Life & Style: Will the future still experience these architectural wonders in my home town? Text & Pictures by Heritage Conservation Society of the Philippines. Others as indicated by this blogger.

The San Joaquin Cemetery (1892), one of a number built in Iloilo province during the 19th century, is located along the highway leading to the town. Built on a low rise, the cemetery’s square perimeter is demarcated by a wrought iron fence and shored by a wall of carved stone, embellished with niches and saints. A flight of 20 steps leads up to the cemetery compound. The octagonal structure at the compound’s center is a mortuary chapel, where it was customary to bless the dead. The chapel is decorated with Classical motifs. A pointed dome crowns the whole structure. (Panublion)

Old Iloilo City Hall/UP Visayas

Miag-ao Cemetery

Guimbal Municipal Hall

San Joaquin Cemetery

Sanson-Montinola House (Jaro)The more interesting house is the Sanson y Montinola Antillan house, a block away from Nelly’s. The house is reminiscent of the Gaston house in Silay, Negros Occidental. The similarities can be explained by the fact that most of the rich families of Iloilo, at one point, all transferred to Bacolod, instigated largely by the spirit of unionism that had workers clamoring for reforms. (NCCA)

Arguelles-Jalandoni House (Jaro)

Jaro Cathedral

Sta. Isabel de Hungria Cathedral
Although the Cathedral is presently named after St. Elizabeth, the patroness of Jaro is Candelaria, whose feast is celebrated on 2 February. The first church and convento of Jaro was built at Alanga. Frs. Francisco de Santa Maria Oliva and Francisco Ramirez laid out new plans for the town and built the parochial buildings, however, they were destroyed when the Dutch attacked on 12 October 1614. Fr. Pedro del Castillo built a new and stronger church and convento (1639-44). The building were damaged by a typhoon around 1686. After a series of slave raids, the town, devastated by the attacks, was transferred to its present site between 1722-44. Fr. Juan Aguado built a church and convento which were damaged by an 1824 earthquake. Fr. José Alvarez restored the church, tower and convento from 1833-35, setting up a brick kiln on the church site for this purpose. Fr. Francisco Aguería drew up plans for a new church, gathered material, had bricks baked and lumber procured from Negros and Iloilo. In 1865, the Augustinians handed over the parish to become the episcopal see of Jaro, Bp. Cuartero implemented Fr. Aguería’s plan. The church was damaged by the earthquake of 1848; of the bell tower all but the first floor remained. Damaged by war, the church was repaired and renovated. The façade was renovated during the Papal visit of John Paul II in 1971, with the addition of a balcony above the main door.
Galende claims that only the remaining portion of the tower and the church plans can be attributed to the Augustinians. Early 20th century photographs show a squat church with a wide central nave and lateral aisles built lower than the nave. From a triangular pediment curved lines link the laterals with the main section of the façade. Pilasters decorate the façade, pairs of them flanking the arched portal. The church has a similar silouhette to Guimbal. The bell tower is separated from the church, in a manner reminiscent of Ilocos churches. The three story structure had a ribbed dome roof, its lower floor was quadrilateral decorated by a clustering of pilasters at the corners. The upper floors also quadrilaterals have truncated corners. Similar clustering of pilasters decorate these higher registers. Oculi, circular and arch windows pierce the stone and brick wall of the tower. Restored recently using reinforced concrete with a brick facing, the present tower departs from the older plan by being more slender and simplifying the ribbed dome. (Panublion)

Dingle Church

Cabatuan Church

San Nicolás de Tolentino Parish
A visita as early as 1719, Cabatuan became a parish 1732, under the advocacy San Nicolás. A church and convento was probably built at the foundation of the parish. But the present church traces to the efforts of Fr. Ramón Alquezar who was named prior in 1833. He remained in Cabatuan until 1865. Another author claims that he died on 22 September 1863, at any rate, the church was completed by Fr. Manuel Ruiz in 1866; restored and decorated by Fr. Manuel Gutierrez. Fr. Juan Porras built the convento in 1876.
Heritage Features: This capacious single nave church is a good example of Neoclassical architecture in its severest form. Except for rectangular carved plaques, the façade’s main decorations are twinned Tuscan pilasters alternating with plain walls pierced by fenestration’s or niches. The flanking bell towers are wide, squat and massive. This impression is reinforced by the dome covering the bell tower. (Panublion)

Janiuay Cemetery

Along the highway connecting Janiuay to the neighboring town of Mina is a cemetery built on a slope. Described at the time it was finished as “the most artistic in the whole country” the builder of this cemetery was Fr. Fernando de Llorente who commenced work in 1874 and completed the whole project after nine years. The archbishop of Manila, Pedro Payo, blessed the cemetery.
Three stairways lead to the three gates of the cemetery, built on a high ground and shored up by a retaining wall. The wall has niches in which 16 six-foot stone santos were enshrined. The cemetery perimeter is surrounded by a brick and wrought iron fence and near this gate stood a Byzantine stone cross. The cross and some statues are missing. On the same axis as the main gate is an octagonal mortuary chapel, covered by a pointed dome roof. The roof has been replaced by nondescript pyramidal roof. Despite the obvious degradation of the chapel, the Gothic features that remain are still stunning–the windows pierced by delicate stone tracery, the spires rising at the eight points of the octagonal building. (Panublion)

