum and bangko sentral gold collections are roughly dated. ca. 13th-15th c. only. you know why? because all their gold were from looters and treasure hunters. none was ever retrieved in controlled excavations with archaeologists present. who knows how many of these were fabricated and sold as pre-spanish? you wanna bet? i wouldn't because that is like pining for the moon. not a single one of those gold pieces carry even a definite radiocarbon date.

but i do hear whispers. and the source kuno of the fabrication, if indeed true, was cebu in the 1980s.

Mindoro was the place mentioned in that article. Also mentioned was Paracale, but thought it was much later period.

The Ayala exhibit, 9th to 13th century. (not 13-15th century) and very Hindu style not chinese. I just visited again last year, and that was what I saw. And they have a glas map with the places where they found them, a few pieces were earlier than that, eye patches I believe.

Fabricated and sold as pre-spanish? well, you might want to cite your source for this (Cebu in the 1980's)? At this time, your source is hearsay.

Central Bank gold collection and the Ayala Gold collection (which by the way some are only on loan from European museums) may not have been carbon dated but I'd rely on their own ability to determine approximate age. Until otherwise proven. (Maybe Marcos collection?)

All I'm commenting on is the discrepancies between what I've read and the article. I'm not betting on anything except saying what I saw and read. Manunggul jar I believe has been carbon dated 710 BC. Scientific interpretations are based on deductive reasoning and anthropologists may take different conclusions because it isn't as exact as say, splitting atoms. They still have to connect the dots.

archaeologue

June 28th, 2011, 09:42 AM

^^

well said. there are a few archaeologists who have serious doubts about the ayala collection but, as you said, all hearsay and no one is coming out to question its authenticity.

the problem with looted gold is that, well, simply put, it is looted.

no archaeologist was present when the excavations happened. these were done in the dead of night, no prying eyes. no photography, no record.

right after the talk of surigao treasure appeared, everyone who wanted to sell so-called pre-spanish gold would always say it came from surigao, giving rise to a tremendously huge gold hoard allegedly from surigao that is becoming impossible to believe.

that is why all the looting should have been stopped right then and there. archaeologists should have been brought in to carry out a study.

well, that did not happen, so we are now left with two large gold collections that no archaeologist can even use for his or her dissertation.

apropos to this, i have a copy of both "Ginto: The Bangko Sentral Gold Collection" by Ramon Villegas and "Philippine Ancestral Gold" published by Ayala Museum and NUS Press...amazingly, and quite understandably, no dates are proffered on every item that appears in these two catalogues.

which is as it should be. no provenience, ergo, no definite scientific grounds to offer any proof.

sad isn't it? if only looters were kind to these burial sites and called in archaeologists to get samples for radiocarbon dating hahahah!

archaeologue

June 28th, 2011, 09:56 AM

I was commenting on the article, "Where's the gold," I wasn't questioning the whereabouts of the gold in San Remigio but his references to the gold in the Philippines. He seems to imply that gold in the Philippines came at a later time contrary to articles I've read. Yes, I've seen the Surigao gold treasures at the old Ayala Museum way back when, and now at the Greenbelt.

well, i was the one who wrote it. i am an archaeologist and i can postiively tell you that the scientific literature on gold in the philippines is absent except for the guri cave finds. the iron age sites in the philippines just do not have any gold in the burials that have been recovered --- that is what the scientific literature is saying.

only those burials radiocarbon dated or relative dated to the contact period, i.e. 9th century to 16th century, are profuse in some places with gold. not even all have gold.

the literature you are encountering is unfortunately written by art historians. they can speculate on dates all they want. in fact you put one on a site and he may even have disagreement over the date with an archaeologist.

this is what happened to the Hoi An shipwreck hoard of Vietnam. John Guy had a different period for the ceramic wares than the archaeologist Mensun Bound, director of the Oxford University Maritime Archaeological Research and Excavation Unit (MARE).

at the end of the day, what archaeologists trust are the peer-reviewed scientific publications because that is what they are: peer reviewed and current content.

s_w_stars

June 29th, 2011, 03:26 AM

well, i was the one who wrote it. i am an archaeologist and i can postiively tell you that the scientific literature on gold in the philippines is absent except for the guri cave finds. the iron age sites in the philippines just do not have any gold in the burials that have been recovered --- that is what the scientific literature is saying.

only those burials radiocarbon dated or relative dated to the contact period, i.e. 9th century to 16th century, are profuse in some places with gold. not even all have gold.

the literature you are encountering is unfortunately written by art historians. they can speculate on dates all they want. in fact you put one on a site and he may even have disagreement over the date with an archaeologist.

this is what happened to the Hoi An shipwreck hoard of Vietnam. John Guy had a different period for the ceramic wares than the archaeologist Mensun Bound, director of the Oxford University Maritime Archaeological Research and Excavation Unit (MARE).

at the end of the day, what archaeologists trust are the peer-reviewed scientific publications because that is what they are: peer reviewed and current content.

If you read my comment, I wasn't arguing about the veracity of what you wrote - not finding gold. It's the explanations to justify why there should be no gold that raised my eyebrows. I have pointed out some of the data you mention, and they seem to go against others I have read, and the Museums. If you have any professional arguments to make about the gold collections at Ayala, Central Bank, et al, then you should write a separate article on that and let your peers review it. So far no one I know has called them on this.

Archaeologists and historians can trace and place the periods of certain artifacts by identifying certain unique features/characteristics. Radio carbon dating is of course another matter. But like an art historian can give their professional opinion if a certain artwork is of genre, period etc just by studying the other nuances of the artifact.

It's not only academics and archaeologists who do peer reviews. It's also applied in industry.

archaeologue

June 29th, 2011, 10:11 AM

^^ ^^

there is no meeting of minds between us because the literature you have is not what i have read. and i can see you understand what peer reviewed work is all about.

what i wrote does not go against the gold in these museums. they are dated to between the 10th and 14th centuries (or 900 to 1300 CE). which means they are not in what is called the Philippine Metal Age, dated to between 500 BCE and 900 CE. i have the two books published out of these collections and there is no iota of any mention of a date older than the Contact Period (i.e. 9th to 16th century CE).

as it stands, there is no need to write a peer reviewed article about all the gold in these two museums. why? there are no site reports, no provenience (no depth measurements, no coordinates, no trench /unit excavation number, no site map, no soil profile, no accession number, not even a photograph). these were all sold by antique traders...nothing scientific can ever be obtained from that kind of source.

this is what the UNESCO has been decrying about: the incessant and wanton looting of archaeological and other heritage sites and how the artifacts from these illicit trade land in museums and get 'dignified' as such.

no one can even tell which is genuine and which is fabricated. will you believe the antique trader when he tells you these are genuine?

you should hear what the ceramics expert Rita Ching Tan says about the unwieldiness of dating ceramics and how difficult it is. i am sorry to disappoint you but for us archaeologists, only absolute dating techniques will do. and the cheapest of these happens to be radiocarbon dating. i do not trust pottery form and style to tell me age of a site. what if these ceramics are heirloom pieces and not directly owned by the person in the burial? this is what post-processual archaeological theory argues about. what if the gold earrings one is wearing on the burial was handed down from the great grandfather? who is there to know?

the only thing absolute is radiocarbon dating. no one in the scientific world can argue against that. whereas art historians can fight over the date of a single shu-fu vase on the basis of form and style.

may i refer you to a popular literature written by National Museum archaeologists regarding the Philippine Metal Age?

This is Vol. 2 of the 1998 centennial series published by Reader's Digest entitled "Kasaysayan: The Story of the Filipino People".
Vol 2 is entitled "The Earliest Filipinos". and on pages 113-125, you will find "The Metals of Civilization". In there is a very insightful yet easy reading of the metal age according to four different archaeologists and anthropologists. happy reading!

Taga Bogo

June 29th, 2011, 11:42 AM

^^ ^^

Balik ta sa kabilin sa Sugbo TV Jo mas alegre to. So whats the title of the next episode?

archaeologue

June 29th, 2011, 11:47 AM

Balik ta sa kabilin sa Sugbo TV Jo mas alegre to. So what the title of the next episode?

hahaha...i know how you feel.

anyway, four episodes are coming:

1. Gabaldon Schools: Gabaldon's Name, Parsons' Legacy
2. Pre-Spanish Tattooing vs. Contemporary Tattoos
3. Iglesia Filipina Independiente, the Revolutionary Church
4. The Provincial History Project

Taga Bogo

June 30th, 2011, 08:37 AM

hahaha...i know how you feel.

anyway, four episodes are coming:

1. Gabaldon Schools: Gabaldon's Name, Parsons' Legacy
2. Pre-Spanish Tattooing vs. Contemporary Tattoos
3. Iglesia Filipina Independiente, the Revolutionary Church
4. The Provincial History Project

My 2c worth lang. Would it be possible to request sugbo TV to flash schedules of their shows the likes of how HBO does it. Many times I had to look at the other shows which are not that interesting to me, for several hours just to wait for Kabilin. There are also many occassions wherein after waiting for so long, I switch to another channel. By the time I switch back Credits na lang akong ma-abtan sa kabilin. Then another several hours na sad.

archaeologue

June 30th, 2011, 12:36 PM

My 2c worth lang. Would it be possible to request sugbo TV to flash schedules of their shows the likes of how HBO does it. Many times I had to look at the other shows which are not that interesting to me, for several hours just to wait for Kabilin. There are also many occassions wherein after waiting for so long, I switch to another channel. By the time I switch back Credits na lang akong ma-abtan sa kabilin. Then another several hours na sad.

you read my mind exactly. that was what i suggested during our meeting this lunchtime....ang ilang problema kay maglisud daw sila sa time kay usahay dili timing ang pagupload. i told them no need to put a time basta naa lang sequence ba so people will know what will come first after 30 minutes, then 45 minutes etc. like the german station DW-TV.

i think they will do this....let's hope and pray...hahashah.

sanvalente

June 30th, 2011, 04:22 PM

Taga Bogo

June 30th, 2011, 04:58 PM

you read my mind exactly. that was what i suggested during our meeting this lunchtime....ang ilang problema kay maglisud daw sila sa time kay usahay dili timing ang pagupload. i told them no need to put a time basta naa lang sequence ba so people will know what will come first after 30 minutes, then 45 minutes etc. like the german station DW-TV.

i think they will do this....let's hope and pray...hahashah.

Hoping so too :cheers: lets drink to that sanvalente .:)

archaeologue

June 30th, 2011, 06:36 PM

going back to gold... how then would the archaeologists address the issue
of accidental gold find? classic example would be the surigao gold which
was accidentally found during the NIA project and of course what followed
next was history, finders keepers...

the correct thing to do would have been to cordon off the site. call in national museum archaeologists to map the site, find the extent of the horde's location, do a proper excavation, collect soil samples, measure depths and coordinates of each artifact, determine soil layer...collect all the specimens, accession them and then bring everything to the national museum branch in Butuan for proper inventory.

berto would still have his share of the gold (a finder's fee of some kind, according to Presidential Decree 374) but the priest who got to sell the gold to antique shops in Manila should have been arrested and haled to prison for not following Presidential Decree 374, the Cultural Properties Decree, which was operating at that time. (he should have reported the gold to the authorities, pari pa nama sya!)

even if the gold did not come from a burial and was apparently a kind of horde hidden due to some battle some time in the 11th century (or so according to some javanese or was it moluccan lore?), the soil matrix would still have provided an important clue to help date the gold and ensure its proper provenance or provenience.

nothing like this happened. it is a wonder why Jaime Laya even bought half of the so-called Surigao Treasure from antique traders for the Central Bank when the law is clear that anything found beneath the ground is property of the State, writ large. all he should have done was to call in the police to start confiscating all that gold.

archaeologue

June 30th, 2011, 06:55 PM

^^^ ^^^

compare this with the Maitum anthropomorphic jars found in a cave in Maitum, Sarangani province. the national museum had an anonymous benefactor who paid a 'finder's fee' to an MNLF commander who "owned" the cave.

once that was done, a three-month excavation of the cave ensued. all the jars, now of the utmost extreme value to prehistory, were properly excavated, provenienced, accessioned and inventoried. they were then packed and shipped to manila.

a technical report was published and a series of scholarly peer-reviewed articles were also published. then a lecture-tour abroad followed. today, we have these over three hundred earthenware burial jars with unique human bodies and lids forming human heads (no two are similar ha!) that no other country in asia has.

and all because the site was properly reported by the mayor of maitum to the national museum.

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i150/jbersales/MaitumCotabatoanthropomorphicjars.jpg
three of the over 300 anthropomorphic jars, photo from the book Kasaysayan: Story of the Filipino People, Vol. 2.

imagine if all these looters and antique traders got there first! sus! lost forever to science unta and all we would have would be the jars in private collections 'dignified' by private museums with no provenience and no site report! no contribution to science and archaeology. many copies would also have been made and we would never know that each jar has a face on its lid that is unique to itself, perhaps the face of the individual whose bones were interred inside as a secondary burial practice.

que horror!!!! que barbaridad!!!! so now we have so much gold and no idea which is fake and which is not!!!!

sanvalente

July 1st, 2011, 06:37 PM

amen to that @archaeologue! by the way, up to what extent can archaeology
"work back" to the details of "finding the truth" just like what you did at Plaza
Independencia (srp tunnel construction)? i know it's quite limited but just for
the sake of getting the provenance. would it be conclusive enough if you excavate the site again (assuming there are no time-constrained projects in the area)?

archaeologue

July 2nd, 2011, 12:58 AM

^^

yes, it would be good to excavate the site again...that would be costly but very, very advisable.

and timing kaayo ka. a burial was accidentally found the other day and i was called to look at it yesterday. it is right in front of the main portal of the fort, about 10 meters west. only the skulls was exposed and part of the upper torso.

if plans push through, i think i will excavate the whole burial on monday. it was hit by a drainage ditch being constructed there now.

let's see what this burial is all about.

gee

July 2nd, 2011, 07:37 AM

Why Cebu is a big Chinatown? Decoding the China Code

The English sign is "Temple of Virtue" but the Chinese inscription below is 深滬同鄉會宿務分會, which literally means Shenhu (a town in Fujian province) Townmates Association Cebu Chapter.

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/9915/dsc09873m.jpg

http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/8972/dsc09874i.jpg

Cebu Gospel Church is 宿務基督教會 (lit. Cebu Protestant Church)

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/4460/dsc09876e.jpg

Unthaisu Temple (西河堂, lit. West River Hall) is an ancestral hall, where ancestor worship is perhaps still performed.

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/7125/dsc09882t.jpg

Cebu Cherish School is actually 宿務中華學校 (lit. Cebu Chinese School)

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/6993/dsc09883np.jpg

Chonghua Hospital

崇高理想 (high ideals) Vision
奉献爱心 (dedicated compassion) Heart
真诚服務 (sincere service) Will to Serve

http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/3660/dsc09887l.jpg

中華銀行 is not the Chinese for RCBC. It simply means Chinese Bank.

http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/9892/dsc09889s.jpg

The Chinese name of Cebu Christian Gospel School 宿務建基中學 can also be translated literally to Cebu Protestant Chinese School.

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/4584/dsc09891i.jpg

Cebu Cantonese Association 宿務廣東會館

http://img810.imageshack.us/img810/4549/dsc09913.jpg

more to come ...

gee

July 2nd, 2011, 08:03 AM

Downtown Revitalization： Prince City Hall

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/1986/dsc09895t.jpg

archaeologue

July 2nd, 2011, 08:57 AM

Why Cebu is a big Chinatown? Decoding the China Code

The English sign is "Temple of Virtue" but the Chinese inscription below is 深滬同鄉會俗務分會, which literally means Shenzhenese and Shanghainese Association Cebu Chapter.

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/9915/dsc09873m.jpg

http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/8972/dsc09874i.jpg

Cebu Gospel Church is 俗務基督教會 (lit. Cebu Protestant Church)

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/4460/dsc09876e.jpg

Unthaisu Temple (西河堂, lit. West River Hall) is an ancestral hall, where ancestor worship is perhaps still performed.

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/7125/dsc09882t.jpg

Cebu Cherish School is actually 俗務中華學校 (lit. Cebu Chinese School)

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/6993/dsc09883np.jpg

Chonghua Hospital

崇高理想 (high ideals) Vision
奉献爱心 (dedicated compassion) Heart
真诚服務 (sincere service) Will to Serve

http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/3660/dsc09887l.jpg

中華銀行 is not the Chinese for RCBC. It simply means Chinese Bank.

http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/9892/dsc09889s.jpg

The Chinese name of Cebu Christian Gospel School 俗務建基中學 can also be translated literally to Cebu Protestant Chinese School.

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/4584/dsc09891i.jpg

Cebu Cantonese Association 俗務廣東會館

http://img810.imageshack.us/img810/4549/dsc09913.jpg

more to come ...

wow! i can't wait to publish your dissertation, gee...i can just imagine it now!

congratz!

archaeologue

July 2nd, 2011, 08:58 AM

Downtown Revitalization： Prince City Hall

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/1986/dsc09895t.jpg

the only thing i do not like is the color. it does not follow the color code surrounding plaza sugbo. the owner should have followed the code. look at San Agustin and BPI, also City Hall...oh well.

Ka_Bino

July 2nd, 2011, 08:09 PM

Sus nahibilin na jud ko... taod taod na wala kabasa dire..

it took me a while back reading..

Nice Gee...

Jobers should you do a Leon Kilat, Can i be.. Pro Bono

harveharve

July 3rd, 2011, 03:17 AM

Came across this article:

The Philippine Gibraltar Campaign
By Bernie O’Bryan (All rights reserved)

On September 12, a United States force of about three hundred began operations against the insurgents.

This force was composed of detachments from: the Sixth (Company A under Lieutenants Child and and C under Gleason), four companies of the Twenty-Third Infantry and an artillery detachment. It was a joint operation, with the navy contributing ships for transport, landings, coastal bombardments and supply. Its primary target was an Insurgent strong hold in the mountains near the city of Cebu. This area was not only difficult terrain, but had been fortified along the hilltops and ridges in a system of forts, rifle-pits and trenches.

From the city, attacking troops would need to advance uphill against direct fire from the forts. So confident were they of the strength of their position, the natives called it “The Philippine Gibraltar”.

The Insurgents frequently used hit and run tactics. On August 24th, they had ambushed and killed four men from the U.S. Twenty-Fourth. The U.S. had sent troops from several regiments against them, but their march was exhausting! Eighty men dropped out during the march due to the heat and the entire force returned to camp empty handed, the rebel forces under Maxilom had slipped away to fight another day. The weather would not be any more pleasant for this campaign.

For the Philippine Gibraltar, the Insurgents were not hiding -- they expected to win via defense. Rather than a frontal assault, the American began by marching around the Insurgents’ left. It was tough going in the hilly terrain, but after some effort cannon were planted at a point actually overlooking the 18 fortifications.

http://img810.imageshack.us/img810/8357/photo052711001.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/810/photo052711001.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)
I may be wrong but I think this map of Jaclopan/Hacopan/Jacopan is the place referred to as the Gibraltar of Cebu with its many hilltop fortifications. But I may be wrong though... hehe eitherway, the Jaclopan Valley was well fortified with hilltop forts which easily defended the valley below. If my suspicions are correct, this map refers to the campaign mentioned in this article- Harve

The Insurgents opened up first, firing their seventeenth century smooth bore cannons. Counter battery fire soon commenced, with both shell and shrapnel.

The U.S. Navy’s double turret monitor Monadock assisted from its anchorage in the bay from 2:50 PM to 5:30 PM. Most of the shells missed their marks, falling short. However, from either the shore or water batteries, one of the fort’s magazines was hit by two shots and blew up. That day and the next the Monadock used 31 ten inch shells in bombardments. Still, despite all the shelling, the Insurgents held on, they would have to be forced out by land.

Early the next day, about 250 U.S. soldiers started down the mountain, crossed two ridges and made their way to the base of the ridge. Great numbers of Insurgents opened fire as the Americans approached three forts and connecting entrenchments. It was too much and the American retreated and laid siege while calling up reinforcements from other islands for another attack.

