Category Archives: Architecture

Immaculate Conception Cathedral (Pasig City, Metro Manila)

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Immaculate Conception Cathedral

The mother church  and the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Pasig, the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, also called the Pasig Cathedral, is one of the oldest structures in the city. This church was first built by Augustinian missionaries in 1575.  Initially consecrated to the Visitation of Our Lady (consecrated on July 2, 1573), on April 25, 1587, the parish was changed to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, the patroness of the Augustinian priests during that time.

The Neo-Classical and Colonial Baroque facade

The present structure, started before 1639, was said to have been finished during the brief British occupation of Manila from 1722 to 1747 (when it was converted into horses’ stables and served as the British military headquarters) and its belfry used as a watchtower against the Spanish defenders.  In 1764, it underwent repairs.

Historical Plaque

The stone convent was built by Fr. Felix Trillo.  In 1879, the church was restored by Fr. Simon Barroso who also replaced the roof with galvanized iron. From 1910 to 1979, the parish was administered by the CICM Fathers, after which the Filipino clergy took over the pastoral leadership of the parish.

The four-storey bell tower

In 2000, the Immaculate Conception Cathedral was declared one of the Jubilee churches in the Archdiocese of Manila (the parish was a part of this archdiocese until August 21, 2003 when the district was elevated as a separate and independent diocese on October 2001, with the elevation of the parish into the status of a cathedral).

Porta Sancta

On December 7, 2008, the Solemn Canonical Coronation of its patron as Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception of Pasig  was led by Edward Joseph Adams (the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines), the Bishop of Pasig, and the entire faithful in the diocese.

The cathedral interior

In February 2021, as part of the Celebration of the 500th year anniversary of the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines, the cathedral was named as a Jubilee Church in the Diocese of Pasig along with the Diocesan Shrine of St. Martha and Parish of St. Roch in Pateros and the Archdiocesan Shrine of St. Anne in Taguig City.

The choir loft

The main altar and retablo

On March 25, 2022, after a 7 year-long restoration and renovation of the cathedral (including the addition of ceiling paintings), the cathedral was inaugurated and blest by Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara.

Ceiling painting

Its plain Neo-Classical and Colonial Baroque façade has triglyphs that separate the first level from the second and third level; semicircular arched doors and windows, and small rose windows and the Augustinian symbol of the stylized heart on the second level.

Left side altar

Right side altar

Its triangular pediment, with its centrally located statued niche and supported by slender Doric columns, is topped by a Renaissance-influenced min-balustrade lacing the raking cornice.  The massive five-level bell tower is located on the church’s left.

Old church bells

Candle gallery

Immaculate Conception Cathedral: Justice Hubson St., Plaza Rizal, Brgy. Malinao, Pasig City 1600, Metro Manila.   Tel: (632) 8641-1784 and (632) 8864-6197.  Fax: (632) 641-3460. E-mail: iccpasigdop@gmail.com.

Bahay Nakpil-Bautista (Quiapo, Manila)

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Bahay Nakpil Bautista

Our Quiapo Heritage Walk ended at the stately and elegant Bahay Nakpil-Bautista (Nakpil-Bautista House), one of the old heritage houses found in the district of Quiapo, Manila. As it was still open, Jandy and I, as well as other participants of the Quiapo Heritage Walk, decided to explore it.

Check out “Quiapo Heritage Walk”

The house is typical of its period,with wood and stone as primary construction materials.  Typical of many Manila houses of the period, it had two entrances–a large wooden street door (postigo) and a large iron gate that leads to the Estero de Quiapo behind.

Estero de Quiapo

A perfect example of “adaptive reuse” (where old structures find new life and new uses so they remain relevant to the present time), Bahay Nakpil-Bautista was a bahay na bato built in 1914 by Arcadio Arellano (architect of the Gota de Leche Building) for Dr. Ariston Linpingco Bautista (1863 – 1928), a known physician, patriot (he was a member of the Propaganda Movement), philanthropist and patron of the arts.

Check out “Gota de Leche Building: A Heritage Conservation Success Story”

Ariston Bautista

Dr. Ariston Bautista was also one of the first professors in the University of the Philippines College of Medicine. He discovered a treatment similar to paregoric, which helped end the cholera epidemic that plagued the country in 1880.  He was also the founding President of Germinal Cigar and Cigarette Company. His wife, the painter and jewelry designer Petrona Nakpil, was one of the first women artists in Quiapo.

National Historical Institute (NHI) Plaque

Originally, there were two houses sitting on two lots (with a total area of 500 sq. m.). On August 25, 2011, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines declared the house as a National Historical Landmark.

The Tahanan ng mga Katipunero exhibit at the zaguan

Today, the house is a museum showcasing items of the Katipunan, paintings, among others. After a long closure due to the COVID pandemic, the museum reopened last November 30, 2021.  The exhibits were set up by architect Dr. Mary Ann Venturina-Bulanadi, a UST interior design professor, interior designer and cultural heritage restorer.

The zaguan or garahe

We first entered the lower storey of the house, with its thin (21 cm.), narrow, brick walls pressed together by wooden studs.It now houses the Tahanan ng mga Katipunero, a permanent exhibition which was curated and opened in 2014, during the 100 years celebration of the house. Before that, the house used to be a dorm, a halfway house and even a pansiteria.

The altar housing the replica of the Nazareno.  At the back is the old workshop (plateria)

Upon paying the admission fee, we were assigned a lady volunteer guide for our 45-min. tour.  The cavernous zaguan or garahe (parking area for horse-drawn carriages and, later, cars) has flooring made of piedra china (stones used as weights in trade ships that disembarked in Manila).  A mirror, a traditional innovation (similar to a modern-day CCTV camera), was propped on the ceiling (near the wooden guide), enabling the house occupants to see anyone standing outside the door.

Replica of the Black NNazarene

On the farthest side was a replica of the original Black Nazarene (Nazareno) statue of Quiapo Church which was brought to the zaguan areaof Nakpil-Bautista House during the bombings of World War II to prevent it from being destroyed or looted.  Behind the statue was the plateria (old workshop for designing jewelry).

The old plateria (workshop)

Bahay Nakpil-Bautista was the home of fine jewelry makers (Plateria Nakpil). Before World War II, he atelier’s artisans handcrafted outstanding pieces of gold-and-diamond jewelry (such as Art Deco, flower-inspired pieces set in white gold) which were highly prized by Manila society from the 1900s until it closed in the 1960s.