Built of gray stone, the Cabatuan Cemetery was built by Fr. Juan Porras. The cemetery was blessed on 4 February 1894. Like Janiuay’s cemetery completed around the same time as Cabatuan’s; this cemetery is also built on a rise and approached through a flight of stairs. Its perimeter is surrounded by a fence of stone and wrought iron; the cemetery also has an octagonal mortuary chapel. The plan may be similar but the style is different. Here Classical and Romanesque elements dominate from the arch entrance of the main gate and its semicircular pediment, the use of arches for windows and door and even the arch shape repeated in the grille work. Baroque touches are evident in the rosettes decorating the gate and the mortuary chapel and the vase finials of the mortuary. Like Janiuay, Cabatuan has lost its dome shaped roof replaced by a flat cement roof. (Panublion)

Lizares Mansion/Angelicum School (Jaro, Iloilo City)

Javellana House (Jaro, Iloilo City)

Old Jaro City Hall

Archbishop’s Palace (Jaro, Iloilo City)

Ledesma Mansion (Jaro, Iloilo)

Lopez-Vito House (Jaro, Iloilo City)

Locsin House (Jaro, Iloilo City)

Sta. Barbara Church

Iloilo Capitol (Iloilo City)

San Joaquin Church

Originally called Suaraga, Soaragam, Suiraga, the settlement was an encomienda under Esteban Rodriguez de Figueroa. Suaraga was a visita of Antique from 1591-92, when it became an independent town. In 1687, a resident priest was assigned to Suaraga. In 1692, Suaraga was made a parish with Miagao as its annex; later, in 1703, Guimbal was annexed to Suaraga; and in 1731 returned to Miagao. Finally in 1793 it became an independent parish and in 1801, Fr. Agustín Rico was assigned resident priest. The present church is attributed to Fr. Tomás Santaren while he was parish priest from 1855-66.
Heritage Features: Built of coral stone quarried from Igbaras, the church is flanked by a three story bell tower to its right and the ruins of a building, probably the convento to its left. The bell tower, however, is now damaged and the upper most story, a construction in reinforced concrete. The two stories of the façade are uneven in height, the second being about one-half the dimension of the first. The first story is decorated with rosettes and divided vertically by engaged columns on tall plinths like Guimbal. Composite capitals crown the columns. A plaque above the arched portal displays the Augustinian seal flanked by cherubs. The second story is plain compared with the lower floor. The façade’s striking feature, however, is the disproportionately large pediment. When Fr. Santarén was still building the church news of the victory of Gen. Leopoldo O’Donnel over the Moroccan Crown Prince Muley Abbas reached Iloilo. The Spaniards recaptured Tetuan. Santarén’s low relief mural captures the excitement of victory where cavalry and infantry are tearing down Moorish defense, near palms and a minaret. The troops are composed in an ascending spiral with figures of horse and rider becomes smaller the higher they reach. Spaces between the figures are filled with vegetation. The title of the composition “Rendición de Tetuan” is carved at the base of this animated relief. (Panublion)

Plaza Libertad In front of the San Jose Church is a wooded plaza, improved during the 20th century with the addition of benches and Classical statuary. The Old World look of the plaza has been greatly degraded, but in its heyday, it was one of Iloilo’s charms.

San Jose Church (Iloilo City)

The first church in Iloilo was built by the Jesuits around 1607 to serve the needs of the military stationed in Punta, as Iloilo was then called. However, on 29 April 1617, the Augustinians established San José, a house of the order. They held San José until 1775 when administration was given to the secular clergy. In 1868, Iloilo along with La Paz (Loboc) was given to the Augustinians in exchange for Jaro which had become the seat of the newly founded diocese. Fr. Mauricio Blanco was named prior in 1873 and he started enlarging and repairing an older church built of light material. Later he decided to build a new church of stone and brick, after the Miguelete church of Valencia del Cid (Spain). However, he was unable to fulfill his plans, and stopped when he had completed two stories. He finished the church, added two towers one with a clock and barometer and built a convent. The towers were begun on 14 November 1893. The church was repaired in 1902 under Fr. Manuel Diez, restored in 1945 under architect and engineer Mariano Cacho following plans by Fr. David Caseres. The altars were gilded by Fr. Jesús Fernandez. During World War II, the church was saved from being bombed by the Americans after they received information that Japanese were not holed in the church as they were previously informed. Between 1980-82 the church was renovated, a new marble floor was laid, under the direction of poet-writer, Fr. Gilbert Centina. San José is one of the few parish in the Philippines still under the Augustinians.
Heritage Features: The church’s appeal lies less in ornamentation and more on the rational modulation of forms and spaces. Typically Renaissance in inspiration, the church façade is neatly divided into proportionate vertical modules, pierced by arch and round apertures. The twin bell towers flanking the façade uses composite capitals and has a balustrade running above the fourth floor. The church interior has an arcade of Corinthian columns supporting a faux barrel vault over the nave and groin vaults over the aisle. The main altar has some Gothic touches. A precious treasure of the church is an image of the Nuestra Señora del Rosario discovered by Diego Quiñones during the Dutch siege of Iloilo on 29 September 1614. The statue was brought by Frs. Jerónimo Alvarado and Juan de Morales to the fort, where a cofradía (confraternity) to the Virgin was established. Damaged by a fire which gutted the church ca. 1850, the image was restored in 1873 and 1907.
Location: Bounded by Sto. Rosario, Zamora and de la Rama Sts