Not completely idle, the American kept active campaigning on the island. They detached experienced Captain George B. Walker to lead about forty troopers from the two Sixth Infantry and some troops from the First Tennessee Volunteers and the 23rd Infantry against a band of Insurgents near Maulbaul, Cebu (Moalboal) on the west coast of Cebu. While marching along a road bordered by impassable swamps, they arrived at the intersection
with another road which had a stone wall or cliffs. The Insurgents had taken advantage of this natural fort and killed two and wounded two Americans. Finding it impossible to go forward or flank around the enemy, they withdrew.

On September 21, the Third Battalion of the 19th Infantry and some companies the First Tennessee arrived. The American now had 53 officers and 747 men for an offensive and now had the largest offensive force on the island during the war.

With the addition of these new troops the attacking force was organized into three divisions. The two companies from the Sixth Infantry (44 men) and companies “C” and “I” from the Tennessee Volunteers formed the first Division. The Second Division contained Company K of the 19th, Company M of the 23rd and some Tennessee companies. The Third Division contained the remaining companies of the 23rd and 19th. The First Tennessee Companies were to be used in support in the First and Second Division attacks.

Each Division advanced along a different point while the Insurgents kept up a steady fire. There were several ridges along the fortifications. The Third Division advanced on the right, the Second and the First in the
middle. After passing through a gap, the First Division split off to the left.

Under fire and climbing along the ridges, the First Division moved by rushes. Private John N. Norton, (6th Co. A) was wounded, but the 6th took
the first rifle pit as the Insurgents retreated to secondary positions. The forts and rifle pits were sometimes several hundred yards apart, often on separate ridges causing any attacking force to climb up and down. The
Sixth continued to advance. Private William M. Hanley was killed, and Private James Conway was wounded.

After fighting for about two hours, the Sixth fell back to the first rifle pits to regroup and resupply. Company C advanced along another route, but met stiff resistance as did the other division. The fight lasted over seven and
a half hours, before the Americans called it a day. The Sixth took four casualties that day was had been in the hottest part of the battle most of the day. The Sixth companies, Company K of the 19th and Company M of the
23rd lead the day’s attacks.

The next day a detachment of the Sixth escorted the wounded back to the city of Cebu, a nine hour difficult march. Meanwhile, those remaining renewed their attack. Meeting no resistance, it became apparent
that the Insurgents had retreated and abandoned their “Gibraltar”. The campaign was a success in that it took the fortifications and inflected a severe blow to the Insurgents. However, the Insurgent army in Cebu remained intact.

About a month later, Captain Walker lead band of about 40 men from companies A and C, plus some native police (less well armed) again on a mission near Maulbaul (Moalboal). They were ambushed, losing two killed and
two wounded from the Sixth and one killed and four wounded from the native police, while the Insurgents lost 18.

Cebu continued to be an active theater of the war. Captain Walker was promoted to Major and transferred to the 11th Infantry on Jan. 24, 1900.

Bibliography:

From here. www.ssawv.org/NationalSon_Vol_3_No_3.pdf

“A War History of the Sixth U.S Infantry from 1798 to 1903 with Rosters and Memorials of the Cuban and Philippine Campaigns”, By Elkanah Babcock, Revised and Edited by S. T. Fisk, Hudson-Kimberly Publishing Co, Kansas City, Mo., 1903

“The U.S. Navy in the Philippines Insurrection and Subsequent Native Unrest, 1898-1906”, Vernon Leon Williams, Ph. D.
dissertation, Texas A & M University
“Report of Bombardment of Insurgent Fortifications in the Vicinity of Cebu, PI”, USNA, RG 45, entry 464, box 15, P.J. Werlick,
October 5, 1899
“The War against the American, Resistance and Collaboration in Cebu, 1899-1906”, Resil B. Mojares, Atended De Manila Univ.
Press, Quezon City, Philippines, 1999
“Americans Caught in a Trap, Ambushed in the Philippines and Forced to Retreat”, New York Times, Dec. 20, 1899
Grolier Encyclopedia of Knowledge, Griolier Inc. Danbury Connecticut, 1991

harveharve

July 3rd, 2011, 06:10 PM

archaeologue

July 4th, 2011, 02:54 AM

http://62.15.226.148/tc/2011/01/23/24220368.jpg
Lookie! The cannons are still mounted on their gun carriages!

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4085/5035691814_5b9d940756.jpg
The fort looks so deteriorated in this photo.

wow...exteremely interesting photos of the fort and the trading ships pa gyud...

reminds me of the Ozamiz fort, Fuerza Maria Cristina man tingali to, before it was rehabilitated just recently. ingon ani gyud sya ka deteriorated until about 3 or 5 years ago.

congrats, harve, on these finds! naa na dayon sa Ang Karaang Sugbo fan page sa facebook ni Ka Bino..

heheh.

harveharve

July 4th, 2011, 05:41 AM

gee

July 4th, 2011, 07:45 AM

wow! i can't wait to publish your dissertation, gee...i can just imagine it now!

congratz!

murag dugay pa na ... unahi jo para mosunod dayon ko hahaha :lol:

Ka_Bino

July 4th, 2011, 09:45 AM

hahaha...

Zuburbia

July 4th, 2011, 10:35 AM

the only thing i do not like is the color. it does not follow the color code surrounding plaza sugbo. the owner should have followed the code. look at San Agustin and BPI, also City Hall...oh well.

mas ganahan ko ani nga gilahi nilang color.. good choice of color hayag/dan-ag na pod siya tan-awon..boring pod og naay color scheme tanan building around Plaza sugbo... pero sayangan jud ko atong orginal nga design sa window.. ganahan ko maibalik tong simple, gamay, dili arch nga window..karaan jud tong tan-awon.. karon kay murag hinay hinay na siyang nagkamoderno

ang signage nga Prince warehouse sa side facing plaza sugbo kay wala jud masentro, hehehe grabeh klaro kaayo wa jud kabantay ang gapataud.. :nuts:

densyo

July 4th, 2011, 01:47 PM

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/sites/default/files/images/logo/sunstar-cebu.png?1286170363
The tradition continues (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/lifestyle/2011/07/04/tradition-continues-164800)
Monday, July 4, 2011

TO MANY, it is known as the Casa Gorordo Museum, a choice destination for tourists, students, and history buffs. It is one of Cebu’s historical landmarks as it was formerly the residence of Cebu’s first Filipino bishop. However, to Josefa Gorordo-Revilles, that majestic, antique structure along Lopez Jaena St. is a place she once called home. Gorordo was her great grand-uncle.

She recalls that as a child, her family used to celebrate the Feast of San Juan Bautista in that house, with a sit-down dinner in the company of close kin and friends. Today, this family tradition lives on.

The Feast of San Juan Bautista is one of the traditions, which the Gorordo family specifically requested to be respected and upheld upon giving up their ancestral home.

This was part of their agreement with the museum’s handler, the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Incorporated (Rafi), since 1980. The other traditions being continued today are the Belen display in December, Sinug in January, and the procession of caros during the Holy Week. A caro is a carriage that bears images of Jesus Christ.

The Casa Gorordo is possibly one of the few remaining households in Cebu that maintains old Lenten caros that have been with the family for generations.

In celebration of this year’s Feast of San Juan Bautista, Rafi hosted a simple banquet, with members of the Gorordo-Revilles family and representatives from their partner communities of Gabii sa Kabilin present. It was a quaint scene—garden lights illuminating the courtyard, the soft sound of a harp, and ladies dressed elegant Filipiniana. It was a fitting vision for a night honoring a tradition not only religious in nature, but also a tradition that strongly defines an aspect of Filipino culture.

Entertaining the guests that night were a cultural dance presentation by the Badjao community, as well as a balak (poetry reading) and Visayan musical performances by the Akademiyang Bisaya.

It was an evening for culture and heritage indeed. Rafi’s CEO, Domi Chua, and Rafi’s director for Culture and Heritage, Dr. Jocelyn Gerra, acknowledged partner communities of Rafi’s Gabii sa Kabilin project. They gave certificates of appreciation to barangays San Roque, Tinago, Zapatera, Sr. Sto. Nino, T. Padilla, Day-As, Tejero, and Parian. The Gabii sa Kabilin is only one of Rafi’s several programs that aim to strengthen a community’s understanding and valuing of their own culture. As Dr. Gerra mentioned: “A confident community begins with a strong sense of identity.” (Fiona Patricia S. Escandor)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on July 04, 2011.

archaeologue

July 4th, 2011, 02:35 PM

mas ganahan ko ani nga gilahi nilang color.. good choice of color hayag/dan-ag na pod siya tan-awon..boring pod og naay color scheme tanan building around Plaza sugbo... pero sayangan jud ko atong orginal nga design sa window.. ganahan ko maibalik tong simple, gamay, dili arch nga window..karaan jud tong tan-awon.. karon kay murag hinay hinay na siyang nagkamoderno

ang signage nga Prince warehouse sa side facing plaza sugbo kay wala jud masentro, hehehe grabeh klaro kaayo wa jud kabantay ang gapataud.. :nuts:

actually, there is a defined color scheme for this square or block. i was told it was the mayor who wanted colonial colors. and so di sya mo-belong kay dili colonial ang iyang color. the original colonial color for this building was off-white when it was still the smith bell and company building in pre-war times. it is not a question of being boring or not. otherwise washington d.c. would be boring with all those whitewashed buildings. or the whole of paris would be boring with all the dirt-ivory color scheme for all old buildings there.

i believe that is what conservation is all about, i think. one gets as near as possible to how the building looked like during its beginnings especially for a building like this that has retained much of its integrity insofar as the facade is concerned.. one may modernize the interiors but the facade must be true to its original form and color as much as possible.

but then again mao pod ang problem with la nueva supermarket. extremely red. oh well. can't win them all...

archaeologue

July 4th, 2011, 02:39 PM

murag dugay pa na ... unahi jo para mosunod dayon ko hahaha :lol:

waaah....ambot lang...

archaeologue

July 4th, 2011, 03:02 PM

hehehehe upload dayun ni ka-bino! haha :cheers:

here's another one, i think it's the same view of the muelle...

CASETA DE CARABINEROS Y MUELLE EN LA PLAYA DE CEBU
http://pictures.todocoleccion.net/tc/2011/01/23/24220491.jpg

GRABADO DE LA ILUSTRACION ESPAÑOLA Y AMERICANA.AÑO 1880
http://pictures.todocoleccion.net/tc/2009/08/19/14600442.jpg

oh i saw these sa la ilustracion filipina at usc filipiniana lib...naa may collection diha nga karaan kaayo. one of these days magproduce gyud ko og book on spanish period maps, plans, and illustrations about cebu...dugay na gyud na nako nga ambition.

ambitionnn...hahaha

harveharve

July 4th, 2011, 03:56 PM

oh i saw these sa la ilustracion filipina at usc filipiniana lib...naa may collection diha nga karaan kaayo. one of these days magproduce gyud ko og book on spanish period maps, plans, and illustrations about cebu...dugay na gyud na nako nga ambition.

ambitionnn...hahaha

make it a reality!!! kay di gyud ko mu-fail ug grab ug copy! hehehe ;D
ambition? sigurado ko ma-achieve gyud na! :) does that include the plans/maps at the national archives? hehehe

archaeologue

July 4th, 2011, 04:01 PM

^^

yup. i already have a few images taken from the national archives...ang sa spain na lang wala pa. hahahaha.

harveharve

July 4th, 2011, 04:05 PM

^^

yup. i already have a few images taken from the national archives...ang sa spain na lang wala pa. hahahaha.

ooooh! mu-abot ra na ang panahon hehehehe :) i can't wait! i'm sure it will be a definitive work on spanish-colonial cebu :banana: :banana:

Zuburbia

July 4th, 2011, 04:26 PM

actually, there is a defined color scheme for this square or block. i was told it was the mayor who wanted colonial colors. and so di sya mo-belong kay dili colonial ang iyang color. the original colonial color for this building was off-white when it was still the smith bell and company building in pre-war times. it is not a question of being boring or not. otherwise washington d.c. would be boring with all those whitewashed buildings. or the whole of paris would be boring with all the dirt-ivory color scheme for all old buildings there.

i believe that is what conservation is all about, i think. one gets as near as possible to how the building looked like during its beginnings especially for a building like this that has retained much of its integrity insofar as the facade is concerned.. one may modernize the interiors but the facade must be true to its original form and color as much as possible.

but then again mao pod ang problem with la nueva supermarket. extremely red. oh well. can't win them all...

bitaw i agree pod..i really love the original white color of this building, but sad to say lisod kayo ning mga ga-occupy ron nga pasundon sa original, sige lang usab.. pero at least mas nalimpyo og mas nindot nani kay sa atong maroon ba to nga previous color aning buildinga...pero kung sa ako lang ganahan kayo ko atong orginal nga color og design aning buildinga, makalagot ang changes nga wala na mo-uyon sa original, pero at least modest sila sa changes wala jud gi-ultra modern ang building sama sa uban natong makit-an nga halos over na kayo ka-bastardize ang renovation...mas nindot jud untag real restoration jud ang buhaton...

archaeologue

July 4th, 2011, 05:30 PM

^^

yes, i agree. consider, for example, chinabank, right at the corner across the 1920s prudential (now bpi) building. massive 1980s architecture...nasaag gyud hahahah! but pwde bya tingali maredesign ang iyang facade to at least be like the Yuitvo building behind it...but then again that would not be authentic...and someone might react hahahaha!

harveharve

July 4th, 2011, 08:03 PM

Wolfranz

July 5th, 2011, 06:51 PM

Wolfranz

July 5th, 2011, 07:04 PM

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/2164/image7831.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/34/image7831.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)
Day

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/4527/image7841.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/6/image7841.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)
Night

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/7668/image7851.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/84/image7851.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)
Inauguration day.

photos culled from arkitektura.ph

It must have been a sight during the night before and after the inauguration of the Capitol. It was in the middle of nowhere (literally), surrounded by cornfields and hills, and hundreds gathered to look at the pretty lights of the Capitol in what must have been a very VERY dark part of the city (remember, this part of the city was considered way out in the boondocks then). kay bukid naman to the west of sanciangko hehehe

Today such majestic sight could no longer be seen thanks to the row of old trees in front, screening the corps de logis out of the view. I'd like to see those trees transferred elsewhere in the compound or even just to the other side of Escario St. But they should never be cut.

Imagine, the full foliage of trees lining Osmena Boulevard lending a somewhat baroque theatricality. Driving up the Boulevard, one can only peek at the domed central part, but upon reaching the end, the boulevard opens up to the full expanse of the Capitol Building (similar to what Via della Conciliazione does to Piazza San Pietro) What a grand, monumental sight! Unparalleled elsewhere in the country.

archaeologue

July 6th, 2011, 01:25 AM

sir, about the Yutivo Hardware, is it a pre-war building?

i have no idea, really. this whole area was hit by bombs. yet the warehouses behind city hall survived the bombings. so maybe this one is a post-war rehab of a pre-war building?

we could check the waterfront rehabilitation project documents.

Taga Bogo

July 6th, 2011, 04:52 PM

bitaw i agree pod..i really love the original white color of this building, but sad to say lisod kayo ning mga ga-occupy ron nga pasundon sa original, sige lang usab.. pero at least mas nalimpyo og mas nindot nani kay sa atong maroon ba to nga previous color aning buildinga...pero kung sa ako lang ganahan kayo ko atong orginal nga color og design aning buildinga, makalagot ang changes nga wala na mo-uyon sa original, pero at least modest sila sa changes wala jud gi-ultra modern ang building sama sa uban natong makit-an nga halos over na kayo ka-bastardize ang renovation...mas nindot jud untag real restoration jud ang buhaton...

padz definitely better kini'ng colora kay sa maroon. Pero sige lang bisan wa masunod ang color basta ang structure wa mahilabtan ang color dali ra man usbon.

ivanc

July 6th, 2011, 05:21 PM

Zuburbia

July 8th, 2011, 03:20 PM

TABAAAAAAANG! GI-UNSA NAMAN NI NILANG ORIENTE/COLONNADE!!! :ohno::ohno::ohno:

Collonnade Mall As of July 07, 2011

http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/1109/collonadeupd4.jpg

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/1060/collonadeupd7.jpg

shit what are they doing with colonnade??? this is an important and one of the few art deco buildings left, now they are trying to modify its design??? F*ck!

sometimes aluminum cladding would look cheap, i think it definitely wont match with the old collonade's character... are there no people protecting this building? actually its one of my favorite buildings along colon street!!! this modification would surely destroy colonades character and style!!! :ohno::ohno::ohno::ohno:

slerz

July 8th, 2011, 03:42 PM

Bitaw, tabang tag hangyo sa City Hall be. Mga taga Heritage, maayo unyag mahunong ni. Thanks.

Zuburbia

July 8th, 2011, 03:47 PM

Sleepwalker

July 8th, 2011, 04:21 PM

So much with City of Culture award.... :)

Wolfranz

July 8th, 2011, 04:31 PM

kung naa pa tay mahimo.... plsss...luoya ani nga art deco bldg. oi...wa na raba kayo ingon ani nabilin sa Cebu...may nlang unta ni for next generation to appreciate the past architectural style, its development and history, and would soon become their inspiration...
labi nas mga incoming architects to know the importance of historical preservation, and dili na sila magpataka, convince their clients to its importance...

:ohno:

I concur. I thought the Avilas were concerned about Colon heritage? Na-unsa naman tawn ni...

If ever mka-realize tawn sila sa architectural and historical value sa Oriente theater, sayon ra unta ang pagtangtang sa cladding...

Sleepwalker

July 8th, 2011, 04:46 PM

^^I heard, the owner of Colonade is Alturas of Bohol.

I maybe wrong though.

archaeologue

July 9th, 2011, 03:01 AM

Bitaw, tabang tag hangyo sa City Hall be. Mga taga Heritage, maayo unyag mahunong ni. Thanks.

there is so much concern for heritage right now under Mayor Mike Rama. Even tomas Osmena's wife, councilor Margot, is also working on it.

But as the experience with La Nueva and Prince Warehouse Club right at the front yard of city hall shows, the city government can only ask these commercial establishments to respect the integral character of their surroundings.

if they do not follow, what can city hall do?

di gani maminaw ang ka-bankrapon na nga la nueva, kani pa kahang layo na sa city hall nga dili na taga-cebu ang tag-iya? paet di ba?

nabuang na ang mga tawo sa alumininum cladding. but the good thing with this type of cladding is that agian lang og usa ka bagyo, langkat na dayon hahahahah!

but seriously, there has been a long-standing private-led campaign to resuscitate colon's old glory. and it has been an uphill battle for this group.

:bash:

Sleepwalker

July 9th, 2011, 04:05 AM

Zuburbia

July 9th, 2011, 04:07 AM

^^
very nice point there bai sleepwalker! :)

Wolfranz

July 9th, 2011, 12:14 PM

Zuburbia

July 9th, 2011, 05:39 PM

haaaay kapoy palandungon ning kalakis atong gobyerno! daghan walay pangilabot, anha nata magmahay pohon nga wala na tanan!!!:ohno::ohno::ohno:

archaeologue

July 9th, 2011, 05:49 PM

Also about Colon, there is no formal inventory or list of heritage buildings that should be protected. It's quite difficult to identify what buildings are of historic value (save for Vision and Oriente Theaters, while the rest are a hodgepodge of art deco, art moderne and contemporary architecture, not to mention nondescript buildings). There should be at least a list of heritage buildings to guide them what buildings should be preserved.

it's not just colon. the whole of cebu city does not even have a cultural map nor any cultural mapping activities at all among the barangays. i think parian was planning to do one with RAFI but i do not know if it was finished already.

unlike small towns where cultural mapping (inventory, research, documentation etc) is much easier to do, the city has to contend with its large urban size. that is why maski anha lang unta sa mga karaang barangays magsugod ang cultural mapping....it was announced last year that this would be done.

now we wait if indeed this was done and what the results were.

archaeologue

July 9th, 2011, 05:52 PM

IMHO, store owners in Colon do not need to give their establishments spanking new look in order to revitalize activities in Colon. By doing so, it is tantamount of them wrestling the mall giants.