Puente de Claveria, Tuberias and Tranvia, El Renacimiento and La Quinta

Visual aids also illustrate the history of Quiapo and its notable landmarks, some still existing and others long gone, such as the Quiapo Church, Puente de Claveria, Tuberias,Tranvia, El Renacimiento, La Quinta,schools, the Enriquez and Santiago Houses, Golden Mosque, Life Theater and Main Theater.

Julio Nakpil

Ariston and Petrona were a childless couple so they invited her brothers Julio and Ramon, with their families, and Francisco (a life-long bachelor) to share the house.  Francisco Nakpil (1865 – 1906), an expert platero (silversmith), was a member of the reform movements La Liga Filipina and Cuerpo de Compromisario.

Machuca Tiles

Machuca tiles from Mexico led us to a short flight of stairs going up to entresuelo (raised area or mezzanine floor) whose the cuarto (bedroom), sala (living room) and patio served as the residence of musical composer Julio Nakpil (1877 – 1960)

Antesala leading to Julio’s and Gregoria’s quarters

Julio was the president of the Northern Council of the Katipunan who was a pianist who composed Marangal ng Dalit ng Katagalugan (“Noble Hymn of the Tagalog Nation,” this would have been the national anthem had Andres Bonifacio lived to be president).

Gregoria de Jesus

After Bonifacio’s death, he married his widow Gregoria de Jesus (1873 – 1943), organizer of the women’s chapter of the Katipunan (nicknamed Oryang, she was the “Lakambini” or First Lady of the Katipunan).

Julio and Gregoria’s bedroom

Gregoria and Julio had six children.  The children’s room, with persiana (sliding louvered panels), has now been converted into an activity area for local kids where they can read books and listen to stories.

Children’s Room

Juan Felipe Nakpil (1899 – 1980), their son and godson of Francisco, was the architect of Quiapo Church after the 1929 fire.  In 1973, he became a National Artist for Architecture. At the southern side of the zaguan, a staircase leads to another suite of apartments where Ramon, Julio’s youngest sibling, lived with his family.

Juan Nakpil- National Artist for Architecture

Angel Nakpil

According to our guide, the house was not called Tahanan ng mga Katipunero because it was a meeting place of the Katipuneros.  Instead, it was called such because it was the home of these key figures in Philippine history. Other prominent people who lived there include Angel Nakpil (1914 – 1979), the first cousin of Juan, who was the architect of the National Press Club Building and the Picache Building (Manila’s first skyscraper).

Grand Staircase

Visual aids at the zaguan also tell the story of these famous house residents. After our tour of the ground floor, we all proceeded to the descanso (main stairway landing), then went up to the caida (hall) of the second floor (measuring 22.45 by 15.9 m. excluding the kitchen and azotea) which was built with wood (to resist earthquakes), aired by large calados and shaded by sufficient media aguas. Two orchestras (the doctor loved to throw parties) could play in the public rooms.

Top of the staircase

In the past, ladies who ascended the stairs would have to carry the extended hems and frills of their saya over their arms.  Upon reaching the top steps of the caida, they would make their grand entrance by letting down (incidentally, the word caida means “fallen”) the trains of their dresses and then wait at the ante sala (anteroom) before they could proceed to the sala or comedor.

The Red Roof (1971, crayon on collage) by Fernando N. Zialcita, son of Mercedes Nakpil-Zialcita, daughter of Julio

Two Forest Birds (1964, print woodblock) by Milagros Sy Faustino, daughter of Caridad Nakpil Santos-Viola,

The house is also decorated with contemporary works of art by Ral Arogante, Egai Roxas, Fidel Sarmiento, and Manny Garibay as well as Nakpil descendants such as Assunta Nakpil, Mark L. Mallari, Caridad Nakpil Santos-Viola, Fernando N. Zialcita,  Arlene de Castro, Francisco J. Nakpil, Tapales, Maria Milagros Sy Faustino and Dominic Sy Faustino.

Exhibit of Ding Royales paintings. In the foreground is “Sueno Eterno” while on the left is Cefiro, 1888 (15 x 20, mixed media – collage)

One room displays a number of paintings of Marcos Antonino “Ding” Royales XI, a volunteer artist for Bahay Nakpil-Bautista since 2013.  He also conducts art classes there.  

Sala (Living Room)

The hall had doors on all four sides leading to the surrounding rooms – the comedor (dining room), sala (living room) and the two suites of cuartos (bedrooms).

Two sets of doors slide, like Japanese shoji screens, on sills, to be pushed on the sides, creating a wide room with a series of doorways opening vistas extending from street to the estero behind the house.

The wide exterior window, made of Philippine hardwood with capis shell panes, brought in plenty of light. Ventanillas allow air to circulate at feet level.

A butaka

Juan Luna’s celebrated Impressionist painting, “The Parisian Life,” a gift of Juan Luna to Dr. Ariston Bautista, was originally displayed on the wall of the sala. The original painting, formerly displayed at the GSIS Museum, is now at the National Museum of Fine Arts.

Replica of “The Parisian Life” of Juan Luna

Today, in its place, a reproduction hangs in the same spot while a life-size cut-out of the lady in the painting, identified as a courtesan or prostitute (representing “fallen womanhood”), is seated at the sofa.

Check out “National Museum of Fine Arts”

Life-size cut out of the seated courtesan featured in “The Parisian Life”

The comedor houses an antique 24-pax dining table and display cabinet with fine china.  It leads to azotea overlooking the estero where, during formal dinners, the children had their own table.

The Comedor (Dining Room)

The nearby pantry houses  an antique, hand-cranked coffee grinder and hand-carved kitchen utensils such as kutsaron (small dipper), sandok (medium dipper), sandok sa kawa (large cauldron dipper), sandok (ladle), panghalo (cauldron ladle), palu-palo (mallet), paleta (spatula) and a salaan (srainer), all belonging to Oryang.

The antique, hand-cranked coffee grinder of Oryang

Here, one could simply shout out to peddlers on passing provincial cascos (merchant boats) when interested in buying their goods. Oryang would also fish at this then clean and abundant Pasig River estuary.

China cabinet at Comedor (Dining Room)

The Dambana ni Oriang has three oil on paper paintings, done by Fred Esquilo, of Gregoria de Jesus-Nakpil.

Dambana ni Oriang

The first painting, Ang Rebolusyonara (The Revolutionary), highlights her role as a revolutionary and keeper of the Katipunan’s documents.