Iloilo Customs Building Occupying a block along Muelle Loney is the Aduana or Customs Building built during the American colonial period. It is a copy of the Immigration building in Manila, whose characteristic is a tall tower that rises at the center of the building.

Molo Church

Molo was a Chinese enclave at the turn of the century. Its Neogothic church is one of the few in Iloilo not built by the Augustinians. The church is attributed to a Chinese mestizo secular, Fr. Locsin. The original church of Molo was built of tabique with a tile roof. Fr. Jose Ma. Sichon replaced it with a temporary church in 1863, probably because the earlier church was damaged. In 1866 plans were presented for approval. Bp. Mariano Cuartero approved construction in 1869.
Heritage Features: The church is an amalgam of Gothic and Renaissance. The plan is fundamentally Renaissance, evident in the arcade of Corinthian columns in the interior, the use of semi-circular arches, and the disposition of space. The church’s height, however, and its narrow width points to affinity with the Gothic. This is further emphasized by the decorative elements, spires, lancets, tracery. The wooden varnished altar, said to have been built around 1930, carry the Gothic theme. On 16 columns supporting the roof are images of female saints, hence the church’s sobriquet as church of women.
In front of the church is plaza with a band stand, a typical plan of Western Visayas towns.
Location: Bounded by Jocson and San Marcos Sts.

Miag-ao Church

In 1993, Miagao church was included in UNESCO’s World Heritage List under the title “Baroque churches of the Philippines.” The town was a visita of Oton until 1580, then annexed to Tigbauan until 1592, to San Joaquin until 1703, Guimbal until 1731 when it was raised to an independent parish. However, it was only 1734 that Miagao had a resident priest, Fr. Fernando Camporredondo. The original town site was by the sea in a place called Ubos (Hiligaynon for lower place). A church and other structures were built around 1734 but in 1741 the church was burnt during a slave raid. Fr. Camporredendo who ministered in Miagao from 1734-37, 44-50 built a second church during his second term. This lasted a handful of years because in 1754, the town was looted and burnt during another raid. Because of its vulnerability to raids, the Augustinians transferred the town up a hill called Tacas. There Fr. Francisco Mayo began building the present church in the year 1786. The structure was completed in 1797. Stones were quarried from San Joaquin and Igbaras. Fr. Francisco Perez added a story to the left tower in 1839. In 1864, Fr. Agustín Escudero restored the church. In 1880 Fr. José Sacristán decorated the interior. Early in the 20th century, the church was burnt during the Philippine American war and used as headquarters and barracks during World War II. The interior of the church was greatly damaged. In 1948, 1959, and in the 1970 the church was restored. Restoration is an ongoing concern as the soft yellow sandstone used in the church erodes easily.
Heritage Features: The flanking towers, massive, and of unequal height gives Miagao the shape of a fortress. However, the finely carved tassels, dangling like fringes from the second and third stories soften the military appearance of the construction. It is the ornamentation of the church that gives it distinction, this is especially true of the façade which designed like a retablo. Above the portal is a niche containing the patronal saint, Santo Tomás. From the niche runs horizontally a band of dentils and rosettes supporting a blind balustrade. The niche is linked to the first story by engaged columns supporting a plinth. These columns which flank the main arch portal are linked to two other columns by downward curved lines. Between the pair of columns are niches with saints. Rococo embellishments ornament the portal and the sides of the outer columns. The pediment is an altogether independent composition. The giant San Cristobal, who ferried people across the river is shown with the Christ child resting on his shoulder. The giant, dressed in breeches, supports himself with a coconut tree, rather than a staff as is traditional. Tropical plants like the papaya and others in vases are arranged in a symmetrical composition around the central figure. The pediment is pierced by oval windows seemingly out of place in the busy composition. All told the façade is a mixture of decorative styles–Classical, Baroque, Rococo–all linked by tropical fantasy in a design uniquely Philippine. For this synthesis and reinterpretation of foreign influences, Miagao church is called a World Heritage Site.
Miagao has a 19th century cemetery worth visiting. A watchtower is found along the shore.
Photos from Ivan Anthony S. Henares
Text from Panublion Heritage Site