Why not capitalize on the historical and cultural aspect of their building and Colon itself. In this way, they are not only avoiding a head on collision with SM or Ayala or Robinsons, but they are also giving a whole new options for the consumers.

that is what the colon revitalization movement did in the past administrations of long ago. i do not know if you remember in the ealry 2000s, some colon store owners voluntarily repainted their buildings and cleaned up their sidewalks.

but others did not follow. that is why this is really an uphill battle. apil pa man gani to ang usc cebuano studies center sa campaign...

Zuburbia

July 9th, 2011, 06:33 PM

^^
sir, si mayor mike rama hilig man kaha aning heritage, i hope gov. gwen and mayor mike would work together on this effort in establishing a list of heritage structures to be preserved... I hope sa pagka karon dunay programa nga pagabuhaton ang syudad kabahin niining heritage.. kinahanglan na kaayo kay paspas kayong development sa syudad, paspas pod nya ni silang mahanaw atong mga heritage treasures..

gee

July 10th, 2011, 07:30 AM

"The Presidential Residence" in Shishi City

After Sergio Osmena's term as president, Manuel Gotianuy (吴天为) and others, prepared a house to serve as Osmena's residence when he would come "to visit his family" (探亲). Craftsmen prepared a black wooden board with a golden inscription "总统寓" (Presidential Residence). Due to political reasons, Osmena could not make his visit known to public. This board did not have a meaning at all in the Philippines. After the liberation, overseas Chinese who frequently returned to their village, the members of the Go family, brought this board to China, so that it could be hung on one of the pillars of the ancestral house's big hall. In this way, Go family's precious moment in history could be preserved. Unfortunately this board got lost during the liberation's "land reform."

http://www.mnpaw.com/ql/news/UploadFile/201034123338583.jpg

http://www.mnpaw.com/ql/news/UploadFile/201034123349934.jpg

Documentary Video:

http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/6TNTk05OH1k/

slerz

July 10th, 2011, 09:12 AM

there is so much concern for heritage right now under Mayor Mike Rama. Even tomas Osmena's wife, councilor Margot, is also working on it.

But as the experience with La Nueva and Prince Warehouse Club right at the front yard of city hall shows, the city government can only ask these commercial establishments to respect the integral character of their surroundings.

if they do not follow, what can city hall do?

di gani maminaw ang ka-bankrapon na nga la nueva, kani pa kahang layo na sa city hall nga dili na taga-cebu ang tag-iya? paet di ba?

nabuang na ang mga tawo sa alumininum cladding. but the good thing with this type of cladding is that agian lang og usa ka bagyo, langkat na dayon hahahahah!

but seriously, there has been a long-standing private-led campaign to resuscitate colon's old glory. and it has been an uphill battle for this group.

:bash:

then why not voice out. Kung sayangan gyud mo og naa gyud moy heart sa Heritage, naa unta tay madungog nga tingog gikan sa mga taw nga gustong protektahan ang Cebu heritage.

Seriously, if ther's really a long-standing private-led campaign, I never heard it. Kuwang ra sa pagpakabana. :ohno:

Kung ilado lang ko nga taw sa heritage, I will do something to voice out.

archaeologue

July 10th, 2011, 12:57 PM

^^ ^^

now there's a challenge to those who have not done their part....good luck!

Zuburbia

July 10th, 2011, 06:39 PM

yeah i agree with you slerz...kung konektado lang kos mga dagkog tae, og kung naa ko membro sa mga inpluwensyado og sikat, ako mismo monawong nilag sturya about sa akong concern!

slerz

July 10th, 2011, 06:59 PM

there is so much concern for heritage right now under Mayor Mike Rama. Even tomas Osmena's wife, councilor Margot, is also working on it.

if they do not follow, what can city hall do?

Mao na diay ni ilang "SO MUCH"! :bash:

2 thumbs down for their SO MUCH!

Nag preserve sa heritage, naa gyud nay ma himo ang goberno. Protect man kaha, unya kung di mosugot, mo ingon nalang ng wa'y mahimo? Maypa mo ingon nalang sila nga "kung di sila mo follow, pasagdi nalang kay para wanay gubot!" <-- mo tuo pa ko ana. Basta pinoy...:ohno:
Nang hambog pa sa SOCA nga "I will protect the heritage of Cebu!"... Mao diay na'y protect? I hope the "City of culture" award nga i-award sa Cebu this July nga dili mahinayon og i award sa laing ASEAN country nga mas deserving pa. Mas maayo pa man didto kay ang kung naa silay heart sa culture, ila man gyung pakamatyan, di pareha diri nga naay heart pero maka dungog ra ganig politika, kwarta og uban pa nga temtasyon, mo likoy dayon...:ohno:
Cebu City is not deserving for this title.
Mo tuo naman unta ko's gipang sulti sa Mayor pero sa mga hitabo ron, yaw yaw ra'y ga ayo.

WA'Y AYO!

Zuburbia

July 10th, 2011, 07:01 PM

^^
true!

slerz

July 10th, 2011, 07:08 PM

And I am wishing for a category 5 Supertyphoon to hit Cebu anytime this year para ilupad nang cladding nga gipang tabon nila sa Collonade historical structure...

Zuburbia

July 10th, 2011, 07:16 PM

And I am wishing for a category 5 Supertyphoon to hit Cebu anytime this year para ilupad nang cladding nga gipang tabon nila sa Collonade historical structure...

ayaw pod langga..tawn atong informal settlers, mas huyang baya ilang bongbong ikompara aning cladding sa colonnade.... though its so disappointing that sumtimes we would think desperately.. I'm with you slerz...if only i could do sumthing, like most of us here..we are all concern, lisod lang jud ang sa atong part, wa tay power...haaaaay!:ohno:

Taga Bogo

July 11th, 2011, 04:07 AM

"The Presidential Residence" in Shishi City

After Sergio Osmena's term as president, Manuel Gotianuy (吴天为) and others, prepared a house to serve as Osmena's residence when he would come "to visit his family" (探亲). Craftsmen prepared a black wooden board with a golden inscription "总统寓" (Presidential Residence). Due to political reasons, Osmena could not make his visit known to public. This board did not have a meaning at all in the Philippines. After the liberation, overseas Chinese who frequently returned to their village, the members of the Go family, brought this board to China, so that it could be hung on one of the pillars of the ancestral house's big hall. In this way, Go family's precious moment in history could be preserved. Unfortunately this board got lost during the liberation's "land reform."

Documentary Video:

http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/6TNTk05OH1k/

Padz, had a look see on your attached video. Cant seem to make the audio work and I cant read Chinese characters.

http://www.mnpaw.com/ql/news/UploadFile/201034123338583.jpg

What is the current use of this building now? Correct me if I am wrong, (on the picture) are these weeds growing out of neglect or are the plants part of some "making it look as it was then".

Not so familiar with Chinese law, is this still owned by the Go family?

Sleepwalker

July 11th, 2011, 04:26 AM

And I am wishing for a category 5 Supertyphoon to hit Cebu anytime this year para ilupad nang cladding nga gipang tabon nila sa Collonade historical structure...

Pwede pud nag category 5 nga bagyo, basta sa Collonade lang... :D ...Madaot akong baboyan ana.

Seriously, we could also contact CHAC/Tourism council sa Cebu City..I have been hearing about their office, but not their works.

Unsyalan man ni oi!...The smaller towns in provinces are exerting efforts to uncover their heritage...Syalan man nang City of Culture award oi!

slerz

July 11th, 2011, 07:41 AM

pasensya gyud ninyo. Sayangan man gud ko... :(

Ka_Bino

July 11th, 2011, 07:43 AM

I started a Facebook Page (http://www.facebook.com/colonnadekillingcolon) , it is gaining LIKES..

Save the Oriente Save Colon's Heritage

densyo

July 11th, 2011, 07:59 AM

http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/326311/heritage-zones-under-national-cultural-heritage-act-2009-ra-no-10066-a-difficult-cos
Heritage Zones under the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 (R.A. No. 10066): A Difficult but costly path to Heritage Preservation and possibly great returns
Wala Lang
By DR. JAIME C. LAYA
July 11, 2011, 12:39pm

MANILA, Philippines -- The National Cultural Heritage Act provides for the creation of “heritage zones” defined as “historical, anthropological, archaeological, artistic, geographic areas and settings that are culturally significant to the country.”

Declared zones “shall be maintained by the local government unit concerned,” keeping its appearance “as close to … the time the area was of most importance to Philippine History … .” The LGU is also to “sustain all socio-cultural practices such as … traditional celebrations … .”

The idea is to keep the zone visually frozen as of a given period (say end of the Spanish Regime, just before the War or even later). This would involve restoring extant structures, removing post-cutoff buildings, and perhaps rebuilding important already-demolished structures.

The zone should have not only grand homes, but also nipa huts, sari-sarì stores, bodegas, talipapâ, school, church, and shops (weavers, basket makers, etc.), so as to adequately depict community life at cutoff date. There should also be shops selling both souvenirs and items for daily life, bed-and-breakfasts, cafes and restaurants. Ideally, the zone would be a living community sufficiently interesting as to attract visitors and sufficiently commercial as to encourage them to stay and spend.

There are models to follow. At one extreme is Historic Williamsburg, the 18th century capital of Virginia, practically a theme park. Less purist is St. Augustine in Florida (founded 1565, the same year as Manila). Still extant is Castillo de San Marcos (similar to Cebu’s Fort San Pedro), but the heritage area is mainly of small early 1900s homes adaptively re-used as shops and museums with period interiors.

An evening river cruise is on the Shanghai tourist itinerary, highlighted by the theatrically-lit early 1900s buildings of the financial district (“The Bund”). Locals and visitors gather at a French Concession street of high-end shops and bistros occupying former homes. Shoppers descend on what is effectively an outdoor mall with old or old-style buildings around a plaza with a little lake-cum-bridge and a 300-year old rock garden with pavilions and pools. (I bought me a cheap jacket and odds-and-ends for pasalubong.)

We can have something similar. Pockets of Spanish and American period structures still survive, e.g., Vigan, Ilocos Sur; Taál, Batangas; Carcár, Cebu; San Miguel, Bulacán; Pila, Laguna. Metro Manila’s old districts are mostly gone, but some areas still evoke the past—pre-war period in Malabón, Sta. Ana and San Juan; early post-war years in Sta. Mesa Heights and Makati población.

Having a heritage zone would be a mixed blessing to an LGU. Income, property values and tax revenues should rise, but the LGU needs to formulate and enforce possibly unpopular zoning and building rules, convince owners, pay for infrastructure rehabilitation, conservation of structures, maintenance, heritage events (fiestas and processions), and publicity. There is no assurance of national funding for big-ticket items like street and drainage improvement, concealment of utilities lines, parking space.

Important issues need to be resolved, notably spending public funds on private commercial and residential property.

Getting there is difficult, but potential rewards are great.

Comments are cordially invited, addressed to walalang@mb.com.ph.

gee

July 11th, 2011, 09:05 AM

Padz, had a look see on your attached video. Cant seem to make the audio work and I cant read Chinese characters.

http://www.mnpaw.com/ql/news/UploadFile/201034123338583.jpg

What is the current use of this building now? Correct me if I am wrong, (on the picture) are these weeds growing out of neglect or are the plants part of some "making it look as it was then".

Not so familiar with Chinese law, is this still owned by the Go family?

i think it was neglected for a long time especially during the time of Mao. Just last year the city of Shishi planned to have it declare a heritage site because of the fact that the structure is more than hundred years old and it is an ancestral house of a former Philippine president.

In the Gudong Village's Go Family Genealogy, it is mentioned that Wu Wentiao (Pedro Gotiaco) had three "wives" and the name of his sons except Don Sergio were mentioned. Gotiaco wanted that Don Sergio be recorded in the Philippine registry. The Chinese say that this was influenced by the principle of DISHU hierarchy (DI - born of a straight lineage vs. SHU - born of a concubine). I think this has something to do with the inheritance. Some say that the mere fact that Don Sergio has a Chinese name (Wu Shimin or Go Si Bin in Fookien) simply confirm that he was the son of Pedro Gotiaco. The other alleged child of Gotiaco, Dona Modesta Gaisano, has the the Chinese name Wu Sazhi or Go Sa Ti in Fookien.

gee

July 11th, 2011, 09:18 AM

I started a Facebook Page (http://www.facebook.com/colonnadekillingcolon) , it is gaining LIKES..

Save the Oriente Save Colon's Heritage

kutob na lang ba ta sa facebook. pwede man tingali mag protest rally infront sa colonnade. basin naay suod ni mayor rama diha para dali ra makakuha ug permit to hold a rally. hehhehe.

archaeologue

July 11th, 2011, 09:30 AM

Mao na diay ni ilang "SO MUCH"! :bash:

2 thumbs down for their SO MUCH!

Nag preserve sa heritage, naa gyud nay ma himo ang goberno. Protect man kaha, unya kung di mosugot, mo ingon nalang ng wa'y mahimo? Maypa mo ingon nalang sila nga "kung di sila mo follow, pasagdi nalang kay para wanay gubot!" <-- mo tuo pa ko ana. Basta pinoy...:ohno:
Nang hambog pa sa SOCA nga "I will protect the heritage of Cebu!"... Mao diay na'y protect? I hope the "City of culture" award nga i-award sa Cebu this July nga dili mahinayon og i award sa laing ASEAN country nga mas deserving pa. Mas maayo pa man didto kay ang kung naa silay heart sa culture, ila man gyung pakamatyan, di pareha diri nga naay heart pero maka dungog ra ganig politika, kwarta og uban pa nga temtasyon, mo likoy dayon...:ohno:
Cebu City is not deserving for this title.
Mo tuo naman unta ko's gipang sulti sa Mayor pero sa mga hitabo ron, yaw yaw ra'y ga ayo.

WA'Y AYO!

hahah...note that the word concern is very different from action...so much concern...so much hahaha...pero concern lang taman...

archaeologue

July 11th, 2011, 09:35 AM

Pwede pud nag category 5 nga bagyo, basta sa Collonade lang... :D ...Madaot akong baboyan ana.

Seriously, we could also contact CHAC/Tourism council sa Cebu City..I have been hearing about their office, but not their works.

Unsyalan man ni oi!...The smaller towns in provinces are exerting efforts to uncover their heritage...Syalan man nang City of Culture award oi!

city of culture ni pero maski cultural map or map of heritage sites and an inventory of heritage resources, wala gyud intawn...

heheh....paet. basin mao na lang ni ang last nga city sa ASEAN nga wa pa matagaan, mao nga gihatagan na gyud kay nahurot na ang listahan? heheh...

Zuburbia

July 11th, 2011, 10:38 AM

kutob na lang ba ta sa facebook. pwede man tingali mag protest rally infront sa colonnade. basin naay suod ni mayor rama diha para dali ra makakuha ug permit to hold a rally. hehhehe.

support ko aning rally! mo-uban jud ko apil sa kadalanan! a protest not only for colonnade but for Cebu's heritage, to push the government in implementing the lists of heritage building to be preserved and to put it into law... this is so timely since development in cebu is so fast, dali ra ni atong heritage mahanaw, samot mawad-an nyag pagtagad kay puro nalang negosyo og modernismo, its time to act!!! a city without its heritage is a city without a soul! a lost society, with no identity nor meaning...

Rajah_Soliman

July 11th, 2011, 02:17 PM

share lang ko....

cebu cathedral (nice altar!)
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/268808_2068894496251_1661510793_2087195_438004_n.jpg

bpi bldg. (note the historical marker)
http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/262318_2068889656130_1661510793_2087179_7272574_n.jpg

ivanc

July 11th, 2011, 05:03 PM

from facebook page mentioned above:

"Ka Bino, this was a big debate within the family... but we prevailed to keep the old corner of Oriente intact... so don't worry... but thanks for your concern." Bobit Avila

gee

July 12th, 2011, 07:33 AM

Mao ra diay ni ilang definition of culture ...

Cebu City is ASEAN City of Culture
By Jessica Ann R. Pareja/JMO (The Freeman) Updated July 12, 2011 12:00 AM Comments (0)

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City will be formally declared ASEAN City of Culture this Friday because of its creative industry and strength in performing arts and culinary arts, among others.

The formal declaration will be held at the Radisson Blu hotel.

Nestor Jardin of the Cultural Center of the Philippines said being designated as the ASEAN City of Culture means more opportunities for Cebu to market its tourism and creative industries in Southeast Asia.

The city will also receive minimal financial support from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Ministers of Culture and the Arts, the organization that bestowed the distinction on Cebu.

A series of activities will follow the declaration, including an exhibit to showcase the best of Cebu’s fashion, jewelry, furniture and virtual arts, a cultural show, and dinner at the Malacañang sa Sugbo.

The next day, the marker of the ASEAN City of Culture will be unveiled at the Family Park in Barangay Talamban, which will already be called the ASEAN Friendship Garden. A tour to Cebu City’s heritage sites will begin at 10am.

Next month, Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. will host an exhibit on Philippine nationhood, which will focus on Cebuano heroes. In September, RAFI will organize a Lecture-Forum on Southeast Asian civilizations and cultures at the University of San Carlos.

The Cebu City Government will also hold the first Korean Festival and Moon Cake Festival.

A series of lectures and forums on ASEAN arts and literature will be held in October. More programs and activities will be organized until the closing activity on July 15, 2012, which will highlight the launch of a guidebook for tour guides that features Cebu City’s landmarks.

“This is an honor we will carry with us forever. We are known as the Queen City of the South and this is now our crown,” said Councilor Margarita Osmeña, head of the city’s organizing committee of the declaration of Cebu City as City of Culture.

Osmeña said the city is also considering of holding an annual celebration that would remind Cebuanos that the ASEAN community recognizes Cebu for its rich culture and history. - (THE FREEMAN)

archaeologue

July 12th, 2011, 10:54 AM

i think it was neglected for a long time especially during the time of Mao. Just last year the city of Shishi planned to have it declare a heritage site because of the fact that the structure is more than hundred years old and it is an ancestral house of a former Philippine president.

In the Gudong Village's Go Family Genealogy, it is mentioned that Wu Wentiao (Pedro Gotiaco) had three "wives" and the name of his sons except Don Sergio were mentioned. Gotiaco wanted that Don Sergio be recorded in the Philippine registry. The Chinese say that this was influenced by the principle of DISHU hierarchy (DI - born of a straight lineage vs. SHU - born of a concubine). I think this has something to do with the inheritance. Some say that the mere fact that Don Sergio has a Chinese name (Wu Shimin or Go Si Bin in Fookien) simply confirm that he was the son of Pedro Gotiaco. The other alleged child of Gotiaco, Dona Modesta Gaisano, has the the Chinese name Wu Sazhi or Go Sa Ti in Fookien.

wow, this is amazing information!!!!
:banana:

wakeuptoreality

July 12th, 2011, 11:15 AM

Ciudad Cebu
Screencaps from this (http://youtu.be/7199LCwUQX0) video.

http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/9969/93897139.jpg

http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/327/58198207.jpg

http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/7717/24645641.jpg

http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/7699/96956775.jpg

http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/9111/32322299.jpg

http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/2750/25457328.jpg

http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/4431/32506323.jpg

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/9686/51970321.jpg

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/8950/25680129.jpg

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/9765/74140638.jpg

http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/5167/39138790.jpg

http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/9833/36766833.jpg

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/7913/91135244.jpg

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/1471/25004662.jpg

http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/3564/51682757.jpg

Animo

July 12th, 2011, 06:52 PM

^^ Nice, it looks good. :yes:

Parchie

July 13th, 2011, 07:56 AM

archaeologue

July 17th, 2011, 12:26 PM

^^

here's the video about Ciudad:

http://youtu.be/FL_Z7na9MII

LordCarnal

July 21st, 2011, 07:55 PM

Hello, hi..

Around two weeks ago, bamboo scaffoldings were installed at the retablo of the Basilica Minore del Sto. Nino.

Just a few days ago I was told that they are repainting the gold color of the retablo because the existing paint has faded through the years.

Also, they are constructing a balcony/corridor at the gospel side of the church, upper part.