Ang Rebolusyonara (The Revolutionary)

The second painting,  Ang Dalawang Kasal (The Two Marriages), highlights her role as wife to Andres Bonifacio and Julio Nakpil.

Ang Dalawang Kasal (The Two Marriages)

The third painting, Ang Ina (The Mother), highlighted her role as a doting mother who loved to cook.

Ang Ina (The Mother)

It was said that she could recreate a dish after she had tasted it just once. Framed reproductions of hand-written recipes of her morcon are hung on the wall.

Oryang’s payneta, an ornamental, tortoise shell hair comb

She is also portrayed reading to her grandchildren stories from Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang (published in Liwayway Magazine) at the azotea of their house.

The library, now the Bulwagan ng Katipunan,  with flags of the Katipunan and a portrait (left) of Andres Bonifacio on the wall.  The table doubled as the Katipunero’s ballot box.

The library, now the Bulwagan ng Katipunan, displays paintings, by the Contempo group, of Katipunero soldiers; vitrines showcasing the Kartilya ng Katipunan,  a collection of Katipunan flags, documents written in blood, a vintage safe, a sky roof; plus other memorabilia of the revolutionary movement.

Vitrines showcasing Ang Kartilya ng Katipunan

A timeline cabinet here shows the Philippine Revolution vis-a-vis the democratic revolutions in the West and Asia .

Paintings of Katipunan Soldiers (Contempo Group)

Furniture within includes an interesting table which doubled as the Katipunero’s ballot box, and three chairs where Andres Bonifacio, Apolinario Mabini and Jose Rizal sat when the La Liga Filipina was founded in 1892. 

An antique wall safe

Dr. Bautista inkwell and jewelry case of Petrona.

The Joyeria Nakpil (southwest corner room), the oficina (office) next to the library, used to be the office for the Nakpil’s jewelry business.  Here, Petrona , who handled customer relations and sales for Plateria Nakpil, would meet clients in this special room.

Joyeria Nakpil

During our tour of the second floor, we met and chatted with Ms. Ma. Paz “Bobbi” Nakpil Santos-Viola, current president of Bahay Nakpil-Bautista Foundation, Inc., who now manages the house.  She used to work at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York City, USA but decide to return to the Philippines over 10 years ago.

The author with Ms. Bobbi Nakpil Santos-Viola

She is also the middle daughter of Caridad Nakpil Santos Viola, the youngest daughter of Gregoria de Jesus and Julio Nakpil.  Her father, Carlos Santos Viola, the nephew of Maximo Viola, is known and recognized for his Gothic-inspired Iglesia ni Cristo houses of worship.

JJandy with Ms. Bobbi Nakpil Santos-Viola

The house does not have ornate decorative details. Its inspiration is the Vienna Secession, a 1900s European art movement style with a contemporary character not well known in the Philippines during this time. The Austrian version of Art Nouveau, it was made known by Gustav Klimt and Otto Wagner. It encouraged plurality and favors clean lines, symmetry and geometry.

Natural forms, such as vines and flora, were reinterpreted in a very linear manner and abstract fashion than the representational, curvilinear forms of the Art Nouveau preferred by Filipinos. After Ariston Bautista and Petrona received a gift, from the Prieto family, of Secession furniture (high-backed chairs, low sala table, a desk, vitrines and glass-walled cabinets to display porcelain and crystalware), Ariston asked Arellano to designed their entire house around the furniture motifs.

Vienna Succession-inspired grille

The window grilles, overlooking the estero, have vertical floral stems with flowers sized to small squares.  The ventanillas (grilles) facing the street display abstract interpretation of the highly stylized lyres. The upper exterior wooden wall, as well as the wooden stair railings and window grilles, are simply decorated with a band of small, recessed square insets on long vertical bars. On the calado (tracery) of the interior transom walls are abstract interpretations of the kiyapo plant.

Kiyapo-inspired calado

After the house was finished, Dr. Bautista designed new furniture with the same motifs and had them executed by his Pampango carpenter in residence. However, in the 1970s, these original furniture were divided among the heirs. Some of the present pieces were commissioned to suit the museum’s purposes.

Room which could be used for seminars

Today, the Bahay serves as an arts and culture space for select events (Php4,000 for two hours, inclusive of electricity and water), photo shoots and activities for the community, hosting cultural performances, lectures, and discussions on history and heritage, and art exhibits.  The type of event to be held is studied to ensure that it is respectful to the house’s history.

Bahay Nakpil-Bautista: 432 A. Bautista St.(formerly Barbosa St.), Quiapo, Manila 1001.Tel: (632) 8731-9305. E-mail: info@bahaynakpil.org. Website: www.bahaynakpil.org. Mobile number: (0917) 851-7455.  Open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays (except holidays), 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM.   Admission: Php80 (Php50 for senior citizens and students).  Coordinates: 14.598404°N 120.984739°E.

How to Get There: Board a jeepney bound for Quiapo and get off at the corner of Hidalgo St. and Quezon Blvd.. Walk towards Hidalgo St. (east side going to the Minor Basilica of San Sebastian) and then turn left at A. Bautista St..

Minor Basilica of San Sebastian (Manila)

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Minor Basilica of San Sebastian

The earthquake-proof Minor Basilica of San Sebastian (better known as San Sebastian Church), an example of the Gothic Revival architecture in the Philippines, is the first and only steel building in the Philippines and in Asia, the second in the world after the Eiffel Tower of Paris and probably the first prefabricated building in the world.

The basilica complex

It is the church of the Parish of San Sebastian and also a Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Nuestra Senora del Monte Carmelo) and is under the care of the Order of Augustinian Recollects (who also operate the San Sebastian College-Recoletos adjacent to the basilica).

The author with son Jandy

This church was originally founded by Fr. Rodrigo de San Miguel as a nipa and bamboo church in 1621 (on land donated by Bernardino Castillo, a generous patron and a devotee of the 3rd-century Roman martyr Saint Sebastian). The original structure, made of wood, burned in 1651 during a Chinese Filipino uprising and rebuilt with bricks with a single tower. Succeeding structures, which were built of brick, were destroyed by fire and earthquakes in 1859, June 3, 1863 and July 19, 1880.

The Neo-Gothic facade

In the 1880s, Fr. Esteban Martínez, the parish priest of the ruined church, proposed construction of a new church and approached Spanish Engineer Genaro Palacios y Guerra to build a church that will withstand the earthquakes. Planning to build a fire and earthquake-resistant structure made entirely of steel, Palacios completed a design that fused Earthquake Baroque with the Neo-Gothic style.

