Monthly Archives: May 2006

Jose P. Laurel Museum and Memorial Library (Tanauan City, Batangas)

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From the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Jandy and I moved on to the nearby Jose P. Laurel Museum and Library, the home of Jose P. Laurel, the president of the Japanese-sponsored Second Philippine Republic (October 14, 1943-August 17, 1945).  Laurel was born here on March 9, 1891.  The Laurels, being a prominent family, built their residence just walking distance from the cathedral and town hall and 100 m.  from the national road. 

Jose P. Laurel Museum and Memorial Library

Built in 1880, this ancestral house was restored by Jose P. Laurel’s son Mariano and daughter-in-law Alicia on March 9, 1964 and was donated to the national government to serve as a public library.  It also houses Jose P. Laurel’s memorabilia.  The 2-storey house has a ground floor of stone and an upper level of wood with wooden posts, sliding capiz windows and a floor of brightly polished wooden planks. 

The dining room
The living room
Laurel’s office

It was a holiday (Labor Day) during the time of our visit but the caretaker gladly allowed us free rein to tour the areas of the house – the living room (with its prominent bust of Laurel), dining room (with its 8-seater dining table and mounted photo of Laurel delivering a speech) and Laurel’s bedroom (with its antique 4-poster bed) and office (with Laurel’s desk and chair).    Beside an oil painting of Laurel is a wooden harp.  Outside the house is an antique church bell.

Laurel’s bedroom
A wooden harp
The old church bell

Jose P. Laurel Museum and Memorial Library: A. Mabini Ave, Poblacion, Tanauan City, Batangas. Open daily, 8 AM-5 PM.

Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist (Tanauan City, Batangas)

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Jandy and I were now on our way home from our overnight stay in Lipa City.  At a KFC outlet in Tanauan City, we made a short stopover for an early fried chicken lunch.  After lunch, we walked over to the city’s beautiful Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist for some sightseeing.  First built with wood in 1690, it was replaced with stone from 1732-67 and later rebuilt in 1812 by Fr. Ramon Cosio.  
 
Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist
The present structure was built from 1881-98 by Fr. Jose Diaz.  The church was damaged in 1944 and rebuilt in 1948 by Monsignor Marino and Arch. Jose L. Zaragoza in the Romanesque style.  The convent, built in 1872 and also destroyed in 1944, was rebuilt together with the cathedral.
      
The unremarkable modern interior
The cathedral’s simple, High Renaissance and Romanesque facade, resembling the original one, has an ornate Romanesque-style recessed main entrance (resembling layers of lace) supported by 6 sets of elaborately decorated semicircular arched windows, a triangular pediment with a semicircular statued niche and a balustrade supporting statues of saints projecting over stone bases from the frieze.   The rounded arches tapering down to the strong pillars harmonize with the uncluttered lines of the central ceiling.  The church is also noted for its wide open central nave and circular niches. The churchyard has life-size tableaus of the 14 Stations of the Cross.  Its bell tower, mounted on the horizontal extension of the facade, is topped by a Baroque-style dome.
 
Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist: A. Mabini Ave., Brgy. 1, Poblacion, Tanauan City, Batangas.