As for Pardo, the faux painting made of tarpaulin has been installed at the ceiling giving the interiors a Sistine Chapel-like look. No harm done I guess to the fabric of the church, perhaps it's just a matter of taste which is subjective.

Also I was told that they are planning to "expose" the stones of the facade.

By what means they are going to employ to "expose" the stones, that I am not sure. Someone from Pardo who talked to the priest mentioned "kiskisan daw ang pintal para mugawas ang bato."

Good if they are just going to literally rub off the paint if indeed the facade was painted years ago. No problem with that. But I'm afraid they might go beyond by chipping off the stucco so that the "stones" will really be exposed. I hope not. I just hope not.

We'll see.

Anyway, naa man daw approval ni Fr. Brian Brigoli.

.:.

archaeologue

July 22nd, 2011, 05:07 PM

^^^^

we just had a meeting between the heritage commission and Archbishop Palma this afternoon and pardo was discussed also...i have a very very very strong feeling that things will be different for the better from now on...

so kanang mga tawo diha sa pardo, they had better be sure about what they re doing or saying from now on...

slerz

July 22nd, 2011, 08:37 PM

Pic taken last Sunday

Sto. Tomas de Villanueva Parish El Pardo Church interior renovation
http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/1536/pardochurchrenov1.jpg

densyo

July 25th, 2011, 06:16 AM

‘Panihapon sa Museo’ caps Cebu Asean culture city celebration (http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/6983/%e2%80%98panihapon-sa-museo%e2%80%99-caps-cebu-asean-culture-city-celebration)
By: Gavin Bagares
Philippine Daily Inquirer
2:36 am | Monday, July 25th, 2011

http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/files/2011/07/glenna_feat1_5-342x227.jpg

A dinner at the museum capped the celebration of Cebu City’s declaration as an Asean City of Culture in creative industry, cultural heritage, and history last July 15. It is the first time such an honor has been bestowed by the Asean Ministers of Culture and Arts to a city or province.

The buffet dinner and the program that followed was held at the newly refurbished Sinulog Hall of the 74-year-old Rizal Memorial Library and Museum, fully lit for the occasion to accent its Venetian style architecture and becoming new ochre shade.

Dancing-candle welcome

Guests streamed in the historic building shortly before eight in the evening, welcomed by children in piquant sing-song “good evenings…” as their arms danced in arabesque, little hands aflicker with votive candles.

The Sinulog Hall at the topmost story looked grand even as a stage and ramp was set-up for the program. The huge arched windows, embossed glass-paned in verdigris, were inventively-dressed in arrowhead and asters. The round tables had centerpieces of long-stemmed giant white phalaenopsis—at once lending their elegance and obstructing the view from the back areas.

The “Panihapon sa Museo,” literally the Cebuano for dinner at the museum, prepared a simple but delicious fare catered by Jill Viado. Seafood, a Cebuano predilection, occupied pride of place.

A guitar performance by Joel Oporto and a fashion show by Cebu designers riveted the audience’s attention momentarily from the food.

The fashion show was an excellent display of duality, much like Cebu that is both old and new. Philip Rodriguez, long-time doyen of Cebu couture showcased his creations alongside those of the new wave exemplified by Cary Santiago.

This duality that is Cebu’s extended to the society figures that came in good number. They all fall quite neatly behind either Old Line icon Ms Luis Aboitiz (nèe Annabelle Osmeña) or Café Society queen Amparito Lhuillier who were both there, too.

Old building, new life

The Rizal Memorial Library and Museum took on its new role as the official socials-venue of the city after more than P16 million worth of renovations in the past four years. It is worth every penny considering the history that went with its founding.

Cebu always had to fight to create and preserve its cultural institutions; the city after all, was and is more mercantile than given to the arts. In Spanish times, Cebuanos did not have a proper theater until Teatro Junquera late in the period.

And for the longest time, Cebu did not have a library building of its own until its pioneering librarian Flavia Suson-Muaña took it as her duty to give Cebu one.

Opportunity presented itself in the 1930s when an organization called Los Tocayos de Rizal or those who shared the National Hero’s first name “Jose,” held a fund raiser in order to build Rizal a monument. Muaña, inspired by the development, approached then Cebu councilor Jose “Pepe” Nolasco who was also in-charge of the Cebu Carnival, for help. Nolasco was the Tocayos’ project chairman.

Muaña, may have told Nolasco of the fact that Cebu’s library (founded in 1919 by Iloilo Public Librarian Guillermo Restua and housed in the upper-story of the City Fire Department in the Parian district) urgently needed a bigger home, one worthy of Cebu’s new chartered-city status won by Rep. Vicente Rama, the present mayor’s grandfather.

In her quest, Muaña was well-seconded by Teodoro M. Kalaw, the director of the National Library, who also spoke to Nolasco. Thus, instead of a mere monument to Rizal, the Tocayos ended-up with the Rizal Library whose architect was no less than Juan Arellano who is also credited to have done the Palladian Cebu Capitol Building.

(Architect Melva Java avers that the library’s architect was William E. Parsons who, nonetheless, freed Cebu of its ancient downtown confines).

The Rizal Library broke ground in 1937 and was inaugurated on Dec. 30, 1938. All three of its floor spaces served as library areas.

World War II wreaked its havoc on Cebu but the library was spared as it became the Headquarters of the Japanese Imperial Administration. The immediate post-war era saw it as the seat of city government as City Hall was rehabilitated.

Wane and rise

The library is a metaphor of Cebu’s own journey to cultural importance, one that the ASEAN now recognizes. But the journey was uphill.

The late 1940s saw the library housing the Perpetual Succour Hospital, a deal that may have paved the way for it hosting the City Health Department (CHD) in the 1960s with the actual library confined to the third floor. As art imitates life and as “squatters” take over the land, the library was booted-out of its own building in 1974 and consigned to a Fortuna Building on Logarta Street.

In the 1980s, the library inched its way back to where it belonged as the CHD left for its own edifice. Even then, the library now on the ground floor shared the building with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines office.

A legal development emerged as the the Rizal Library lot was donated by the Province of Cebu, its hitherto owner, to the city of Cebu in 1991. The governor was Emilio Osmeña and the city mayor Tomas Osmeña. This eventually led to the creation of the the library’s museum component in 1992 set up on the third floor.

Wear and tear took its toll and the building was closed in 2004. A skeleton for extraneous roofing appeared around this time, ostensibly to build a hall, an uglification that was mercifully taken-down by engineer Pericles Dakay.

Toasting culture

The old Rizal Library is now a tripartite building: The ground floor is a library as intended; the second floor houses a museum with historical paintings by contemporary artists like Celso Pepito, Sonia Yrastorza, Rudy Mañero, Mariano Vidal and Manuel Pañares. And the third floor is now the Sinulog Hall. Its old parquet floor in herring-bone pattern is gone, just as the probably older wide-plank flooring of the early days is gone. In its place is Brazilian Cherry or Jatoba, all spick and span.

As the “Panihapon… ” drew to a close much like the library coming back to life, Cebu City mayor Michael L. Rama came up on stage with all those who made the event possible and led a toast, raising his wine glass as the audience raised their goblets of water, or glasses of juice, in response— to herald Cebu’s year up ahead as Asean City of Culture.

For Rama who made news in 2009 for planning the library’s closure but relented and turned -around, the moment is a defining one. It showed his commitment and public support of culture and the the good it brings.

Wolfranz

July 25th, 2011, 05:46 PM

densyo

July 27th, 2011, 06:05 AM

Revisiting Sugbo gallery (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/lifestyle/2011/07/26/revisiting-sugbo-gallery-169121)
By Jenara Regis Newman
Tuesday, July 26, 2011

THE Sugbu Gallery is found at the ground floor of Museo Parian sa Sugbu, otherwise known as the Jesuit House of 1730. Owner Jimmy Sy says that like other ancient houses, the Jesuit House living quarters are on the second floor.

The downstairs area was often used as bodega for produce or for some other utilitarian needs, but this particular room that has made into a gallery had floor tiles too good to be used for such a purpose.

SY BELIEVES believes that this was probably a chapel the community could go to, while the upstairs chapel would be for the exclusive use of the priests living in the place.

In the process of digging for the repair of this room, two ancient Chinese coins were found, as well as bone fragments, pottery shards, now encased is glass showcases for this gallery which features the timeline of Chinese presence in Cebu. The text for the timeline has been helped along with old pictures (mostly from the Lucy Miller postcard collection), the painting of the old Parian church and the old the Parian plaza.

According to the timeline, the history of Parian in Cebu begins in the years 1565-1615. Though the Chinese had come to the port of Cebu to trade for centuries, it was only when Cebu took part briefly in the galleon trade towards the end of the 16th century that the Chinese came to settle. Pari-an came about when Legazpi chose to segregate the natives to what is now called San Nicolas as the Poblacion de Naturales while the area north of the Spanish settlement was for Chinese traders and artisans.

Jesuit priests were asked to come to Cebu to teach the Spanish children and a school, Colegio del San Ildefonso, now known as the University of San Carlos, was erected. The Jesuits were also tasked to Christianize the Chinese residents in Parian, who were also taught, reading, writing and arithmetic.

In 1614, the bishop of Cebu, Pedro deArca, separated the area into three parishes: the cathedral for the Spaniards, Parian for the Chinese and Filipino settlers of the area, and San Nicolas, for the native Cebuanos. From 1770 onwards, Chinese families and Chinese mestizos became larger in number, became more prosperous, dominating Parian life with their various businesses. The Chinese community in Cebu dwindled when Governor-General Simon de Anda in 1780 expelled them from the country. By the middle of the 19th century, Chinese mestizos dominated in Parian, which became the most dynamic commercial center in the area, with various businesses spread out to Colon, as well as to the port area. These mestizo families arted to have agricultural land holdings and spread out from Parian to outlying towns of the island.

The church of old Parian was dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. It was ordered demolished in 1828 but torn down only in 1878.

During the revolution of 1898, a large part of Parian was burned down. Parian residents sought refuge elsewhere. In the century that followed, a new breed of professionals, businessmen, political figures emerged from Parian, extending their skills, their professions, their influence beyond Parian’s boundaries, helping to make Cebu the Queen City of the South.

Owner Jimmy Sy says the gallery has been made possible with the help of UAP- Sugbu members: Francisco Noel, Anthony Abelgas, Panfilo Castro Jr. and Maria Fatima Jayme-Castro, Grace Culpa, Jasper Larida, Buck Sia, Augusto Lee and Karl Cabilao.

These architects say that UAP-Sugbu “has always made it a point to stay in touch with history.” Working with Jimmy Sy in making the gallery, the architects hope to keep heritage consciousness of the current generation and of those that will come.” For Sy, the whole museum project has been that, as well as a go-for-broke labor of love for Cebu’s heritage.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on July 27, 2011.

MatudNilaBaby

July 27th, 2011, 10:54 AM

SugbuScraper

July 28th, 2011, 04:10 AM

^^IMO they should demolish those vertical extensions at the side wings, to restore the dominance of the central block and reveal the exterior ornamentation which was damaged by these ill-advised additions.The spaces inside these additions anyway are just used as storage rooms, useless as they are they mar the beauty and proportions of the building.

Very true sir...naputol ang continuity sa ornaments sa facade of the central block. and the level extensions on both wings look like gitipid sa ornaments na mura tan-awon og hilaw.

densyo

July 28th, 2011, 03:50 PM

In Cebu City: Heritage sites set for inventory (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=710773&publicationSubCategoryId=107)
By Garry B. Lao/JMO (The Freeman) Updated July 28, 2011 12:00 AM

CEBU, Philippines - The Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission (CHAC) has cautioned owners of houses that are 50 years old above not to make drastic measures on the structures without securing permit from the National Historical Commission.

Architect Melava Java, one of the commissioners of CHAC, said structures above 50 years old are covered and protected by national heritage laws. CHAC is currently conducting an inventory of all historical structures in the city and has asked barangay officials to submit a list of landmarks and markers found in their respective barangays. Of the 80 barangays in Cebu City, only 27 have responded, so far.

“We are trying to make inventories and identify all heritage sites because we want to take care of them,” Java said, adding that a clearance from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines must be secured before the houses are destroyed or demolished.

Glenda Gabuya, officer-in-charge of CHAC, said they are also identifying old bridges in Cebu City and plans to come up with a guide book for tour guides so that their discussion about the heritage site of the city will be consistent, uniform and accurate.

Java said the National Cultural Heritage Act provides a comprehensive framework for the preservation of Philippine cultural heritage including cultural sites, old buildings, monuments and landmarks that have cultural significance and historical value.

Under the Heritage Law, structures with cultural significance and historical value get automatic protection and are considered national treasure. Any improvements or sale must pass through the NHCP even if the structure is privately owned.

The law also prescribes “penalties if owners neglect the historical property, or any improvements are not properly coordinated with the NHCP.”

Article XVIII of the law on penal provisions enumerates violations, such as destruction, demolition, mutilation and damage of “any world heritage site, national cultural treasures, important cultural property and archaeological and anthropological sites;” as well as modification, alteration or destruction “of the original features or [construction] or real-estate development in any national shrine, monument, landmark and other historic edifices and structures, declared, classified and marked by the National Historical Institute as such, without the prior written permission from the commission.”

The same law adds that violators, upon conviction, would be fined not less than P200,000 or a prison term of not less than 10 years. — (FREEMAN)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rotunda renovation on hold (http://cdn.ph/news_details.php?id=10579)
7/28/2011

The rehabilitation of the historic Fuente Osmeña rotunda in Cebu City has been put on hold amid the city and provincial governments’ dispute about who owns the landmark.

A private donor offered P10 million to fund the project but “it was put aside because of disagreements on... who should implement the rehabilitation,” said architect Melva Java.

“The plaza should be left as it is, open to the public,” if the rehabilitation pushes through, Java said.

“The fountain should be the star of the show.”

The architect and Cebu Daily News columnist said she is against a plan to tile the area around the fountain.

“We just have to take care of the grass, secure the area, provide shade to park goers and manage traffic in the area to provide safety to the park goers.”

The Fuente Osmeña circle is among the landmarks that Cebu City's Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission (CHAC) will document in a guidebook on the city's historic sites.

CHAC plans to launch the book and a history of the city in two years.

The guidebook will help ensure that “discussions on the heritage sites will be uniform and accurate,” said Glenda Gabuya, CHAC executive director in a press briefing.

Former councilor Arsenio Pacaña, a CHAC commissioner, said tour guides sometimes give false information about the landmarks in their assumption that tourists don't know anything about them.

CHAC is doing an inventory of historical landmarks in the barangays.

“This should serve as a springboard for development. If we lose them, we will also lose our local memory,” said Java.

Historic structures should be marked for conservation, Java said.

“Identification of the landmarks will help educate the young people of our history,” Pacaña said.

So far, 27 of the city's 80 barangays responded to the project, which started in January, Gabuya said.

Barangay San Roque, for example, has the city's oldest well in sitio Panting.

To preserve old houses and other structures in the city, CHAC and the city planning and development office are proposing a local version of Republic Act 10066 or the Philippine National Cultural Heritage Law passed last year.

The law prohibits the destruction of structures 50 years old and above.

The planning office has identified historical districts in the city and want guidelines like limited stories for new buildings around the districts to keep these visible.

RA 10066 still has no Implementing Rules and Regulations.

The law prohibits owners from demolishing structures aged 50 years and more without approval from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.

“But for me, only the structures that are significant should be kept and not all structures aged 50 years old and above,” Java said. /By Doris C. Bongcac, CHIEF OF REPORTERS

densyo

August 1st, 2011, 04:06 AM

Revisiting ‘Dance of the water’ marker in Buhisan for dam’s centennary (http://cdn.ph/news_details.php?id=10625)
8/1/2011

A MULTI-COLORED marker that would depict a “dance of the water” will be installed at the entrance of the Buhisan dam in February 2012 to mark its centennial celebration.
The marker will bear the names of persons including the late Sergio Osmeña Jr. ([sic] should be Sr.) who made possible the building of the dam as a source of potable water for Cebuanos, said architect Melva Java.

“But we wanted to do away with the bust and other traditional designs,” said Java, a commissioner of Cebu City’s Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission (Chac).

Java presented the marker design to the media in a Chac press briefing on July 27.

She said the marker would be made to look like a wall of water. It will have pipes accented by LED lights below it to make water from the pipes appear as if it were dancing.

Java said the marker would be installed at the entrance of the Buhisan dam to “introduce the dam.”

She said they hope to complete the marker between Feb. 12 to 14, 2012.

“The Buhisan dam is very significant because even after 100 years, it is still doing its job of giving us potable water,” said former councilor and Chac commissioner Arsenio Pacaña.

Charmaine Rodriguez, Metropolitan Cebu Water District information officer, said the Buhisan river is their only source of surface water.

The Buhisan dam was completed on Feb. 11, 1912. It was built following a fire in 1906 which razed Cebu's business district and a cholera outbreak in 1909 which killed 559 of Cebu's population of 55,000.

Sergio Osmeña Jr. ([sic] should be Sr.) who was then with the Philippine National Assembly helped source the P515,000 funding needed for the construction project which was later named as the Osmeña water works.

Cebuano engineer Marcelo Veloso Regner worked with Italian Gulp and Pacific Co., ([sic] - should be Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific (AG&P)) the project contractors

Rodriguez said they are now trying to locate the descendants of the late engineer Regner so that they would be able to attend the installation of the Buhisan dam marker. /Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac

MatudNilaBaby

August 1st, 2011, 04:20 AM

Wolfranz

August 1st, 2011, 04:46 PM

densyo

August 2nd, 2011, 06:32 AM

Editorial: Cebu City’s heritage landmarks (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/opinion/2011/08/01/editorial-cebu-city-s-heritage-landmarks-170310)
Monday, August 1, 2011

CEBU City Mayor Michael Rama cannot be a jack of all trades and master of none. If he wants his administration to be remembered years, even decades, from now, he should focus on certain aspects of governance and do well at these.

Consider the effort of the Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission (Chac) to collect from the city’s 80 barangays a list of possible heritage landmarks. That, together with the plan to publish a book on the city’s history, can be described as a low-key but high-impact undertaking.

The city, though, lags behind the province in this regard. Capitol is in the process of completing a major book project that is guaranteed to raise the level of our knowledge not only of the province’s history but also those of its towns, component cities and even Cebu City. And it has long collected a list of the heritage landmarks province-wide.

For the city, better late than never. Twenty-seven of the city’s 80 barangays have nominated heritage landmarks in their areas. In the list, aside from the obvious like Fort San Pedro and the Compania Maritima building, are the less known like the Ong Kin King warehouse built in 1937 and some old churches and ancestral houses.

Chac must find ways, however, to get the cooperation of the other barangays and help improve the listing process. The survey must be thorough and systematic.

World War II-period landmarks, for example, dot many barangays. In Sitio Banawa in Barangay Guadalupe, right across Jollibee, is a sturdy tunnel once used as hospital by the Japanese. It has been buried in neglect and its existence forgotten.

The Japanese have actually left many tunnels that can be considered as heritage landmarks if only barangay and city officials took time to develop or protect them.

One can find these near the Ecotech Center in Lahug, in Nivel Hills in Busay and in some mountain areas.

In Barangay Sudlon, structures built by the Moncadistas of the late Hilario Camino Moncado del Prado are already eligible if these still exist. Barangay Tabunan can list as a landmark the burial site of people executed by a faction of the World War II guerillas led by Harry Fenton, that is if the officials take time to develop the place.

Barangay officials know best. But they should be given guidance.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on August 02, 2011.

carrieso

August 3rd, 2011, 01:04 AM

I wish i can go there....

archaeologue

August 3rd, 2011, 02:36 AM

This is the NTH time CDN has published a heritage-related article loaded with so much errors. :ohno::ohno: Aside from that, they still insist that the current beautification job at Osmena Boulevard would depict a "Spanish-era look." Spanish-era ba kaha jud ang theme sa design ni Archt. Javier or hangtud karon wa gihapon sila ka-realize nga namisquote ra nila si Archt. Javier? Paging Sir Archeologue.. if CDN is at fault here please correct them..

yes, mao pod na ako ma-notice sa akong beloved paper. at times, akong haste in writing pod ang faulty hahah...

sige, will do, wolfranz.

still, i kinda like the idea that the largest pre-war and post-war multinational construction group AG&P has been reduced to nothing more than a rapid transfusion of water into the throat down the stomach.....a gulp hahahaha!

paet.

archaeologue

August 3rd, 2011, 02:39 AM

Sleepwalker

August 3rd, 2011, 02:21 PM

Guys, i stumble upon this photo of Luzon lumber building...Any plan for this building?