Augustinian Recollect Fr. Jesús Pastor Paloma noted that the bottom part of the church was designed to resemble a ship’s hull, so that it would sway during an earthquake.  Palacio’s final design was said to have been inspired by the famed 14th century Gothic Burgos Cathedral in Burgos, Spain.

Side entrance

It has long been reputed that Gustave Gustave Eiffel, the French engineer behind the Eiffel Tower and the steel structure within the Statue of Liberty, was himself also rumored to have been involved in the design and construction of San Sebastián, but this was never confirmed.

One of the twin openwork bell towers with pyramidal spires

However, later on it was confirmed that Eiffel was involved in designing and supplying the metal framework for San Ignacio Church in Intramuros, thus confirming the contribution of Eiffel in Philippine church architecture, if not in the Minor Basilica of San Sebastián.

The church was started by Fr. Gregorio Serma while the 52 metric tons (51 long tons; 57 short tons) of prefabricated steel sections manufactured in Binche, Belgium were ordered from the Societe anonyme des Enterprises de Travaux Publiques in Brussels by Fr. Toribio Minguella, imported, piece by piece, in eight separate shipments (total load: 50,000 tons) from Antwerp to Manila.

In 1888, the first shipment arrived and Belgian engineers supervised the assembly of the church, the first column of which was erected on September 11, 1890 under the supervision of Fr. Bernardo Muros.   To achieve greater stability and regulate the church’s exterior temperature, the walls were filled with mixed sand, gravel and cement.

Historical Reasearch and Landmarks Committee plaque installed in 1934

According to Fr. Paloma, the church was also supposed to have a prefabricated retablo (reredos) altar.  However, it was lost at sea when the ship carrying it from Belgium capsized in a storm so a wooden altar was made locally in its stead. The foundation was done by a French contractor, construction was supervised by a British foreman while the floors were done by Chinese craftsmen.

Plaque installed by the National Museum in 2011 declaring the basilica as a National Cultural Treasure Plaque

The church was finally completed by Fr. Francisco Moreno. On June 24, 1890, it was granted minor basilica status by Pope Leo XIII and, on August 16, 1891, the Basílica Menor de San Sebastián was blessed by Bernardino Nozaleda y Villa , OP, the 25th Archbishop of Manila.

Rust – the number one enemy of steel

Sitting on a 704 sq. m. site, it has central nave 12 m. (39 ft.) from the floor to the springing dome and 32 m. (105 ft.) to the tip of the spires.  The basilica has two openwork towers with pyramidal spires and steel vaulting. The interior, incorporating groined vaults in the Gothic architecture style (permitting very ample illumination from lateral windows), was repainted to make it appear like faux marble.

To give the appearance of marble and jasper, the steel columns, walls and ceiling were painstakingly painted by Lorenzo Rocha (multi-awarded portraitist and royal court painter) and turn-of-the-century artists Isabelo Tampingco and Félix Martínez.

The trompe-l’œil paintings of saints, angels, evangelists and martyrs were done by the students of the Academia de Dibujo, Pintura y Arte headed by Lorenzo Rocha. True to the Gothic revival spirit of the church, the confessionals, pulpit, altars and five retablos were designed by Lorenzo Guerrero and Rocha. The statues of holy men and women were carved by sculptor Eusebio Garcia while the six holy water fonts were each crafted from marble obtained from Romblon.

The beautiful stained glass windows, depicting the life and story of Jesus Christ, were imported from the Heinrich Oidtmann Company, a German stained glass firm (local artisans assisted in applying the finishing touches).

The basilica interior

Inside, on a prominent place above the main altar, is the image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Nuestra Señora del Carmen).  A gift of the Discalced Carmelite Sisters from San Jose Monastery in Mexico City, it was brought here in 1617 by Recollect Reverend Fr. Provincial Rodrigo de San Miguel.  The image survived all the earthquakes and fires which had destroyed previous incarnations of San Sebastian Church but, unfortunately, its original ivory head was stolen in 1975.

The main altar with the image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. At the back you can see the scaffolding used for the Phase 1 restoration

Devotion of this image (feast day on July 16) was propagated in conjunction with the wearing of the scapular which promised the wearer quick deliverance from the suffering of purgatory. During the translacion of the annual Feast of the Black Nazarene in January, the image of Our Lady meets the Black Nazarene in the so-called dungaw.

On August 1, 1973, through Presidential Decree No. 260, it was declared a National Historical Landmark by President Ferdinand Marcos. On August 15, 2011, with the unveiling of the marker on January 20, 2012, the church was declared a National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum of the Philippines.

The vaulted ceiling

On May 16, 2006, on account of its architectural and historical heritage, the Minor Basilica of San Sebastian was included by the National Historical Institute (now the National Historical Commission of the Philippines) in the Philippines’ Tentative List for possible designation as a World Heritage Site. As of 2017, the church is no longer included in the Tentative List.

The intricately designed rose window above the choir loft

In recent years, the steel structure has encountered threats to its structural integrity in the form of rust and corrosion due to sea breezes from nearby Manila Bay. In 1982, when state funding was accorded to the church through the National Historical Institute, restoration was undertaken. Likewise, the Augustinian Recollect community has expended funds for the church’s maintenance and restoration.

During the 2000 and 2010 World Monuments Watch (a global program of the World Monuments Fund), it was placed, along with the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras and Santa Maria Church, on the biennial watch list of the 100 Most Endangered Sites. In 2011, after the passage of the National Cultural Heritage Act, all of the sites were taken off the list.

The pulpit designed by Lorenzo Guerrero and Lorenzo Rocha

It used to be in the UNESCO tentative list but, in 2015, was removed due to structural decay. To re-establish the site’s integrity and re-inclusion in the tentative list, the basilica will have to undergo another massive restoration program.

The basilica’s pipe organ which was constructed as a pure pneumatical organ by Walcker in 1914.  After World War II, a new console was added.

After an exhaustive two-and-a-half year diagnostic study (funded by a 2012 grant from the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation, made possible by the U.S. State Department), using state-of-the-at equipment and science, it was found that there were 300 leaks in the building with up to 3 m. of rainwater collected in the church’s hollow columns.

The Gothic-inspired confessionals also designed by Lorenzo Guerrero and Lorenzo Rocha

Some of the leaks have already been taken care of by a team of hired graduates from Escuela Taller, a craft school for economically challenged youth.  Advanced stages of corrosion have also caused parts of the basilica (around 40 kgs. of steel) to literally fall off.

Scaled model of the basilica

With regards the stained glass windows, some soiling, sagging, missing panes and a few cracked frames were noted.  Talks are ongoing with the Heinrich Oidtmann Company, the German firm that supplied the stained glass, to convince the studio to run a training program to teach Filipinos how to make the colored glass.

Stained glass window depicting scenes from the life of Jesus Christ

The trompe-l’œil ceiling is another concern as corrosion has caused the delicate oil-based paintings on the steel canvas to flake. A varnish treatment on one of the panels done 20 years ago may delay the deterioration of both the panel and its painting.

The San Sebastian Basilica Conservation and Development Foundation is looking to a complete and comprehensive restoration in a little over 10 years. Phase 1 (repairs to the dome and roof), from 2022 to 2026, is now ongoing with some areas sealed off beginning 2021.

Scene depicting Jesus carrying his cross

A 24-m. high, custom-made scaffolding has been installed, allowing assessment and repair of the dome columns and its surrounding area (dome crockets, stained glass windows and original paintings).  Phase 2 is projected for 2027 to 2029 while Phase 3 is scheduled for 2030 to 2033.

Another greater threat looms over the horizon.  On October 1, 2018, it was revealed that Summithome Realty Corporation was planning to construct University Home Recto, a 31-storey residential high rise building beside the historic church.  As the area around the church is integral to the site as a “buffer zone,” it would negatively affect the site’s possible re-inclusion in the UNESCO tentative list.

Check out  my Business Mirror article “Seriously Saving San Sebastian”

With the looming threat of the high-rise building, the site’s inclusion in the UNESCO tentative list is bleak as, without the site managers being initially informed, Summithome was able to acquire a barangay clearance supporting their application for a building permit from the barangay chairman.

Minor Basilica of San Sebastian: Pasaje del Carmen St., Plaza del Carmen (at the eastern end of C.M. Recto Avenue), Quiapo, 1001 Manila.  Tel: (632) 734-8908, 734-8931, 742-3510 and 742-3331.  Fax: (632) 736-1185.  E-mail: sansebastianparish@gmail.com. Coordinates: 14°35′59″N 120°59′21″E.

Old Legislative Building (Manila)

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The monumental Old Legislative Building (also the Old Congress Building), now the home of the National Museum of Fine Arts (operated by the National Museum of the Philippines since 1996), was formerly the home of the bicameral congress from 1926 to 1972, and the Philippine Senate from 1987 to 1997. The building was originally designed by Ralph Harrington Doane (Consulting Architect of the Bureau of Public Works, precursor of the Department of Public Works and Highways). Doane, with the assistance of Antonio Mañalac Toledo, originally designed the building as the future home of the National Library of the Philippines, according to the plan of Manila of Daniel H. Burnham.

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Old Legislative Building – West Facade

Began in 1918, it was built under the supervision of the architecture firm of Pedro Siochi and Company but construction was delayed due to lack of funds. In 1926, the Philippine Legislature (established on October 16, 1916) decided to move into the Library building and changes to the building’s layout were done accordingly by architect Juan M. Arellano who added the fourth floor and the chambers for legislators, changed the central façade and incorporated the ornamentation and sculptural work.

The Neo-Classical facade

On July 16, 1926, the building was inaugurated with the formal opening of the Second Regular Session of the 7th Philippine Legislature  in the presence of Governor-General Leonard Wood, then Senate President Manuel L. Quezon, House Speaker Manuel Roxas, and Colonel Carmi A. Thompson (envoy of United States President Calvin Coolidge). From 1928 to 1944, it was concurrently the headquarters of the National Library.

In 1935, the Commonwealth of the Philippines was proclaimed and the inauguration of President Manuel L. Quezon was held outside the building which became the home of the National Assembly of the Philippines (it was subsequently known as the National Assembly Building). In 1940, a bicameral Congress of the Philippines, consisting of a Senate and House of Representatives, replaced the National Assembly, with the Senate occupying the upper floors and the House occupying the lower floors. The building would serve as home of the Commonwealth Congress until 1945.

East facade

In February 1945, during World War II, Japanese forces used the building and its premises as their stronghold, modifying it with defensive installations. Surrounding the building were obstacles, roadblocks, trenches, pillboxes and barbed wire and guns and other heavy machine guns were strategically installed on the building floors. For several days until February 27, the American forces bombarded the building with artillery fire and the building’s north and south wings were heavily damaged. Most of the structure was beyond repair, except for the still-standing central portion.

Pediment at east facade

In 1946, with the inauguration of the Republic of the Philippines, the building was rebuilt, mostly from memory and with the aid of a few remaining blueprints, by the U.S. Philippine War Damage Corporation who maintained its original building four-storey height, footprint and dimensions but with less ornate interior and exterior ornamentation. Reconstruction began in 1949 and, that same year, the Congress moved back in. In 1950, the two wings of the building were completed.

Historical plaque (Old Legislative Building) installed by the National Historical Commission in 2010

The building, now known as the Congress Building, continuously served as home of the Congress of the Philippines until 1972 when the Congress was effectively dissolved and the building was padlocked with the declaration of martial law. For a short time, the fourth floor of the building became home of the offices of the Prime Minister of the Philippines (a position established under the 1973 Constitution of the Philippines).  Offices of various government branches were also housed here, with the Ombudsman occupying the third floor, the National Museum on the second floor, and the Sandiganbayan on the ground floor. For the duration of that time, the building was called the Executive House.

Historical plaque (Pambansang Museo) installed by the National Historical Institute in 2001

With the ratification of the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines, the Congress of the Philippines was reestablished with the Senate using the original Congress Building for their plenary sessions until May 1997 (when it moved to the Government Service Insurance System Building on reclaimed land on Manila Bay in Pasay)) and the House of Representatives moving to the Batasang Pambansa Complex in Constitution Hill, Quezon City.   The former office of the Prime Minister was taken as the Office of the Vice-President.

Bronze statue of Sergio Osmena, sitting on a marble pedestal created by Federico S. Ilustre, was created by Guillermo Tolentino and cast by Fonderia Berdicando Marinelle in Italy.  It was unveiled in 1966.  In 2019, this statue was declared as an Important Cultural Property by the National Museum of the Philippines.

In 1998, the building was then turned over to the National Museum of the Philippines. On September 30, 2010, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) declared the building as a “National Historical Landmark” by virtue of Resolution No. 8 (dated September 30, 2010). A marker commemorating the declaration was unveiled on October 29, 2010.