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2360/2137152773_6de7a26cf7.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2243/2137128505_abafe423c9.jpg

DaVz

August 3rd, 2011, 03:20 PM

^^i heard before that UC's Go would like to buy this lot for their Emall's Sancianco expansion, but the owners refused, even Go offer them a huge amount of money..:)

Sleepwalker

August 3rd, 2011, 05:27 PM

If i am the owner of this building, I will repair those damage part and check the integrity of the whole building, and then I will put a coffee shop, souvener store and restaurant.

Wolfranz

August 3rd, 2011, 05:36 PM

The building still functions as a lumber shop. If it functions well in its initial intended use then IMO there's no need for adaptive reuse, maybe they could just do physical repairs to keep the building sound :)

Sleepwalker

August 3rd, 2011, 05:51 PM

MatudNilaBaby

August 3rd, 2011, 09:07 PM

I was thinking, this building is no longer actively utilized by the owner. With its proximity to Emall, this could be an additional unique destination for those happen to be in downtown.

It's ironic that downtown is home to almost priceless old structures, yet very few or none ever capitalize on this asset. While in some places, businessmen tried to make their building/structures to look old to give a classic/timeless ambiance, its almost the opposite in downtown Cebu.

there's only two structures that i feel is worth restoring the vision theater and oriente theater and the rest are just products of change and modernity. for as long as they put a marker and a picture of the old colon street is enough to remind the people and its visitors how the new colon used to be in the olden days. it will be very costly if the city or province is trying to preserve all the buildings that are 50 years and older. some dont even have heritage value just because its 50 years old. a 50 yo cement plain rectangular column is nothing compared to a year old rectangular column.

they have to be strict rules on buildings and strucutres that are more than 100 years old like the fort san pedro. how come they allow visitors to sit on the canons to take pictures or sit on top of the ledge of the fort to rest.

i went to hertz castle in northen california. you cant even touch the marble wall of the building. there is a passage way where in the visitors cant touch the wall even if its made of wood or stone or cement. the hertz castle is even built in the early 20th century way younger than our fort san pedro and yet theyre very strict and careful that a slight of touch can ruin the whole building. no picture taking allowed inside the castle because the camera light can destroy the image of the picture on the frames hanging on the walls and ceilings.

densyo

August 4th, 2011, 03:26 AM

Past Forward
Preparing for the quincentenary (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/36161/preparing-for-the-quincentenary-2)
By Jobers Bersales
Cebu Daily News
8:16 am | Thursday, August 4th, 2011

On Aug. 10, 1519, Ferdinand Magellan’s fleet of five small ships left Seville, Spain and travelled through the Guadalquivir River, reaching its mouth at San Lucar de Barrameda, there to stay for five weeks.

On Sept. 20, the fleet set sail and on March 16, 1521, Magellan landed at Limasawa, celebrating the first Mass ever in the archipelago there (an event incidentally contested by Butuan). Nearly a month later, on April 7, Magellan reached Cebu, converted the natives a week later in a baptismal rite participated in by Humabon and his men in the morning and by his wife (christened Juana) and other women in the afternoon. In that afternoon event the image of the Sto. Niño was presented to Humabon’s wife. Nearly two weeks after this, Magellan and about 50 of his men were dead on the shores of Mactan.

This ill-fated voyage will mark its 500th anniversary in barely a decade and my attention was called by architect Michael “Yumi” Espina, the new dean of the College of Architecture and Fine Arts of the University of San Carlos. You see, some of his students have already begun designing monuments and monumental structures, one of which he hopes will be adopted by either the city or province of Cebu as its official commemorative icon to celebrate this momentous event. I believe a replica of Magellan’s sword designed into a shell of a building that he intimated to me was better off rising above the hills declared decades ago as the Don Sergio Osemña Sr. Shrine where strangely, a private cemetery is set to rise.

Spain has already begun a decade-long series of commemorations focusing on San Lucar de Barrameda, where the fleet began in 1519 and where it also returned in 1522. San Lucar 2019-2022 has been carrying out, since 2008, a cultural week revolving around discussions on the circumnavigation of the world, a feat that Magellan would have achieved had Lapu-Lapu and his men not cut short his life on the shores of Mactan. The honor was left to his remaining navigator, Sebastian Elcano, but there is also some debate regarding this because the latter has no record of having joined Magellan in San Lucar. (He is recorded only when Magellan reached Malacca, where he joins him on his voyage to Cebu.)

There is also the strange case of Enrique de Malacca, a Malay slave Magellan acquired in Malacca in 1511 whom he christened “Enrique” and brought back to Spain. Enrique also joined the Magellan Expedition to the Philippines and some historians aver that it was he who actually carried out the first circumnavigation.

I agree with Dean Yumi that perhaps, if Cebuanos are to celebrate the brave defense of the land by Lapu-Lapu against a foreign invader, the planting of the first cross, the first baptism and the presentation of the miraculous image of the Sto. Niño, both the private and public sectors of Cebu and Lapu-Lapu cities should now start organizing and planning this international event. Manadue can even be counted in, so with Talisay and Mainglanilla because we are fortunate that Pigafetta mentions seeing settlements lining the coast for some kilometers from Humabon’s trading port.

Even Manila cannot lay claim to this important international commemoration, one that I expect would also be hotly debated, especially in regard to the disease and destruction of indigenous peoples and their knowledge upon the arrival of the Spaniards. Nonetheless, we can no longer refute the fact that had not Magellan successfully landed on the shores of Cebu in 1521, Spain would not have sent further expeditions to occupy the archipelago, eventually leading to its conquest by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi 44 years thereafter.

Given the penchant for Filipinos to create committees, to plan, to raise funds and then to create more committees to plan and raise funds further, I believe a decade of preparation should not be too much to do more planning, more fund-raising, more committee formation and more and more planning until we arrive at 2021. Mayor Mike and Mayor Paz, it is time to start by perhaps establishing cityhood ties with San Lucar de Barrameda and assure them that we will welcome another Magellanic fleet, this time without the poison that Humabon gave the rest of Magellan’s crew or the routing of Spaniards on the shores of Mactan.

This is a good time to do this, while we still have, of course, enough time.

* * *

My good friend and colleague in the anthropological world, the young Dr. Julius Bautista, professor at the National University of Singapore, will be launching his latest book, “Figuring Catholicism: An Ethnohistory of the Sto. Niño de Cebu” published by Ateneo Press this Saturday, Aug. 6, at the Art and Changing Gallery of Museo Sugbo at four o’clock in the afternoon. See you all there.

Wolfranz

August 4th, 2011, 03:41 PM

there's only two structures that i feel is worth restoring the vision theater and oriente theater and the rest are just products of change and modernity. for as long as they put a marker and a picture of the old colon street is enough to remind the people and its visitors how the new colon used to be in the olden days. it will be very costly if the city or province is trying to preserve all the buildings that are 50 years and older. some dont even have heritage value just because its 50 years old. a 50 yo cement plain rectangular column is nothing compared to a year old rectangular column.

they have to be strict rules on buildings and strucutres that are more than 100 years old like the fort san pedro. how come they allow visitors to sit on the canons to take pictures or sit on top of the ledge of the fort to rest.

I strongly agree with your opinion on Colon. The 50-years-old requirement of the heritage bill can be just absurd sometimes. If something old is not of value, historically or culturally, then it's time to let go. The underlying reason of conservation is cultural value.

Vision and Oriente are invaluable in the history of Cebu's performing arts as well as in architecture; Vision Theater being one of the few remaining Beaux-Arts buildings in Cebu, and Oriente Theater as Cebu's best example of art deco architecture. In addition to that, the downtown is also dotted with many art deco buildings that are artistically important. But the rest sadly are just nondescript buildings of no cultural value whatsoever.

I just find the idea of having a Spanish-themed development, e.g. redbrick pavement and calesas, of Colon funny when not a single Spanish-era structure exists there. Vision Theater may blend but Oriente is art deco and American-era. And the rest are just a hodgepodge of ugly buildings.

nangamote

August 5th, 2011, 04:53 AM

MatudNilaBaby

August 5th, 2011, 04:08 PM

its about time for cebu to start preparing for the 500th year anniversary of the rediscovery of the philippines by ferdinand magellan. the city, archdiocese, business and private sector must join hands in order to make this celebration something that we cebuanos in particular and the whole filipino nation in general proud of our heritage. it should be made into a year long celebration, a boon to our tourism industry and economy. "cebu in 1521"

archaeologue

August 5th, 2011, 05:42 PM

A few comments:

I thought that references to Elcano's name on the nao Concepcion's crewing was well documented. For example the registers of men as given by Navarette (Col. de viages, iv, pp. 12-26 as cited by Robertson, 1906 ) mentions "Joan Sebastian de Elcano," a "Master", with nationality as "Guetaria" on the Concepcion. This is consistent with references to Elcano as the "Basque navigator." By the way, I think references to what's left of Magellan's fleet having reached Malacca might be more appropriate than "Magellan reached Malacca"?

In the same cited document, "Henrique de Malaca (nationality- Malaca; capacity- Interpreter, a servant) was listed as being a member of the crew of the Trinidad (flagship).

Finally, in the Ambrosian MS, the following villages and their "chiefs" were specifically listed by Pigafetta: "Cinghapola, and its chiefs, Cilaton, Ciguibucan, Cimaningha, Cimatichat, and Cicanbul; one, Mandaui, and its chief, Apanoaan; one Lalan, and its chief, Theteu; one, Lalutan, and its chief, Tapan; one Cilumai; and one, Lubucun." Robertson notes that "Mandaui is Mandaue; Lalan may be Liloan; Cot-cot is on the east coast; Lubucun may be Lubu, but Mosto (p. 78, note 3) conjectures it to be Lambusan." Slight differences exist between the Ambrosian and Yale MS, but the place names and presumed "chiefs" appear common in both.

you may be right. i was writing from memory. will make the necessary corrections.

interesting actually is that Lubucun might actually be Labogon, which is part still of Mandaue.

in regard to Enrique, the argument, started by 1950s historians and writers like Carlos Quirino, is that he may have been Cebuano for how else would he survive the pogrom that followed the death of Magellan?

he is believed to have been the only one who was spared in the dinner that Humabon prepared (with poison).

he was also reported to be conversant with Bisaya. so he must have come from one of the islands in the Visayas.

nangamote

August 5th, 2011, 09:52 PM

you may be right. i was writing from memory. will make the necessary corrections.

interesting actually is that Lubucun might actually be Labogon, which is part still of Mandaue.

in regard to Enrique, the argument, started by 1950s historians and writers like Carlos Quirino, is that he may have been Cebuano for how else would he survive the pogrom that followed the death of Magellan?

he is believed to have been the only one who was spared in the dinner that Humabon prepared (with poison).

he was also reported to be conversant with Bisaya. so he must have come from one of the islands in the Visayas.

It would really be interesting to identify present day locations of the "villages" that Pigafetta wrote about. It appears that present day Mandaue and Liloan are very phenotically similar to Pigafetta's "Mandaui" and "Lalan." It appears that Pigafetta identified villages as far north as Liloan, became very familiar with the settlement to the east called "Mattan," (and Lapulapu), but his account does not indicate (or we fail to identify) the southern "boundaries" of villages he visited or heard about (there are references to "Pasils" in Spain and Italy, even a bistro in Belgium, but does not preclude a non-Spanish "Pasil" that existed pre-contact. There is also a "Pasil" in Kalinga.). I am very interested in the Minglanilla angle just because I grew up there, but it appears that there was (and still is) a town/village called Minglanilla in Spain, so I am assuming that "Minglanilla" supplanted whatever pre-contact name was associated with a presumed village/settlement in present day Minglanillla. Pigafetta wrote that the Concepcion was burned off the island of Bohol, near "Panilonghon." There appears to be consensus that "Panilonghon" is present day "Panglao." It almost sounds like that Pigafetta heard from the locals who spoke with an accent that we often associate not only in the Panglao-Bohol area but in Southern Leyte as well. For example, if Pigafetta went to Loon and asked the locals what their location was, he would probably write "Longhon" or something similar. Around this time, i.e., the burning of the Concepcion, we surmise that Elcano transferred over to the Victoria, perhaps as a passenger at first, but eventually became the pilot when the vessel made its way back to Spain.

The scholarly (and not so scholarly) debate surrounding the precise geographic origin of Henrique de Malaca is interesting. Quirino does offer some unique perspectives, although some contrary arguments are also worth noting. For example, was Henrique's dialect "Cebuano"/"Bisaya" or more closer to Malay? If it was Malay, then he would have been able to communicate anywhere in the region where Malay was lingua franca (encompasses present day maritime Southeast Asia for the most part?). We also need to remember that Magellan promised his sponsors a route to the Spice Islands, and therefore needed a person who was able to understand the dialect spoken in this area. The literature indicates that the language spoken in region that included the Spice Islands around this time was Malay.

I was browsing the shelves at SM's Powerbooks last year and I had exactly PhP 800 to spend. I ended up with Francia's "A History of the Philippines: For Indios Bravos to Filipinos." I considered purchasing an alternative title, a historical fiction about a boy who was captured in present day Philippines and sold at the slave market in Malaca and the person who bought him was named Magallanes (aka a fictional book about Henrique). I forgot the title and the author's name (I think it was a she). I was in the area again just this past week, but forgot to stop by the bookstore to pick up the volume that I passed on last year. Perhaps it was included in the mall-wide sale? Sayang.

archaeologue

August 6th, 2011, 02:34 AM

It would really be interesting to identify present day locations of the "villages" that Pigafetta wrote about. It appears that present day Mandaue and Liloan are very phenotically similar to Pigafetta's "Mandaui" and "Lalan." It appears that Pigafetta identified villages as far north as Liloan, became very familiar with the settlement to the east called "Mattan," (and Lapulapu), but his account does not indicate (or we fail to identify) the southern "boundaries" of villages he visited or heard about (there are references to "Pasils" in Spain and Italy, even a bistro in Belgium, but does not preclude a non-Spanish "Pasil" that existed pre-contact. There is also a "Pasil" in Kalinga.). I am very interested in the Minglanilla angle just because I grew up there, but it appears that there was (and still is) a town/village called Minglanilla in Spain, so I am assuming that "Minglanilla" supplanted whatever pre-contact name was associated with a presumed village/settlement in present day Minglanillla. Pigafetta wrote that the Concepcion was burned off the island of Bohol, near "Panilonghon." There appears to be consensus that "Panilonghon" is present day "Panglao." It almost sounds like that Pigafetta heard from the locals who spoke with an accent that we often associate not only in the Panglao-Bohol area but in Southern Leyte as well. For example, if Pigafetta went to Loon and asked the locals what their location was, he would probably write "Longhon" or something similar. Around this time, i.e., the burning of the Concepcion, we surmise that Elcano transferred over to the Victoria, perhaps as a passenger at first, but eventually became the pilot when the vessel made its way back to Spain.

The scholarly (and not so scholarly) debate surrounding the precise geographic origin of Henrique de Malaca is interesting. Quirino does offer some unique perspectives, although some contrary arguments are also worth noting. For example, was Henrique's dialect "Cebuano"/"Bisaya" or more closer to Malay? If it was Malay, then he would have been able to communicate anywhere in the region where Malay was lingua franca (encompasses present day maritime Southeast Asia for the most part?). We also need to remember that Magellan promised his sponsors a route to the Spice Islands, and therefore needed a person who was able to understand the dialect spoken in this area. The literature indicates that the language spoken in region that included the Spice Islands around this time was Malay.

I was browsing the shelves at SM's Powerbooks last year and I had exactly PhP 800 to spend. I ended up with Francia's "A History of the Philippines: For Indios Bravos to Filipinos." I considered purchasing an alternative title, a historical fiction about a boy who was captured in present day Philippines and sold at the slave market in Malaca and the person who bought him was named Magallanes (aka a fictional book about Henrique). I forgot the title and the author's name (I think it was a she). I was in the area again just this past week, but forgot to stop by the bookstore to pick up the volume that I passed on last year. Perhaps it was included in the mall-wide sale? Sayang.

I also saw that book but since it was fictional, i did not give it much notice hahah...the point re bisaya is also quite interesting especially since i assume 16th century cebuano and other bisaya languages would have had much in relation to malay, given the trading and exchanges going on and because these were in a location where the mother tongue would have been only one. unfortunately, i am no linguist so i really have no idea about this except that our languages in SE Asia are austronesian.

MarkiiBoi

August 9th, 2011, 06:27 AM

For sale. P77M :nuts:. Any takers?

http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/9122/26722110150264101546896.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/684/26722110150264101546896.jpg/)

MatudNilaBaby

August 9th, 2011, 06:34 AM

For sale. P77M :nuts:. Any takers?

http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/9122/26722110150264101546896.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/684/26722110150264101546896.jpg/)

thats a lot of dough. maayo lang nang balaya pang heritage house but you aint getting your money's worth living in an antique house in the middle of a densely populated city. kon walay mo preserve ana that will rot until nga ma demolish na siya and convert the place to a much taller building. i bet the site is prime.

DaVz

August 9th, 2011, 02:56 PM

For sale. P77M :nuts:. Any takers?

http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/9122/26722110150264101546896.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/684/26722110150264101546896.jpg/)

why not put Ciudad into this place? i think the location is suitable for Ciudad, narrow roads maybe but at least it's not in the main highway.just IMO..:)

Wolfranz

August 9th, 2011, 04:47 PM

For sale. P77M :nuts:. Any takers?

http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/9122/26722110150264101546896.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/684/26722110150264101546896.jpg/)

This house has an immense artistic and historic value to our city. Chinese influence and arquitectura mestiza. I hope someone who buys this property will take care of this. Kung makadaog lang unta ta sa lotto.. :lol:

Parchie

August 9th, 2011, 04:50 PM

This house has an immense artistic and historic value to our city. Chinese influence and arquitectura mestiza. I hope someone who buys this property will take care of this. Kung makadaog lang unta ta sa lotto.. :lol:

Ug di pa na siya mahalin unya makadaug kos Lotto, ako'y palit ana! Hehehehe. (way limit ang damgo ha!)

ivanc

August 10th, 2011, 05:08 AM

pwede himuon ug museum

densyo

August 11th, 2011, 07:55 AM

Past Forward
The Maritime Museum once more (httphttp://newsinfo.inquirer.net/39869/the-maritime-museum-once-more)
By Jobers Bersales
Cebu Daily News
8:28 am | Thursday, August 11th, 2011

The Compañia Maritima building sits idly as it waits for the heavens to shower it with blessings. Despite a few plans, nothing is certain yet while it stands forlorn and bored as it seemingly guards the southern end of the SRP Subway Tunnel.

This much I told Jeremy Barns, director of the National Museum of the Philippines, the other week. The occasion was the quarterly meeting of the National Committee on Museums (NCOM), one of the bodies under the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

(I have been attending these meetings representing both Eastern and Central Visayas on behalf of the Visayas Association of Museums and Galleries Inc.)

Director Barns was happy to report that, beyond the current renovation of the NM building and the rehabilitation of the pre-World War II Senate Hall, two other branch museums were to be funded with millions, one being Fort Pilar in Zamboanga. Upon inquiry about Cebu, he mentioned his request for the Malacañang sa Sugbo, the former Cebu Customs House, to be turned over to NM to become its permanent Cebu branch.

This is a tricky issue inasmuch as the Bureau of Customs is also asserting its right over the building especially since it appears that President Noynoy Aquino is not interested in ever using it. (Incidentally, the building also sits so inutile that one wonders why Malacañang is still holding on to something it obviously does not want to occupy.)