Bronze statue of Manuel L. Quezon, sitting on a marble pedestal created by Federico S. Ilustre, was created by Guillermo Tolentino and cast by Fonderia Berdicando Marinelle in Italy.  It was unveiled in 1965. In 2019, this statue was declared as an Important Cultural Property by the National Museum of the Philippines.

On October 29, 2012, the restored old Senate Session Hall was inaugurated after a two-year restoration project aimed to bring back its pre-war architectural glory that is intended to be part of the learning tours of museum visitors. On July 16, 2019, the NHCP unveiled the Philippine Flag Hoisting marker to honor the site’s historic value. In view of this, the Philippine Flag is to be permanently hoisted and lighted at night at the National Museum of Fine Arts.

The author at the Old Legislative Building

The four-storey building has a rectangular plan with a layout oriented with its line of symmetry in an east-west axis, longitude in a north-south axis, and its main entrances on the east and the west. Courtyards at the north and south flank the building’s central core spaces. Organized around these courtyards are the associated rooms, with single volume hallways east and west, and double volume hallways north and south. Staircases are located at both ends of the entrance halls and the four corners of the building.

The columned portico, at the second floor, signals the west entrance which is accessed via a flight of stairs and the carriageway ramp coming from ground level along Padre Burgos Street. The west portico has four Corinthian columns that rise the full height of the building.

Entrance lobby

The Neo-Classical  façade is articulated with giant Corinthian columns and pilasters rising from the second floor level to the height of the two storeys of the building, with the first storey resembling the one-storey high plinth where these columns and pilasters rest.

Bronze statue of President Manuel A. Roxas, created by Guillermo Tolentino, was cast by Fonderia Berdicando Marinelle in Italy.  Commissioned by Gerardo M. Roxas in 1968, it was unveiled in the lobby on April 15, 2016.

The columns and pilasters surrounding the entire wall are topped by decorative entablatures.  The projecting central bay, featuring a group of four columns, has corbelled balconies on the third level. Another group of four columns, with similar Corinthian capitals, are also featured at the corner bays.

Fenestrations consist of rectangular windows decorated with grillwork.  Except for the west central bay with the columned portico, both the east and west façades are identical. Identical east and west pediments, with relief sculptures, surmount the central part of the building. Relief sculptures on the tympanum of the pediment, depicting “Inang Bayan” surrounded by Greek deities, emphasizes grandeur and nationalism and ennobles the edifice. From the west and south of the building, respectively, you can enjoy a splendid view of Intramuros and Rizal Park.

Statue of Diwata , a sculpture of a winged fairy done in reinforced concrete by Guillermo Tolentino, welcomes visitors tot the museum.

An arched porte-cochere, protecting the east entrance at the ground level, is approached via the east driveway from the present east open space (formerly a southward radial road with Agrifina Circle as its terminus).

Old Legislative Building: Padre Burgos Avenue, Ermita, Manila 1000, Metro Manila. Coordinates: 14°35′13″N 120°58′52″E.

Co Ban Kiat Buiding (Binondo, Manila)

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The Co Ban Kiat Buiding, standing in a busy portion of Juan Luna Street in what was once called “Chinatown’s Wall Street,” was the former SJ Wilson Building, named after the American expatriate Samuel J. Wilson who was behind the printing business Carmelo and Bauermann before World War II.

Co Ban Kiat Building

Built in 1937, the SJ Wilson Building, in its heyday, also housed the Standard and Chartered Bank, the Manila Stock Exchange and even the Japanese Consulate General. In 2011, the building came under the ownership of Binondo-based Co Ban Kiat Inc. (CBCI), the biggest supplier of hardware in the Philippines for retail, commercial and industrial projects.

Our guide Mr. S.J. Go of Renacimiento Manila narrating the history of the building

Initially, company president Johnny O. Cobankiat, the third-generation scion, as well as his colleagues in the real-estate industry and immediate family members, had no inkling of the building’s architectural and heritage value. Not seeing any value in it, they saw demolition as the most convenient way to redevelop the property. Fortunately, the owner was convinced by Deogracias B. Degala, the in-house architect, and other conscientious minds to take the path of conservation.

During the two-year, trial-and-error restoration, a full diagnosis of the building’s structural integrity was undertaken.   Also, for the refurbishment of the façade, interiors and ceiling roof, the owner and architect were guided by the principle of keeping as much of the original details as possible. No details were removed, and ornaments, such as the cornices, moldings and the striped pilasters were restored.

In keeping with texture that followed the patina of the old building, the late 1930s period, Art Deco, boxy and geometric façade was painted with China white, an off-white/light-beige tone. Now, heritage-conservation advocates and concerned members of the Chinatown community are celebrating this building’s rebirth.

Viewing this building’s massive bulk from the street, the heavy façade of the Co Ban Kiat Building, looming like a behemoth, is somehow softened by its tall, rectangular, encased windows protected by original wrought-iron grillwork.

The main entrance, along obscure Nimfa Street, is located at the southern portion of the building’s façade. Its doorway, flanked by a pair of Ionic columns and topped with an escutcheon, opens up the ground floor and main office of the company. Welcoming customers at the main entrance are details from the original company address on Quintin Paredes Street (ironically torn down) such as the old glass panels, originally a form of street-level advertising, with the embellished gold-gilt company name.

The still original decorative window grilles

The design firm Atalyer, led by chief integrating officer León Araneta, created what is probably one of the most delightful commercial interiors in all Chinatown, with a high and airy ceiling evoking a Commonwealth-era downtown-Manila spirit. The white walls and massive support columns are softened by brown veneer wood cladding. Wood partitions, with fence-like railings acting as partitions, demarcate the spaces within, giving a nostalgic twist reminiscent of old banks from that era.

At the center of the hall hangs the Chinese characters zhit tiak ti giap, a visual link to the company’s ethnic Chinese origins, honors Mr. Co Ban Kiat, the current owner’s great-grandfather and the founder of the company. Traditional black signboards, with gold-leaf lettering, are widely used among old Tsinoy businesses in Binondo to indicate the business name and its purpose.

The fourth floor cafeteria, reached via the original hand-cranked elevator, combines modern edgy lines with nostalgic black-and-white photos of Manila. Miniature wooden signboards of past tenants, adorning the support columns, subtly integrates more of the building’s history. A lovely open deck has a front view of downtown Manila’s architectural symphony.

The eighth floor, the most striking feature of this building, has stylized buttresses and a mansard-like concrete roof.  Envisioned to be a museum of sorts, here you will still find remnants of the building’s past activities such as a gold-smelting facility.  The uneven framed outline of the exposed, largely deformed, web-like roof trusses, conserved as a vestige of the structure’s history, came when a major fire in 1969 resulted in the twisting of the cast-iron support.

Co Ban Kiat Building: 231 Juan Luna St, Binondo, Manila, 1006 Metro Manila.  Tel: (632) 843-1931, 843-2734 and 8243-5265.  E-mail: jao@cobankiat.com.ph.  Website: www.cobankiat.com and www.cbkhardware.com.

China Banking Corporation Building (Binondo, Manila)

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The magnificent, seven-storey China Banking Corporation (China Bank) Building in Binondo, originally designed by German architect Julius Arthur Niclaus Gabler Gumbert (also the designer of the Yutivo Hardware Building in Binondo and the San Miguel Brewery Building, now the New Executive Building of the Malacanang Complex) in the Neo-Classical fashion, utilizing a variation of the Beaux-Arts style.

China Banking Corporation Building

It was built from 1923 to 1924 as the head office of China Bank. Originally it had five storeys but it was later extended to seven. During the Japanese Occupation, it was used as a headquarters of the Japanese and, during the Battle for Manila in 1945, was burned by the Japanese and destroyed.

The restored building’s Neo-Classical facade

After the war, it repaired and again used as the office of the bank in July 1945. The building served as the bank’s head office until 1969, when China Bank moved its key operations to Makati. On March 14, 2018, to mark the 100th anniversary in 2020, China Bank decided to restore building and the Binondo Heritage Restoration Project team, led by SVP Alexander Escucha, was tasked with the job. For the restoration, they engaged the services of heritage architect and author Manuel Noche (Noche + Architects), former secretary of the Heritage Conservation Society which advocates for the restoration and renewal of the Binondo area.

A row of fluted Corinthian pilasters

Much of the construction work, to make the building LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, the widely used green building rating system in the world) compliant, required extensive structural, architectural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and insulation work, aimed to strengthen the building, make it energy efficient, and bring it up to modern building codes and safety standards.

Reliefs of festoons in the shape of garlands and wreaths

On April 04, 2019, construction started. All the floors were retrofitted with a Japanese technology of rubber dampeners, the first of its kind in the country.  A commissioned hydrological study showed that the lobby was below the Pasig River’s level at high tide, so a modern pipe system and a cement barrier was installed in the ground floor.

The arched arcade

The original grills and arches, previously walled in for the last 70 years, were meticulously restored, giving the refreshed building an elegant and nostalgic vibe.  Inside, the high ceiling, beautiful granite floor, and natural light streaming in from the arches opened up the space and made it look grander.  Professionally designed exterior lights were installed to light up the building at night.

National Historical Commission of the Philippines plaque

On August 14, 2020, the restored façade and ground floor were unveiled, just in time for China Bank’s centennial anniversary and, on December 17, 2020, was declared by the National Museum of the Philippines as an Important Cultural Property.  On January 31, 2021, the Binondo Business Center (BBC) Cash Department was officially opened at the lobby and, on December 22, 2021, a historical marker from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines was unveiled.

National Museum of the Philippines plaque designating the building as an “Important Cultural Property”

The China Bank Museum, curated by Marian Pastor Roces, was also built at the fourth floor (which formerly housed the executive offices) for the public to appreciate the business and culture of banking through memorabilia, art, and mementoes.

AUTHOR’S NOTES:

The corner facing façade of the building has an arcade lined with semicircular arches, reaching up to the mezzanine level, with corbel keystones.  Above the cornice are rows of fluted Corinthian pilasters up to the fifth level and flanking rectangular windows topped by triangular pediments. Below some of the windows are reliefs of festoons in the form of garlands and wreaths.  The roof cornice is lined with dentil moldings.

China Banking Corporation (China Bank) Building: Dasmarinas cor. Juan Luna Sts., Binondo, Manila. Tel: 2247-5388.

Pacific Commercial Company Building (Binondo, Manila)

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The historic, five-storey Pacific Commercial Company Building, also known as the  Juan Luna Building, Juan Luna Plaza, the First National City Bank (now Citibank) Building and the Ayala Building, was built in the 1920s. Designed by American architects Murphy, McGill and Hamlin of New York City and Shanghai, it was built at a cost of two million pesos, finished by July 1922 and inaugurated on November 13, 1922.

Pacific Commercial Company Building

Later bought by Enrique Zobel, the building was known as the “Ayala Building” from 1940 to 1959. In 2007, LBC Properties Inc. led a renovation of the building. The First National City Bank also occupied the building.

In 2009, the building was bought by businessman Carlos Araneta who planned to the building to host a business process outsourcing company. The building underwent renovation in 2012 and was meant to be named as the Juan Luna e-Services Building. The facade of the building was preserved. However lack of investors hindered Araneta’s plan and the Juan Luna Building was purposed as a mixed-used building that also serves as a living museum.

Historical plaque installed by the National Historical Commission in 2017

Past midnight of May 28, 2018, a fire broke out at the nearby Land Management Bureau Building. By 8 AM (PST +8:00), the fire has reached the Juan Luna Building and the fire affected the third floor and portions of the fourth floor.  The fire, put out around 4 PM, also affected the 150 Plaza Cervantes Building, the Moraga Mansion and the National Archives of the Philippines office (although the agency stated that no historical documents were burnt since it keeps these in their offices in Paco and Ermita). Due to the timing of the start of the fire, the incident is suspected to be caused by arson.

Occupying an approximately 1,800 sq. m. (19,000 sq. ft.), irregularly shaped corner lot adjacent to El Hogar, it has a frontage of 43 m. (141 ft.), along General Luna St., and 46 m. (151 ft.) along Muelle de la Industria, along the Pasig River.

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The building’s design is derived from the trademark architectural features set by the International Banking Corporation of New York for its overseas branches. The bank’s prototype, made up of a row of colossal columns in antis, was faithfully reproduced for its Manila headquarters. The ground floor, with arched openings with fanlights emphasized by stones forming the arch, was fully rusticated to effect a textured finish.  Lintels, resting on consoles, adorned the main doors.

Six three-storey high, engaged Ionic columns, dominating the south and west facades above the ground floor, end in an entablature topped by a cornice and are flanked by a pair of pilasters on both fronts. The slightly indented fifth floor is also topped by an entablature crowned by strip of anthemion.