I told Barns that another building sits very near this contested Customs House that may be the most ideal for a National Museum of Philippine Maritime History and is well suited since almost all the shipping companies in the country then as now started in Cebu anyway. Apparently, the NM director has not been made aware of this building and it was the first time he had heard of it.

Little is known of this building’s beginnings but I found some photos from a private collection showing it under construction some time before it was finished in 1910. There are also court cases involving the company written about on the Internet shed some light on its owners—and the owners of the building.

Originally called the Fernandez Hermanos Building (owned by the Fernandez brothers Don Jose and Don Ramon), it was home to Shamrock Hotel before the hotel moved to a building near Magallanes Street in the late 1930s. This Fernandez Hermanos Building used to hug the Aduana pier in pre-World War II times so that when one arrived via the SS Corregidor or SS Capiz, two of the many Compañia Maritima steamships of the late 1920s and 30s, you could literally cross the street and check in at the hotel.

Until Typhoon Ruping blew off its roof in 1992 and left the building a shell of its old glory, there used to be a huge COMPAÑIA MARITIMA sign painted all throughout its second or third floor wall facing the sea.

Some time in the 1990s, the Environmental Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources apparently took possession of this building, perhaps because its lease on reclaimed land from the Philippine Government had already expired.

I remember that during one of the trips of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to Cebu, she verbally ordered the transfer of this building to the care of the city government but in one of those rare instances when I bumped into Mayor Michael Rama (I think on board the Galeon Andalucia when it docked in Cebu last year), he mentioned to me that the transfer never happened.

Now is a good time to think well how to begin getting this building for the National Museum while no one else is staking any claims on it.

With plenty of shipping companies still around, perhaps funds can be raised to begin the process of finally converting it into the first and only maritime museum of this country (so full of islands that one wonders why we do not have such a museum in the first place).

* * *

My attention was called by one of the forumers of our Cebu Heritage Watch Thread 11 on the Internet regarding Sebastian de Elcano, whom I wrote about last week.

I got it wrong when I wrote that he is not listed in the manifest except via Malaca. Elcano did join Magellan’s fleet when it left San Lucar de Barrameda on Sept. 20, 1519. Thanks to “Nangamote’ for pointing this out.

Taga Bogo

August 13th, 2011, 04:29 PM

For sale. P77M :nuts:. Any takers?

http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/9122/26722110150264101546896.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/684/26722110150264101546896.jpg/)

This was the building rented by Casino Espanol some 7-8 years back while the present day casino structure was being built.

Not an architect pero the inside floor/room divisions may not be suitable other than for residential use.

Maayo man sad nga P77M kay wa may maka gukod anang presyo kung yuta lang ang apason. Think the selling price will preserve the beauty of the building :)

archaeologue

August 13th, 2011, 05:16 PM

For sale. P77M :nuts:. Any takers?

http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/9122/26722110150264101546896.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/684/26722110150264101546896.jpg/)

This is the house of the late Don Gil Garcia, pre-war and post-war president/part owner of VECO...

wala na man dawy important period furniture and fixture inside ani...occupied by casino espanol when they renovated their building...guba na tingali kaayo ang sulod ani...

Taga Bogo

August 13th, 2011, 06:09 PM

This is the house of the late Don Gil Garcia, pre-war and post-war president/part owner of VECO...

wala na man dawy important period furniture and fixture inside ani...occupied by casino espanol when they renovated their building...guba na tingali kaayo ang sulod ani...

Dili sad siguro kaayo guba pero pila sad kaha ka milyon ang pag restore.

Didto ko kang Caloy ganiha, pwede ra man siguro maka pahuwam ko ug mga 80-90 pcs. Sugod sa mga Isabel Filipinas ngadto sa 3 ka hari ug usa ka cantonal revolutionary sa 5 pisetas 1870-1899. Covered na ang 50 years under spain. Usa ra man sad kuno ka adlaw.

HER

August 15th, 2011, 02:17 AM

BPI@160

The Ayalas’ Bank of the Philippine Islands, the oldest bank not just in the Philippines but in Southeast Asia, will open by September its very first museum as part of the celebration for its 160th anniversary. This is to give a home to the bank’s various memorabilia accumulated since the colonial period (to be located at a historical site, no less).

Established in 1924, BPI’s Cebu branch was the bank’s third provincial branch to open. It transferred to its present location in 1941 and became known as the Cebu main branch. This was identified as the best site for the museum, being a short walk from the famous Basilica del Sto. Niño and a stone’s throw from the Magellan’s Cross shrine.

The pre-war building housing its Cebu branch, which will likewise soon host the museum, was built in 1940 by the renowned architect Juan Arellano and has been declared as a National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Commission.—Doris C. Dumlao

Taga Bogo

August 15th, 2011, 09:09 AM

MatudNilaBaby

August 15th, 2011, 10:55 AM

a very nice tribute to the driving force behind the BPI Cebu museum, our very own Caloy and Jobers

:applause::applause::applause::applause::applause::applause::applause::applause:

my father did the renovation of the interior of bpi. so kanang mga rehas2x sa teller gi remove na unya gipa gold plated unya gilalik sab ug butang. kahinumdum ko ana sa gamay paku. ako man sab ang tio ang assistant manager diha sa una thats why ang ako pud papa ang naka renovate. klaro kaayo nga nepotism no :lol::lol::lol:

rau

August 15th, 2011, 11:29 AM

densyo

August 15th, 2011, 02:23 PM

Historic icon set for return (http://www.ucanews.com/2011/08/15/historic-icon-set-for-return/)
ucanews.com reporter, Cebu
Philippines
August 15, 2011

Catholics in the Archdiocese of Cebu await the return of a centuries-old wooden bust of the crucified Christ called “Ecce Homo” from Manila.

“Ecce Homo” means “Behold the Man” or “Here is the Man,” alluding to the statement of Pontius Pilate in the Gospels when he presented Jesus to the crowd.

The bust is supposedly one of the gifts of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan to Hara Amihan and Rajah Humabon after they were baptized Christians in 1521.

Spanish Augustinian friars brought the image to Manila in 1965 after the Augustinian Filipino province separated from the Spanish province.

The bust has since been kept in the San Agustin Church museum in Intramuros.

“There was a request to return [the sculpture], and our brethren graciously acceded to our request,” said Augustinian friar Tito Soquiño over the weekend.

He said the image will be transported next week to Cebu, where it will be met by Augustinian friars and devotees at the airport.

The sculpture was found in Cebu on August 20, 1572, the day Spanish conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legaspi died in Manila.

Spanish soldier Juan de Castilla reportedly found the image inside a coffin while he was digging for the foundation of a house he was building.

The coffin contained the remains of a person identified as Raxa Carli, the Latin translation of Rajah Carlos, the name Humabon took when he was baptized a Christian.

“I am very happy that what belongs to Cebuano heritage is back among us,” said Monsignor Cristobal Garcia, chairman of the Archdiocesan Commission on Worship.

“I grew up venerating that image,” he said.

Iconographer Louie Nacorda said the return of the image to Cebu is important to Philippine history because it signifies the return of a priceless icon where it truly belongs.

“On the spiritual level, its return and public veneration means an additional Christocentric devotion to the Cebuanos,” he said.

Taga Bogo

August 16th, 2011, 09:15 AM

my father did the renovation of the interior of bpi. so kanang mga rehas2x sa teller gi remove na unya gipa gold plated unya gilalik sab ug butang. kahinumdum ko ana sa gamay paku. ako man sab ang tio ang assistant manager diha sa una thats why ang ako pud papa ang naka renovate. klaro kaayo nga nepotism no :lol::lol::lol:

Murag lahi na kaayo ang hitsura ron. Ang kadtong sa tunga giputos na ug bildo unya mao na ang branch. Ang Museum nila mao na'tong sa duha ka kilid gawas sa teller.

The 2 driving force, San Valente and Archaelogue are just too humble to write anything about that particular museum. Mas proper siguro nga sila mutobag ani afterall sila man daghang huna-huna ug nag trabajo.

Time na to reap the glory after months of work, hala pang storya namo :ohno:

densyo

August 17th, 2011, 03:53 AM

Humabon’s Jesus icon returning to Cebu (http://cdn.ph/news_details.php?id=10797)
8/17/2011

A historic wooden bust of the suffering Jesus Christ is coming home to Cebu.
The Order of Saint Augustine (OSA) decided to return the four century-old image to the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño in downtown Cebu City where it was kept from 1572 to 1965.

“This is the third most important icon here in Cebu. We will secure it. I hope the return of the Ecce Homo will deepen our faith,” Fr. Tito Soquino, OSA yesterday told Cebu Daily News.

The wooden sculpture that Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan gave to Cebu's Rajah Humabon will be enthroned in the basilica on Saturday afternoon.

“The Ecce Homo is a reminder of Jesus’ love and suffering for us,” Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma told CDN.

“It is the property of the Sto. Niño de Cebu. It is most welcome here. It will help cement Cebu’s claim as the cradle of Christianity.”

Augustinians brought the image to the San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila 46 years ago.

The Archdiocese of Cebu, through Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, pressed for the return of the image that was found along with human remains believed to be that of Humabon in Aug. 20, 1572.

“We are inviting everybody (to welcome the Ecce Homo back to Cebu). This is another symbol of the faith of the Cebuanos,” said Soquino, spokesman of the basilica.

Soquino said the image will arrive at the Mactan Cebu International Airport around 1 p.m. on Saturday.

It will be escorted by Augustinian priests in a motorcade to the basilica.

At 4 p.m., Fr. Jose Willliam Araña, regional superior of the Augustinian Vicariate of the Orient, will preside over Holy Mass.

Soquino said Augustinian and Cebu diocesan priests will attend the liturgical celebration.

“This (Cebu) will be the Ecce Homo's permanent sanctuary already. Our intention is to keep it safe inside the basilica,” he said.

The Augustinians are still deciding where to place the Ecce Homo for public veneration.

A replica of the Ecce Homo is enshrined in the left side of the basilica.

Ecce Homo is Latin for “Behold the man,” Pontius Pilate’s words when he presented Jesus to the crowd after having him scourged.

Soquino said the Ecce Homo is “the least known” icon brought by Magellan in 1521.

Magellan gave the image of the Sto. Niño to Cebu's Queen Juana during her baptism.

He gave the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe to the Cebuano natives who were baptized into the Catholic faith.

Magellan presented the Ecce Homo to Cebu's chieftain King Humabon whom Augustinian missionaries baptized Carlos.

The Ecce Homo was rediscovered in Cebu on Aug. 20, 1572, the day Miguel Lopez de Legaspi died in Manila.

The image was found on the chest of a Rajah Carli's.

According to a 1921 writing of Fray Manuel D. Aguado, OSA, the burial belongs to Humabon.

Humabon, Aguado said, was baptized Carlos, to which Carli sounds close.

Augustinian friars brought the Ecce Homo to Manila during the Fourth Centennial Celebration of the Christianization of the Philippines in 1965 when the Filipino province and Spanish provinces of the Augustinian community separated.

Since then, only a replica of the image was found in Cebu.

Msgr. Cristobal Garcia, chairman of the Archdiocesan Commission on Worship, has been using a replica of the Ecce Homo during the annual reenactment of the first baptism in Cebu.

Soquino said the Augustinians hope to propagate devotion to the image of the suffering Christ, whom Cebuanos can relate to in these hard times.

The image is a sign of Cebuano religiosity, said Jose Eleazar Bersales, provincial consultant on heritage.

“I’m sure it will bolster the Catholic faith of the Cebuanos,” he said.

The presence of the image in the San Agustin Church held no meaning because it belonged to Cebu, he said.

“It took them so long to return it. It’s a work of art that’s part of Cebu’s heritage,” he said. /By Ador Vincent S. Mayol and Candeze R. Mongaya, Reporters

densyo

August 17th, 2011, 03:57 AM

Church, Capitol agree to preserve Cebu’s heritage (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/local-news/2011/08/17/church-capitol-agree-preserve-cebu-s-heritage-173496)
By Bernadette A. Parco and Rizel S. Adlawan
Wednesday, August 17, 2011

THE Provincial Government and the Archdiocese of Cebu have agreed to work together in preserving the heritage of the Church.

Msgr. Carlito Puno, chairman of the Heritage Commission of the Archdiocese, said one way to do this is to put up joint markings of the Spanish and American colonial churches.

The commission, Puno said, has identified at least 52 churches in different towns, including San Agustin Parish in Alcantara, Sta. Rosa de Lima parish in Alcoy, and San Francisco Javier Parish in Alegria.

The construction of the churches was traced to as early as the 1850s to 1905.

Archbishop of Cebu Jose Palma and Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia formalized their intention to help each other through a memorandum of understanding (MOU).

Capitol Consultant Jojo Bersales told Sun.Star Cebu it is important to mark the churches because many of the towns have nothing except the church as a marker of how old they are.

Bersales, who met with Garcia and Puno, welcomed the agreement, saying Capitol has the resources to help and the Church has the treasures to be preserved.

In a separate development, the centuries-old Ecce Homo, the wooden bust of the crucified Christ, is expected to return to Cebu Province.

The bust is one of the original gifts of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan to Hara Amihan and Rajah Humabon after their baptism in 1521.

Spanish Augustinian friars brought the image to Manila in 1965 after the Filipino and Spanish provinces separated, and it was kept at the San Agustin Church museum in Intramuros.

Fr. Tito Soquiño OSA told Sun.Star Cebu there was a communication between Augustinian friars from Cebu and Manila.

“There was a request to return (the sculpture) and our brethren graciously acceded to our request,” he said.

The Ecce Homo was found in Cebu on Aug. 20, 1572, the day that Miguel Lopez de Legaspi died in Manila.

It was part of a burial cache of a certain Rajah Carli, who could be Rajah Humabon himself, which was accidentally discovered.

“I am very happy that what belongs to Cebuano heritage is back among us,” said Msgr. Cristobal Garcia, Archdiocesan Commission on Worship chairman.

Historian Trizer Dale Mansueto said the image has a historical significance and was venerated with Cebu's most popular icon, the Sto. Niño.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on August 17, 2011.

densyo

August 18th, 2011, 12:48 PM

Past Forward
Coming together for conservation (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/43583/coming-together-for-conservation)
By Jobers Bersales
Cebu Daily News
9:05 am | Thursday, August 18th, 2011

Expect more development in the preservation and protection of heritage resources in the province of Cebu as early this week Archbishop Jose Palma and Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will soon pave the way to an agreement that will enable the provincial government to help preserve colonial era churches, convents and the works of art they contain.

The MOU reads in part: “Whereas, the Province of Cebu and the Archdiocese of Cebu share the same principles and aspirations in the protection and promotion of all heritage objects and properties… Now therefore, we, Msgr. Jose Palma, D.D., Archbishop of Cebu and Hon. Gwendolyn Garcia, Governor of Cebu, do hereby sign this Memorandum of Understanding that will pave the way for the forging of cooperation and collaboration in the joint declaration of all ecclesiastical heritage objects and properties in Cebu and in their protection and conservation.”

I am privileged to be part of this whole enterprise, which is an important plank in the 12-point agenda of Governor Garcia. Yesterday, in a meeting between the archbishop and governor, I assisted in the turnover of the draft Memorandum of Agreement expressing the intent of the MOU. The draft is subject to review by the Archdiocesan Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church.

Msgr. Carlito Pono, chairman of the commission, was instrumental in the delivery of the MOU to the Capitol and its immediate signing by the governor when she saw the signature of the archbishop already affixed on the document. I expect he will also be there for the eventual signing of the agreement very soon.

The agreement adopts the articles of the concordat between the Vatican and the Philippine government signed in August 2007. All told, if approved for signing, the agreement will be the first of its kind in the Philippines, and, in the words of Governor Garcia, “will serve as template for other provinces and local governments to follow.”

A joint commission to oversee the promotion, protection and conservation of the church heritage properties in the province will be formed as part of the provisions of the proposed agreement. This will thus bring together the membership of the Committee on Sites, Relics and Structures of the province’s Tourism and Heritage Council with that of the archdiocese’s Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church.

The immediate result of the agreement will be the joint marking and registration of churches, convents and works of art that are within the jurisdiction of the Cebu province. A training of priests, architects and engineers on the Canons of the church as well as the laws of the land pertinent to heritage conservation will also be carried out jointly.

Before yesterday’s meeting, I was interviewed by SugboTV as to what fate awaits ecclesiastical heritage resources that are outside the jurisdiction of the province. Let me repeat the answer I gave: “It is also time for the chartered cities in Cebu to follow the lead of the province and establish a framework for collaborating with the Archdiocese of Cebu to help conserve these tangible and intangible resources.”

densyo

August 19th, 2011, 07:04 AM

Capitol to help with repair of belfry (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/local-news/2011/08/19/capitol-help-repair-belfry-173955)
By Rizel S. Adlawan
Friday, August 19, 2011

THE 18th-century bell tower of the Dumanjug Catholic Church is in danger of falling apart.

Cebu Provincial Engineer Eulogio Pelayre said vegetation may have caused the stones at the tower’s topmost part to weaken, allowing water to seep through the stones. The weight of the balusters may have also added to the problem.

Pelayre said the balusters are not part of the original structure, but were added by the priest during renovation.

Heritage appreciation

Capitol consultant Jojo Bersales raised the need to conduct a heritage-appreciation seminar among parish priests in the province.

Most of them implement renovations that hamper or destroy the original structure, he said.

Gov. Gwen Garcia, in a visit yesterday to San Francisco de Asis Parish, said the renovation of the town’s belfry, said to the tallest in Cebu, will be a priority to avoid an accident.

She said the Capitol will spend for it because the Province and the Archdiocese of Cebu have agreed to preserve religious historical structures in the province.

A memorandum of agreement will soon follow after the recent signing of a memorandum of understanding with Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma.

Garcia was also in Dumanjug to check the progress of the heritage park that will be inaugurated on Aug. 27, as part of the one-month celebration of the 442nd founding anniversary of Cebu Province.

Joint markings

The park will be named after Doña Josefa Paras Garcia, after the Municipal Council passed a resolution, honoring the grandmother of Mayor Nelson Garcia and the governor.

The Capitol and the Archdiocese of Cebu intend to conduct joint markings of Spanish and American colonial chur-ches identified by the Heritage Commission of the Archdiocese.

Initially, the commission has identified 52 churches like the San Agustin parish church in Alcantara, Sta. Rosa de Lima parish church in Alcoy and the San Francisco Javier parish church in Alegria.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on August 19, 2011.

slerz

August 21st, 2011, 01:13 PM

Ecce Homo

A historic wooden bust of the suffering Jesus Christ is coming home to Cebu.

This is the third most important icon here in Cebu.
The wooden sculpture that Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan gave to Cebu’s Rajah Humabon.
The Order of Saint Augustine (OSA) decided to return the four century-old image to the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño in downtown Cebu City where it was kept from 1572 to 1965 in San Agustin Church in Intramuros Manila.

WELCOME BACK!

http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/3083/eccihommo3.jpg

http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/207/eccihommo.jpg

http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/3326/eccihommo2j.jpg

densyo

August 22nd, 2011, 06:53 AM

‘Ecce Homo’ comes home to Cebu (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/45193/%E2%80%98ecce-homo%E2%80%99-comes-home-to-cebu)
By Ador Vincent Mayol, Candeze Mongaya
Cebu Daily News
7:36 am | Sunday, August 21st, 2011

Forty six years after it was brought to the San Augustin Church in Intramuros, Manila, the four century-old bust of the suffering Jesus Christ known as the “Ecce Homo” or “Behold the Man” came home to Cebu yesterday.

Encased in glass, the ivory sculpture believed to be the one given by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan to Cebu’s Rajah Humabon in the 16th century arrived at the Mactan Cebu International Airport at 2:30 p.m.

Augustinian priests and devotees welcomed the image which was placed on a red pickup decked with red anthuriums and white orchids. The bust was transported to the Plaza Independencia in downtown Cebu City where it was greeted by Sinulog dancers.

A foot procession then headed towards the Basilica Minore del Sto. Nino where the image was originally kept from 1572 to 1965.

As the bells of the basilica pealed, hundreds of devotees applauded and waved red and yellow flaglets as the Ecce Homo was brought inside.

“Since it was found in Cebu, it should stay here. It will remain in Cebu which is the sanctuary of Catholic faith,” said Rev. Fr. Eusebio Berdon, OSA, Prior Provincial of the Santo Niño de Cebu Province.

In 1965, the image was brought to the San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila. The Cebu Archdiocese through Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal worked to recover the valuable image.

The Ecce Homo was originally founded with human remains believed to be that of Rajah Humabon on Aug. 20, 1572.

Beginning

In an interview last week, Vidal said he was happy with the image’s return to Cebu as a continuation of Cebu’s cultural heritage.

The Ecce Homo “marked the beginning of Christianization in the Philippines,” Vidal said.

Negotiations for the return started two years ago. Fr. Berdon said Augustinian counterparts in Manila decided to return the Ecce Homo to Cebu City for public veneration.

Yesterday, a re-enactment of the discovery of the Ecce Homo was done before the start of a Mass officiated by Rev. Fr. William Araña, OSA, Regional Superior of the Augustinian Vicariate of the Orient.

Fr. Berdon read a document which attested that the image was found in Cebu and brought to Manila during the Fourth Christianization of the Philippines in 1965.

The image had a wooden crown of thorns around its head. However, the crown of thorns appeared brittle, prompting the Augustinians to remove it.

Delicate

The crown of thorns was replaced with a potensiya (a Tagalog word for power or potency) or a wooden crown representing three rays of the sun.

With its return to Cebu yesterday, the Augustinans restored the crown of thorns around the head of the bust of Jesus Christ.

The face and head of the original Ecce Homo is made of ivory. It’s body, however, had to be changed to wood after it was destroyed.

“It’s very delicate. When we restored it, we had to use wood from Spain. We also sought the assistance from an expert museum curator,” Fr. Berdon said.

For now the Ecce Homo is placed in a glass urn in the main altar of the basilica for public veneration.

Plans ahead call for building a marble niche with bullet proof glass to secure the image.

Aug. 20 has been desiganted the feast day of the Ecce Homo, said the basilica rector Fr. Rodolfo Bugna, OSA. Starting next year, the image will be brought out of the Church for a solemn procession.

Fitting reminder

In his homily Rev. Fr. Asis Bayao, rector of the San Agustin Church in Intramuros, said the Ecce Homo should remind the faithful about Jesus who suffered and died on the cross for the salavation of all.

“Ecce Homo” is Latin for “Behold the Man,” the words spoken by Roman official Pontius Pilate when he presented Jesus before the crowd.

Cebuanos see a wooden replica brought out every January during the feast of the Sto. Niño. The bust accompanies the fluvial parade of the Holy Child down the Mactan Channel.

“The image is a fitting reminder that Christ did not remain a child but grew up to be the suffering servant who conquesred death by rising on the third day,” said Msgr. Cristobal Garcia, chairman of the Commission on Worship.

In history accounts, the Ecce Homo was presented to Cebu’s chieftain King Humabon who was known as “Carlos” after his baptism. The ivory bust was found in Cebu on Aug. 20, 1572, the same day that Miguel Lopez de Legaspi died in Manila. It was found on the chest of a rajah believed to be Humabon.

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Church retrieves centuries-old image (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/local-news/2011/08/21/church-retrieves-centuries-old-image-174357)
By Bernadette A. Parco
Sunday, August 21, 2011

AUGUSTINIAN priests have drawn up plans to spread the devotion to Jesus Christ through a lesser known religious icon related to Cebu’s popular religious celebration, the Sinulog.

The centuries-old Ecce Homo sculpture that represents the suffering Christ was returned to Cebu yesterday afternoon, decades after it was brought to Manila for an exhibit.

“We will construct a marble niche before the entrance to the church. This will be bullet-proof just like the one for the Sto. Niño. There will be a mark and a short history of the image,” said Fr. Eusebio Berdon, head of the Augustinian community in Cebu.

He said there are already Ecce Homo devotees in Cebu, so there’s not much effort needed to promote it.

“There was a replica, which is owned by Msgr. Cris, that is venerated here. I’m sure people will recover their devotion,” he told reporters after celebrating mass at the Basilica del Sto. Niño to welcome the image.

He was referring to Archdiocesan Commission on Worship chairman Msgr. Cristobal Garcia, who has been promoting the devotion during Sinulog celebrations.

Fr. Berdon said there would be no changes in the Sinulog celebration next year.

“We will continue with the Sinulog celebration. We will have a separate celebration on Aug. 20. And we would need the permission of the Archbishop of Cebu before we establish the public devotion,” he said.

In 1521, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan gave the Sto. Niño to Hara Amihan, who was named Juana after her baptism, while the Ecce Homo was given to Rajah Humabon, later called Carlos.

The sculpture was discovered on Aug. 20, 1572, when Spanish soldier Juan de Castilla unearthed the burial site of a certain Rajah Carli while working on the foundation of his house.

It was found on the chest of the deceased Rajah who was holding a cross. His remains were found uncorrupted or preserved.

Berdon said the Ecce Homo has no direct link to the celebration and that there is no evidence that Rajah Carli is Rajah Humabon.

San Agustin museum curator Fr. Asis Bajao, OSA, said the icon was brought to Manila in 1965, during the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the country’s Christianization, as part of an exhibit in Intramuros, Manila.

Bajao said no one could explain why the image with a head made of ivory and shoulders made of wood was never returned to Cebu. Since the 1960s the sculpture was under the care of the Augustinian community in Manila.

Basilica rector Fr. Rodolfo Bugna led the welcome party at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport. The image was brought by a motorcade to Plaza Independencia, where a foot procession accompanied it to the church.

Museum

Fr. Bajao said the sculpture depicts the time Pontius Pilate presented Jesus to the crowd after he was scourged at the pillar and crowned with thorns saying, “Behold the Man,” or Ecce Homo in Latin.

Fr. Berdon said one of the catalysts that triggered the process of returning the icon was a clamor from the people while then Cebu archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal inquired about its whereabouts two years ago.

Fr. Berdon said the icon’s return was decided by the two Augustinian communities to encourage the spread of the Ecce Homo devotion among Cebuanos.

He said it should stay in Cebu where it would be publicly venerated than remain as just part of an exhibit in a museum.

The Augustinian friars are also consulting heritage preservation experts to preserve the icon and re-install a crown of thorns made of wood to replace the metal rays.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on August 21, 2011.

densyo

August 22nd, 2011, 06:55 AM

Dumanjug to launch heritage park (http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/331508/dumanjug-launch-heritage-park)
By MARS W. MOSQUEDA JR.
August 21, 2011, 3:50pm

DUMANJUG, Philippines – Residents of the peaceful, quiet town of Dumanjug, a fourth-class municipality in Cebu, have reasons to celebrate their fiesta this month, with the Cebu Provincial Government set to finally inaugurate its Dumanjug Heritage Park.

Said park will be inaugurated on August 27 as part of Cebu’s one-month celebration of its 442nd founding an-niversary. Thursday last week, Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia personally went to Dumanjug to check the progress of said park.

Dumanjug’s municipal council has passed a resolution naming the park Doña Josefa Paras Garcia, after the grandmother of the provincial governor and town mayor, Nelson Garcia.

The provincial government has been assisting municipalities and cities in Cebu in putting up their own heritage parks. It has already opened the Oslob Cuartel and Heritage Park and the Moalboal Heritage Park to be followed by the heritage parks of Alegria, Boljoon, Borbon, Sogod, and Dumanjug.

“These are all efforts towards all of us Cebuanos embracing and appreciating our heritage and culture,” Garcia said in an earlier interview.

Garcia was in Dumanjug to check out the town’s 18th century bell tower in the San Francisco de Asis parish, which is just across the proposed heritage park, and ordered its immediate renovation to avoid an accident as the belfry's wall is starting to show signs of falling apart.

Cebu Provincial Engineer Eulogio Pelayre said vegetation may have caused the stones at the tower’s topmost part to weaken, allowing water to seep through the stones. The weight of the balusters may have also added to the problem.

johnada

August 22nd, 2011, 06:55 AM

historical revisionism with a posthumous donya

densyo

August 22nd, 2011, 06:58 AM

Editorial: Restoring Cebu (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/opinion/2011/08/21/editorial-restoring-cebu-174485)
Sunday, August 21, 2011

AFTER an absence of 46 years, the Ecce Homo will be back home.

Home is Cebu, where, according to Sun.Star Cebu’s Aug. 17, 2011 article by Rizel S. Adlawan and Bernadette A. Parco, the centuries-old wooden bust of the crucified Christ was found on Aug. 20, 1572, part of the burial goods of “a certain Rajah Carli, who could be Rajah Humabon himself.”

The return of a religious and historical artifact is anticipated by Cebuanos. According to historian Trizer Dale Mansueto, the Ecce Homo was venerated along with the Sto. Niño of Cebu.

According to the same Sun.Star report, the return of the Ecce Homo was facilitated by Augustinian friars in Cebu and Manila. Fr. Tito Soquiño said that after a request was made for the sculpture’s return, Manila-based Augustinian friars “graciously acceded”.

One of the gifts handed by Ferdinand Magellan to Hara Amihan and Rajah Humabon after their baptism in 1521, the Ecce Homo was brought to Manila by Spanish Augustinian friars in 1965, after the Filipino and Spanish provinces separated. It has since been stored at the San Agustin Church museum in Intramuros.

Ways and means

Outsiders are not only capable of graciousness.

The Cebu Provincial Government will partner with the Archdiocese of Cebu in preserving Church heritage.

According to the same Sun.Star report, Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma and Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia have signed a memorandum of agreement to formalize the collaboration.

One of the undertakings involves the putting up of joint markings of Spanish and American colonial churches.

In many towns, the church is the only remaining institution with documents and artifacts that establish history dating back to Spanish, even pre-colonial, times.

Writers and editors working on the town histories produced for the Cebu Provincial History Project found that churches, even chapels maintained in the hinterlands by residents and religious organizations, have a wealth of information about town and barangay histories.

Heritage preservation does not need only extensive resources but the cooperation and pride of place and history nurtured among residents and institutions.

As Capitol consultant Jojo Bersales observed in the same Sun.Star report, the collaboration of the Cebu Archdiocese and Cebu Province fuses two crucial players: the Church with its “treasures” and the Capitol with its resources and political will.

In tandem

Most significant in efforts to promote Cebu is the collaboration of the Cebu Province and the Cebu City Government, which were better known to be on opposing sides in past issues.

In Sun.Star Cebu’s Aug. 17, 2011 report by Jujemay G. Awit, Garcia and Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama “pledged unity” to implement the facelifting of Osmeña Blvd.

Both officials attended the Aug. 16 assembly organized by the Beautiful Cebu Movement Foundation Inc. at the Sinu-log Hall of the Cebu City Public Library.

The drive to spruce up a historical and geographical artery of Cebu City seems to indicate a willingness to go beyond mere beautification.

Aside from presenting a sidewalk plan, the Aug. 16 assembly was also a consultation of residents, local leaders and establishments located along Osmeña Blvd. Problems needing solutions surfaced, such as peace and order and drainage.

Getting to the root of problems—street children, beggars, sex workers, rugby boys, snatchers, vandals, sidewalk vendors, flashfloods—requires will and collaboration among public and private stakeholders.

Drawing heavy traffic in the uptown area, Osmeña Blvd, particularly Fuente Osmeña, also attracts criminal elements that prey on the gullible and unwary.

It will take more than decorative lampposts and landscaped sidewalks to restore the neighborhood to a clean and well-lighted place.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on August 22, 2011.

densyo

August 25th, 2011, 10:59 AM

So: Be a tourist in Colon (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/opinion/2011/08/24/so-be-tourist-colon-175131)
By Michelle P. So
Caught in the Net
Wednesday, August 24, 2011

BEFORE the year ends, we will be seeing obelisks dotting Colon, a street in Cebu City made famous for its oldness and character. An obelisk is a four-sided shaft of stone that tapers toward a pyramidal top. It’s like a marker.

You’ll find an obelisk at the end of Colon, where Mabini Street traverses. It is one of the 50 or so street markers that are supposed to tell the history of the oldest street in the Philippines, at 446 years old.

The nine-meter marker was built in 1999 when Alvin Garcia, who had the cultivation of Cebu heritage as one of his platforms, was the mayor of Cebu City. The obelisk says something about the significance of Colon Street, which the National Historical Institute has recognized as a historical landmark.

There are other heritage markers in the two-kilometer street, but unless you look closely enough, you’re likely to miss them in your hurry to get through the throng of people who cramp its sidewalks.

In Colon, you don’t tarry. You walk fast and hold your belongings close to your chest or check your pockets every so often. In Colon, things like your wallet or cell phone go missing in a second.

For all the markers installed in Colon, there’s none about “beware of pickpockets.” I hope the Women International League (WIL)-Hapsay Sugbo Foundation Inc., the group behind preserving the cultural significance of Colon, might want to have an obelisk or two warning about pickpockets, who add character and color to the street.

WIL has planned to set up a Walk of History on Colon Street. It began its project in 1997, a time when the street had lost its hold as a prime economic district of Cebu City to the malls. Colon could not offer what the malls could—shopping, dining and entertainment in one dustless, heat-free enclave of convenience.

The malls may be offering convenience to shoppers, but they lack Colon’s attraction.

The true Bisdak goes to Colon to find bargains but is practical enough not to go there when rain comes. Colon is one big swimming pool during a downpour. Or maybe, just a wading pool this time with its drainage system already improved, somewhat.

Anyway, WIL hopes to put up 20 more obelisks in Colon by November 30 to complete the heritage walk project. Where the obelisks will be installed is for us to find out when we do our Christmas shopping in Colon. Our Christmas shopping budget will buy us twice or thrice the number of items we would get in the malls. I know this by experience. I also know by experience that it’s so much more stressful to shop in Colon in December.

Cookie Newman, in an article published by Sun.Star Cebu on March 11, 2009, says that one must have “enough curiosity” to read the inscriptions on the markers to be able to “relate to the progress of Cebu City.”

The WIL has clustered the street in the installation of heritage markers: Fuente de la Revolucion, which is from the Pahina Bridge to Leon Kilat Street; the entertainment and shopping center, which is from Leon Kilat to D. Jakosalem Streets; and the heritage cluster, which is from D. Jakosalem to Mabini Streets.

The WIL deserves credit for taking pains to bring back the significance of Colon in modern Cebu City. Colon may belong to the old era but it provides us with a glimpse of our past.

So take the time to visit Colon. Take the jeepney in going there and dress down. Look for the heritage markers. Be a tourist in the oldest street of the country.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on August 25, 2011.

densyo

August 25th, 2011, 11:03 AM

Past Forward
Accidents waiting to happen (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/47487/accidents-waiting-to-happen)
By Jobers Bersales
Cebu Daily News
9:19 am | Thursday, August 25th, 2011

This is one accident waiting to happen. Judging by the way Cebuano drivers turn or move from one lane to another without using their vehicles’ signal lights, I think automobile companies had better remove such gadgets when selling their brands here in Cebu. After all, it does seem like only 10 percent of Cebuano motorists know how to use such lights.

Come, see for yourself as you drive the streets, even the guy with a brand-new BMW or Mercedes Benz leisurely turns the corner without doing the very simple act of flicking the stick that turns on his/her signal light 20 meters prior. Or do these drivers, many of them clearly rich and educated, assume that Cebuanos are clairvoyant, able to predict when the car ahead will suddenly turn the corner or move to another lane?

This simple act is illustrative of what ails many Cebuanos and how technology can become a useless device when in the hands of an idiot. Little effort is required to practice this road courtesy and yet few people are able to do it.

And you think public utility drivers, many of them barely reaching high school, are the only culprits. On the contrary, even these wealthy drivers on luxury cars do the same.

* * *

The belfry of Dumanjug Church is also a disaster waiting to happen. Somebody decided to put a cement dome on its top and rounded it off with a series of concrete balusters, perhaps to mimic the old belfry of the Basilica del Sto. Niño. This was sometime in 2004. Seven years and two huge parasitic balete tree growths later and you now have some of the walls and the shallow coral stone pilasters holding all these up beginning to buckle. The concrete cement structure is putting tremendous pressure on this the tallest belfry in Cebu and time is running out.

This is one of the reasons why Gov. Gwendolyn F. Garcia wants an agreement signed with the Archdiocese of Cebu. The moment the safety of parishioners who are first and foremost constituents of the province of Cebu is jeopardized, she knows she will be heaped with criticisms left and right why she did not do anything about it. And so a draft agreement was crafted by her legal team and presented to the archbishop, His Excellency Jose Palma.

The draft agreement copies in toto the agreement signed between the Vatican and the Republic of the Philippines way back in 2007, after about two years of diplomatic exchanges and dispatches. I do not see any reason why church authorities will question the intent of the agreement, which is to establish a joint body that will then create the ground rules for the coming cooperation and collaboration between these two institutions to protect Cebu’s ecclesiastical heritage.

Perhaps there will be those who think the agreement should not be rushed. I can only hope that the belfry of Dumanjug (and I hear also that of Daanbantayan) will hold and not topple over, tired of waiting.

MatudNilaBaby

August 26th, 2011, 08:17 AM

Parchie

August 26th, 2011, 09:41 AM

Past Forward
Accidents waiting to happen (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/47487/accidents-waiting-to-happen)
By Jobers Bersales
Cebu Daily News
9:19 am | Thursday, August 25th, 2011

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* * *

The belfry of Dumanjug Church is also a disaster waiting to happen. Somebody decided to put a cement dome on its top and rounded it off with a series of concrete balusters, perhaps to mimic the old belfry of the Basilica del Sto. Niño. This was sometime in 2004. Seven years and two huge parasitic balete tree growths later and you now have some of the walls and the shallow coral stone pilasters holding all these up beginning to buckle. The concrete cement structure is putting tremendous pressure on this the tallest belfry in Cebu and time is running out.

This is one of the reasons why Gov. Gwendolyn F. Garcia wants an agreement signed with the Archdiocese of Cebu. The moment the safety of parishioners who are first and foremost constituents of the province of Cebu is jeopardized, she knows she will be heaped with criticisms left and right why she did not do anything about it. And so a draft agreement was crafted by her legal team and presented to the archbishop, His Excellency Jose Palma.

The draft agreement copies in toto the agreement signed between the Vatican and the Republic of the Philippines way back in 2007, after about two years of diplomatic exchanges and dispatches. I do not see any reason why church authorities will question the intent of the agreement, which is to establish a joint body that will then create the ground rules for the coming cooperation and collaboration between these two institutions to protect Cebu’s ecclesiastical heritage.

Perhaps there will be those who think the agreement should not be rushed. I can only hope that the belfry of Dumanjug (and I hear also that of Daanbantayan) will hold and not topple over, tired of waiting.

To say that the belfry will topple just because additional mortar chords at the top is causing cracking is a bit exaggerated, IMHO.

If you are aware of the old Castillan construction, each tower segment (a floor level, if you may call it) is provided with big wooden restraining beams bisecting the cross-section at each level; serving as flooring beams and at the same time keeping the rounded walls from buckling out. We are talking about big stones, held together by lime mortar, sandwiched by sawed-off, coral-stone, wall-facing blocks. The tower wall is around 1 (one) meter thick on average! Each level segment is built-up on top of the other while tapering at the top.

That dang bell tower has withstood time and I don't believe it will just topple down. Take note that the foundation of the whole structure does not transmit vibrations being sandy. Unless liquefaction occurs, that church is going to stand.

I also believe using just any kind of mortar could do more damage to the existing structure if the existing materials are not properly analyzed/characterized, interaction analysis done and suitable repair materials secured. I was told, the local people donated eggs and lime for the church builders to complete the church during its construction.

densyo

August 27th, 2011, 03:11 AM

Rama eyes museum, tourist site (http://cdn.ph/news_details.php?id=10912)
8/27/2011

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama does not only plan to convert the Malacañang sa Sugbu building into a museum.
He also wants to have the land titled under the Cebu City government to ensure ownership.

“The Malacañang sa Sugbu will play a vital role in a heritage area that we are planning,” he said.

His plan includes making the post-war building by the harbor the entry point of the city’s heritage and tourism zone.

The former Customs house is located near Fort San Pedro, the Plaza Independencia, the ruins of the Compania Maritima building, and a proposed park.

The status of the Malacañang sa Sugbo bears watching as President Benigno Aquino III expressed no interest in using it as an alternate official residence, the way former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo did when she took over the building from the Bureau of Customs and had it renovated.

Mayor Rama included a P10-million outlay in the proposed Supplemental Budget no. 2 for a senior citizens park, which he wants to set up beside the Compania Maritima.

Rama still has to discuss this plan with various stakeholders including the Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission (CHAC), the Parks and Playgrounds Commission, the city tourism office and Undersecretary Odette Ong of the Presidential Management Staff.

Rama said the city government also has to identify a foundation that would help the city run the Malacañang sa Sugbu and its museum.

He said he was considering tapping the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. as a partner.

The Bureau of Customs also wanted to recover the property, which used to be their Cebu district office. But Rama said the bureau was amenable to the idea of converting the place into something of historical value. The mayor has to present a development plan before any turnover is made. /By Doris C. Bongcac, Chief of Reporters

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Palace holding on to Malacañang sa Sugbo
(http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=721029&publicationSubCategoryId=107)
By Jessica Ann R. Pareja/BRP (The Freeman) Updated August 27, 2011 12:00 AM

CEBU, Philippines - Malacañang is inclined on preserving the Malacañang sa Sugbo and is likely to turn down the demand of the Bureau of Customs to be allowed to take back the property.

Mayor Michael Rama said this was apparent during his meeting with the officials in Malacañang during his latest visit there after his trip to Wuhan, China.

Rama said Malacañang is inclined to develop the area into a heritage site to preserve the historical value of the building built in 1910.

The building used to be the office of the Bureau of Customs until 2004 when former president Gloria Arroyo converted it to the Malacañang sa Sugbo that served as her residence whenever she would visit Cebu.

Rama said that the Presidential Management Staff already asked for their plans for the Malacañang sa Sugbo.

The mayor wants to make the place part of the Heritage Park he is planning that will consist of the Plaza Independencia, Fort San Pedro, Malacañang sa Sugbo and possibly the Campania Maritima.

Rama said it will be one of the must-visit places in Cebu for local and foreign tourists who are interested to know the history and culture of Cebu.

For the building alone, he said he wants to turn part of it to a museum while one room will be retained as the president’s residence. He wants to rename the president’s room as the Hero’s Hall which will also contain pictures and memorabilia.

A small portion might also be occupied as offices by the Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission.

The detailed plan, he said, will be submitted to Malacañang very soon.

Rama also wants that the property covered by the Malacañang sa Sugbo to be titled under the name of city.

After Arroyo’s term ended, the BOC demanded that the property be returned to them but Rama appealed to the president for its preservation.

BOC did not only demand the return of the Malacañang but also the Plaza which is also a BOC property. But the city is not willing to give up the property after spending millions for the rehabilitation and preservation of the plaza. (FREEMAN)

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Turnover of Malacañang sa Sugbo set (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/local-news/2011/08/27/turnover-malacanang-sa-sugbo-set-175626)
By Princess Dawn H. Felicitas
Saturday, August 27, 2011

AFTER more than a year, the Cebu City Government will finally have custody of the Malacañang sa Sugbo.

Mayor Micheal Rama yesterday announced that President Benigno Aquino III, through the Department of Finance, told Customs Commissioner Angelito Alvarez not to transfer the Bureau of Customs’ (BOC) offices to the Malacañang sa Sugbo.

The Malacañang sa Sugbo used to house the BOC offices, until then president Gloria Arroyo converted it into a local office.

Aquino’s pronouncement, Rama said, was an offshoot of their recent meeting.

After he arrived from his trip to Wuhan, China, Rama said he met with the President to follow up on his request regarding the custody of the building.

Future plans

Rama said he will meet with the City’s Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission and the Parks and Playground Commission to discuss what to do with the Malacañang sa Sugbo.

The mayor disclosed that the City has yet to submit its development plan for the building, which was requested by Herminio Bagro III, Aquino’s chief of staff, in a letter dated June 2, 2011.

Rama reiterated his stand of preserving the building, as it has become part of the city’s cultural heritage and landmark.

He said he wants Malacañang sa Sugbo to be incorporated with the Fort San Pedro, Plaza Independencia and Compaña Maritima.

He said he wants the building to house a museum or a showroom where Cebuano products will be showcased, without necessarily displacing the President’s official residence in Cebu.

“If the President comes here and wants to utilize the Malacañang sa Sugbo, there will still be a room there for him to use,” the mayor said.

Property transfer

Rama said the expenses that will be incurred in preserving the Malacañang sa Sugbo will be considered in the comprehensive preservation of the Fort San Pedro, Plaza Independencia and other cultural landmarks in the city.

However, Rama said he doesn’t know yet when the Malacañang sa Sugbo will be formally turned over to the City.

But before that happens, Rama wants the National Government to transfer the title of the property to the City.

In July last year, BOC made a pronouncement that it wants to retrieve its buildings and properties in Cebu City, including the Malacañang sa Sugbo, after Aquino announced he was not inclined to use it.

Since then, Rama has been seeking the President’s help so the City can take over the building.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on August 27, 2011.

densyo

August 28th, 2011, 05:51 AM

Revering our local heroes (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/49149/revering-our-local-heroes)
By madrilena de la cerna
Cebu Daily News
8:11 am | Sunday, August 28th, 2011

Today is National Heroes Day but we do not only celebrate the courage of heroes from Luzon as was the practice in the past. With the strong heritage movement in Cebu province, local history has never been given so much attention.

Heritage advocates have been sharing their research while some teach local history in the context of national history. With 18 museums in the city, these have greatly helped history and culture teachers. Based on feedback from museum curators, most visitors are high school and elementary students.

Books about Cebu’s culture, history and heritage have been published and are selling, although most buyers are interested individuals. Very few school libraries have copies of these books. This promising trend is capped by the Cebu Provincial Town History Project—a 55-volume set of the histories of the municipalities and the component cities of Cebu including the history of the province and the Capitol building. Started in 2008, the project is now only one chapter behind of the last volume being completed. Manuscripts of the completed town histories have been distributed to the different municipalities for them to review and give suggestions or make some corrections. Some of these manuscripts have been returned to the cluster editors for final editing. Within the last term of Gov. Gwen Garcia, these manuscripts will be published and will be used by high school students of the province as well as the general public.

I came to know about our local heroes from the writings of Dr. Resil Mojares, Dr. Michael Cullinane, and Dionisio Sy. I am very familiar with Leon Kilat because I am from Carcar where he was killed and the large house where the killing took place stands majestically at the heart of the town to remind Carcaranons of a turning point in the history of Cebu and the Philippine Revolution. Added knowledge of our local heroes took place in 1995-1998, the Centennial of the Philippine Revolution, when I participated in the series of local history conferences all over the country through the initiatives of the Philippine National Historical Society.

In 1998, the University of the Philippines commemorated the Philippine Revolution with a yearlong calendar of activities. Each UP campus hosted a lakbay-aral revisiting the trail used by local revolutionaries and leaders. For UP Visayas, the three campuses in Iloilo, Cebu and Tacloban had their share of the commemoration. As coordinator of the UP Cebu Centennial celebration, I organized a two-day lakbay-aral, which I called Subay-Kaagi. The first day had its opening at the Capitol Social Hall with descendants of revolutionaries gracing the Pambansang Awit and the itinerary was the city. In the evening of the first day participants from different schools in the Philippines were treated to a play by Vicente Sotto “Paghigugma sa Yutang Natawhan” at Fort San Pedro. The second day was a tour round south of Cebu island. We wanted to include Tuburan, the headquarters of Gen. Arcadio Maxilom but the roads were impassable. History classes at that time had their hands full of writeups about the local Katipuneros and the Revolution. They learned about Leon Kilat, Arcadio Maxilom, Florencio Gonzales, Florencio Llamas, Candido and Tiburcio Padilla, Bonifacio Aranas, Juan Climaco, Alejo Miñoza, Jacinto Pacaña, Justo Cabajar, Enrique Lorega, Salomon Manalili, Pantaleon del Rosario and many lesser known heroes whom we only get to know through the streets named after them. Unfortunately, many of these streets are scenes of mugging, theft and other unpleasant activities.

This week has been a fulfilling week with an Academic Forum at the University of San Carlos on “Glocalization: Challenges to Heritage Preservation and Local History in the 21st Century” . Three women shared their work on heritage preservation and local history and elicited an animated open forum. Dr. Jocelyn Gerra, executive director of the Cultural Heritage Program of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc., drew out the challenges to Heritage and Local History in the 21st Century by discussing the Gabii sa Kabilin held every end of May with 18 museums now participating. She stressed how the Gabii sa Kabilin has involved the surrounding barangays and how it is educating the barangays.

Dr. Erlinda K. Alburo, former director of the Cebuano Studies Center, presented a paper on “Glocalization and the Writing of Town History.” She gave a brief preview of the town histories of the province, which have been completed (with only the last chapter of the last volume lacking). She shared the different themes that surfaced in the manuscripts such as developments of varying degrees in the municipalities, migration and diaspora, and the focus on tourism with 50 or more festivals in the municipalities. Some towns changed the names of their festivals to give a more relevant touch.

Tourism in the province is more on the eco-cultural dimension and some municipalities showed their resourcefulness by honing their natural resources not only as a tourist attraction but also as a source of revenue for the community. She proudly declared that Cebu province is the first to have the histories of the towns, component cities , the province and the Capitol building written in one set. Other provinces, like Cavite, tried to do the same but was not successful.

As one of the cluster editors, I learned more about local heroes in the province and I could relate the events in the province and the city and the nation as a whole.

Architect Melva R. Java, director of the Conservation and Heritage Research Institute and Workshop of the University of San Carlos, expounded on the importance of “The Greening of Historic Sites” with focus on our churches. She emphasized that simply cleaning the churches will help preserve them.
Complementing the forum was the opening of the exhibit on “Mga Bayani sa Sugbo: Cebu’s Contributions to Nation-building” at the Casa Gorordo Museum last Aug. 26 to celebrate National Heroes Day. The exhibit commemorates famous and the lesser-known individuals who contributed to the making of both Cebuano society and culture and of the Filipino nation. It covers the achievements of these individuals from 1898 to the 1930s in various fields—from freedom fighting to civic works. The exhibit will run until October. Teachers, students and education officials as well as government officials should view this exhibit. Thank God there are still institutions and groups as well as individuals who keep the light of our struggle as a people alive.

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Leon Kilat: From Salamangkero to Katipunero (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=721019&publicationSubCategoryId=111)
(The Freeman) Updated August 27, 2011 12:00 AM

CEBU, Philippines - It has been said that one would not be able to fully appreciate Cebu history without knowing Pantaleon Villegas, more popularly known as Leon Kilat - the man who figured prominently in the Tres de Abril uprising.

His tragic but very significant story went a little something like this:
“Before I became a revolutionary in 1896, I - Leon Kilat - was a circus worker, a salamangkero (magician), in Manila.

“My short life (he only lived till 25) revealed a dramatic account of the events that led to the downfall of Spanish control in Cebu. At best, I was a young man wanting and fighting for freedom. But like many, who died not in the hands of the real enemy, my death was authored by political treachery.
“I am a native of Barrio Liptong in Bacong, Oriental Negros. I was born on July 27, 1873, the youngest son of Policarpio Villegas, a peninsular, and Ursula Solde, daughter of a local chief in Bacong. As a custom, I was given the name Pantaleon after St. Pantaleon, the patron saint of doctors whose feast day is celebrated every 27th of July.

“I acquired basic education (reading, writing and religion) from Fray Angel Maestro when his family moved to Tolong (now Sta. Catalina town). I worked as Fray Angel’s errand boy.

“In my youth, I learned from the Spanish fraile the art of self-defense called baston.”

“After a couple of years, my family returned to Bacong and lived mainly on farming. I then decided to try my luck for a better life in Cebu. I crossed Tañon Strait, reached the town of Samboan and headed towards Sugbu where I took various jobs. First, as laborer of an abaca factory, then as messenger of the Singer Company and as lemonade chemist in the famous Botica Antigua.

“I also worked as delivery boy for a bakery at the junction of Calle Infanta and Tabada Street. I was able to go to Manila in 1896 through the help of an English master. I became part of a circus group which specialized in magic tricks and acrobatics.

“It was during my stint in the circus that I stumbled into the Katipunan. Revolutionary fervor was at its peak in Manila in 1896 which culminated with the execution of Dr. Jose Rizal in December.

“My job as a magician afforded me the opportunity to effectively deliver messages using “sign language” for the underground society.

“In 1897, I was captured by the Spaniards for I was identified as part of the forces of Emilio Aguinaldo. But, I escaped from prison unnoticed by the civil guards. Such prompted me to coin a pseudonym: Leon Kilat (Lion Lightning).
“On March 31, 1898, I arrived in Cebu to lead the uprising which the katipuneros scheduled on April 8, 1898 upon the orders of Aguinaldo.

Unfortunately, an incident sapped the living daylights off me. The uprising broke unceremoniously earlier - on April 3, 1898 or “Tres de Abril” at the then Valeriano Weyler Street (now part of Labangon) and V. Rama Avenue.

“The days leading to April 8 proved to be tumultuous for the members of the secret society. The execution of Januario Gabrillo, known as the first martyr in the Cebuano revolution, at the Fort San Pedro on March 21, 1898 signaled the manhunt for the other key leaders of the Katipunan.

“When fellow katipunero Frisco Abreu and scores of others were captured and killed, I decided to launch the uprising earlier than scheduled. The manhunt was called after Gabrillo confessed the names of the members of the Katipunan as a result of torture.”

“There was also one beata, a certain Potenciana, who tipped the Spaniards of the planned uprising on Good Friday. Hence, the battle of Tres de Abril broke out on a Palm Sunday.”

* * *

When the katipuneros retreated to Carcar with scores of casualties, it was there that Leon Kilat was murdered on the early hours of April 8, the day when the city-based uprising should have begun. While historical account pointed out that a certain Reynario Alcuitas and Don Florencio Noel were positively identified as the assassins of Leon Kilat, writer Jovito Abellana gave a different account. He said Leon Kilat was killed by one Gregorio Canaya, the same one who buried the fallen revolutionary leader.

Source: Marivir Montebon’s “Retracing our Roots: A Journey into Cebu’s Pre-colonial and Colonial Past”

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Exhibit opens to pay tribute to local heroes (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/local-news/2011/08/27/exhibit-opens-pay-tribute-local-heroes-175810)
By Rebelander S. Basilan
Saturday, August 27, 2011

IN OBSERVANCE of National Heroes’ Day, an exhibit featuring Cebuano heroes opened last Friday at the Casa Gorordo Museum on Lopez Jaena St., Cebu City.

The exhibit, dubbed “Mga Bayani sa Sugbo: Cebu’s Contributions to Nation-building,” was organized by the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (Rafi) in partnership with the Cebu City Government and the Cebuano Studies Center.

“This exhibit is something that we are very proud of,” said Dr. Jo-celyn Gerra, executive director of Rafi’s culture and heritage unit. “We dedicate this exhibit to our country.”

Achievements

The exhibit, which will run until Oct. 21, is one of the events in the year-long celebration of Cebu City as an Asean city of culture.

Cebu City Councilor Margarita Osmeña attended the opening of the exhibit. Osmeña is the chairperson of the committee on tourism, local and international relations, culture and the arts.

The exhibit covers the achievements of prominent Cebuano historical figures from 1898 to the 1930s in various fields—from freedom-fighting to statecraft to civic works.

Among the Cebuano historical figures featured in the exhibit are Pan-taleon Villegas, Arcadio Maxilom, Sergio Osmeña Sr., Vicente Rama and Juan Climaco.

Villegas, more popularly known as Leon Kilat, and his men defeated loyalist soldiers on Tres de Abril in 1898, during the first major battle of the revolution in Cebu.

A native of Tuburan, Arcadio Maxilom took over the role of general en jefe of revolutionary forces when Leon Kilat was assassinated.

More luminaries

In 1899, when ilus-trados of the provincial government of Cebu moved to surrender the city, Maxilom, together with Juan Climaco, organized his own revolutionary government.

Vicente Rama was a distinguished figure in different fields, including Cebuano literature, journalism and politics. In 1915, he founded his own periodical, Nueva Fuerva, which was renamed Bag-ong Kusog in 1920.

Sergio Osmeña Sr. was the most prominent Ce-buano statesman in his time. Americans appointed him governor of Cebu in 1904. He was elected first speaker of the Philippine Assembly in 1907 and senator in 1922. He became president of the Philippines in 1944.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on August 28, 2011.

Rajah_Soliman

August 30th, 2011, 12:24 AM

MatudNilaBaby

August 30th, 2011, 01:56 AM

What are they going to do with these buildings!?

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/251496_2098106986545_1661510793_2122314_5728675_n.jpg

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/226166_2098106106523_1661510793_2122310_967495_n.jpg

maayo pa ila nang butangan sa ilang city community college kay wala paman gyud nay claro kon asa na ilang community college nahimutang. magamit pa kaayo na nga building. hinuon ug daghang mga estuyante maka cause pud ug more traffic dinhang dapita.

densyo

August 30th, 2011, 02:17 AM

Sinug dancer, 16 others honored (http://cdn.ph/news_details.php?id=10936)
8/30/2011

It was a toast to the true, good and beautiful in Cebuano cultural heritage.

The fourth anniversary of Hamiling Binilin, the organization of pioneering Cebuano Heritage Studies graduates of the University of San Carlos (USC), was celebrated with a tribute to persons and institutions that promoted Cebuano heritage.

Estelita “Inday Titang” Diola, 82, known as the keeper of the traditional Sinug dance steps, was among the 17 cited at the Virgilio Yap Chapel of the Cathedral Museum in Cebu City.

Inday Titang, who beats the drums and performs the Sinug every year after Cebu’s Fiesta Señor, was given a special award for keeping the dance steps alive.

Hambin president Delilah Labajo and USC president Fr. Dionisio Miranda of the Society of the Divine Word presented the awards.

Honorees included Dr. Resil Mojares for history, Dr. Erlinda Alburo for literature, Dolores Suzara for cultural education, Pascual Emelio Pascual for performing arts, Luz Mancao Sandiego for dance, Msgr. Rudy Villanueva of the Archdiocese of Cebu and University of the Visayas vice president Jose Gullas for music, Rosa Tenazas for archeology, architect Melva Java for heritage architecture and Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia for government heritage conservation.

Artist Mel Tamayo, singer Pilita Corrales and actress Gloria Sevilla were given lifetime achievement awards.

Cebu Daily News represented by publisher Eileen Mangubat was cited for heritage journalism. The paper’s lifestyle section comes out with a weekly heritage page.

Institutional awardees included the Archdiocese of Cebu and Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. for institutional heritage.

Inday Titang, as her grandnieces and nephews call her, beamed with delight as she received the recognition. Every year since she was 7, she has been beating a drum made of goat skin during the Fiesta Señor.

Inday Titang formed a Sinulog dance group in 1979 in barangay Mabolo, where a sitio is named Sinug. She said her parents taught her to dance.

The Sinug sa Mabolo dance troupe of 20 members that she led lasted five years.

Inday Titang is the youngest in a brood of five. The sole surviving sibling, she has difficulty hearing but can still read without eyeglasses.

Inday Titang lives with a niece, among others, in Mabolo. Her source of income is a parcel of land that she is renting out.

She loves to sew her own clothes and prepare her meals. Her specialty is budbud pilit (sticky rice rolled in banana leaves), but Inday Titang’s favorite viand is sauteed squid.

Every day at 5 a.m., Inday Titang walks to church to hear Mass. Her neighbors sometimes accompany her.

Inday Titang said she plans to go on dancing the Sinug and beating her classic drums in the coming years. Rhea Ruth V. Rosell, Correspondent