Pacific Commercial Company Building: Juan Luna St. cor. Muelle de la Industria, Binondo, Manila.

El Hogar Filipino Building (Binondo, Manila)

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The El Hogar Filipino Building (Spanish: Edificio El Hogar Filipino), also known simply as El Hogar, was an early skyscraper in the Philippines. Built sometime between 1911 and 1914, it was designed by Spanish-Filipino engineer Don Ramón José de Irureta-Goyena Rodríguez and architect Francisco Perez-Muñoz in the Beaux-Arts style, its architecture reflecting elements of Neoclassical and Renaissance styles.  Opened on December 2014, it was one of the first buildings in Manila built entirely out of concrete.

El Hogar Filipino Building

Right across Juan Luna Street, on its northern front, is Pacific Commercial Company Building (commonly known as the First National City Bank Building, it was built in 1922), another important edifice, and the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank Building on its rear.

Check out “Pacific Commercial Company Building” and “Old HSBC Building”

The four-storey building, by the Pasig River, was built as a wedding present of Don Antonio Melian y Pavia, a Spanish businessman who was titled as the third Conde de Peracamps, to his bride Doña Margarita Zóbel y de Ayala, who was a sister of  patriarch Don Enrique Zóbel de Ayala.

Don Antonio was born on May 21, 1879 in Las Palmas in the Canary Islands in Spain. From Spain, he sailed to Peru in 1903 where he held posts in the insurance company La Previsora and in the Casino Español de Lima. In 1907, he first set foot in Manila and, on June that same year, married Don Enrique Zóbel de Ayala‘s sister Doña Margarita Zóbel y de Ayala at San Agustin Church.  In 1910, he sailed from Peru back to the Philippines and established the El Hogar Filipino and the Filipinas Compañía de Seguros together with his brothers-in-law Enrique and Fernando Zóbel y de Ayala.

The El Hogar housed the Melián business empire, such as the Filipinas Compañía de Seguros (the first local-owned fire insurance company), Tondo de Beneficiencia, Casa de España, Casa de Pensiones, and Sociedad El Hogar Filipino, a financing cooperative and lending company. Other tenants of the El Hogar include Ayala y Compañía, Sociedad Lizárraga Hermanos, and Smith, Bell and Company (a shipping company). In the 1920s, after the completion of its own building at the foot of the Jones Bridge in Plaza Moraga, a short walk from the El Hogar, the Filipinas Compañía de Seguros moved out of the El Hogar.

Check out “The Revitalized Jones Bridge”

It survived World War II (it only suffered minor damages during the Battle of Manila in 1945) and a number of earthquakes and is one of two remaining American-era structures in the area facing the Pasig River. In the post-war years, Sociedad El Hogar Filipino closed down, along with other Melián businesses, leaving only the Filipinas Compañía de Seguros. Because of this, the Meliáns sold the El Hogar to the Fernandez family, and the El Hogar was rented out to other companies, mostly customs brokerage firms with few residential tenants. It also became the shooting location of movies, TV shows and fashion and advertising shoots.  Some decades ago, the building was finally abandoned as an office building and fell into neglect and decay.

On February 2014, news involving the El Hogar sparked when it was reported that it was sold to The Ritz Premiere Corporation, a Chinese-Filipino real estate developers, which reported that it will demolish the El Hogar because of the building’s stability, and be turned into a condominium. By November, G.I. sheets fenced up the El Hogar Building, seemingly being prepared for demolition.

The news spread like a wildfire throughout heritage conservationists (who wrote to both the city government of Manila and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, or NHCP, to stop the demolition of the El Hogar), cultural advocates, and ordinary citizens alike. Because of this, a petition to stop the demolition was created. The Ritz Premiere Corporation said that they do not have plans of demolishing the El Hogar but will, instead, use it as a warehouse.   The NHCP issued a cease and desist order and attempted to purchase the iconic building.  However, negotiations were halted when NHCP and The Ritz could not agree with the price.  The building’s status is still uncertain.

Some of the building’s interesting features are its two garden courtyards and its unique mirador (balcony) where one can see the Pasig River and the southern part of Manila which includes the walled city of Intramuros, Ermita, and Malate.  El Hogar’s magnificently ornate grand staircase, considered as one of the most ornate in the city, has a sculpted mythical griffin as its base and bears Antonio’s and Margarita’s initials. However, on July 6, 2014, the magnificent and intricate grille work of the building’s grand staircase were seen being loaded to a truck belonging to a building contractor.

The value of the El Hogar Filipino Building is its architecture.  A representation of American period design, materials and construction methods, the building is a representation of the architecture of business establishments of that era. It also has a collective value as one of the significant structures within the historic Binondo district and Escolta Street, along the cultural landscape of the Pasig River.

El Hogar Filipino Building: cor. Juan Luna St. and Calle Muelle dela Industría, Binondo, Manila.

Church of St. Jerome (Morong, Rizal)

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Church of St. Jerome

This intricately-designed church, dedicated to St. Jerome (patron of scholars of the Bible, this saint translated the Bible), is one of the splendid examples of tropical Baroque architecture (more properly described as Baroque Revival architecture) in the Philippines, with its unique bell tower shape and finely detailed façade with fanciful balusters, large pillars and carved stone ornaments.  It is a favorite subject for photographers and a lovely backdrop for weddings and selfies.

The unique bell tower shape of the facade

It was first built in wood by Franciscan friars in 1612 opposite of its present location, on the south bank of the river.  After it was destroyed by fire together with a large part of the pueblo in 1612, it was rebuilt, on elevated ground at the opposite bank of Morong River (which ensured its safety from floods and fires) from 1615 to 1620 by Fr. Blas de la Madre with stone and mortar.

The finely-detailed Baroque facade

Stones were quarried from a hill called Kay Ngaya; lime from the stones of the mountain Kay Maputi; and sand and gravel from Morong River. Measuring 42 varas long by 12 varas wide, the church had a single nave with a semicircular apse, built under the direction of Chinese master craftsmen.

The plaque installed by the Philippine Historical Committee in 1939

In 1850, Fr. Maximo Rico commissioned Don Bartolome de Palatino, a native of Paete, to renovate the facade and build the four-storey, 30 m. (100-ft.) high octagonal bell tower.  Completed on February 2, 1853, the new Baroque façade, designed by Severo Sacramento, had a towering height of 20 varas. During the Philippine Revolution, Spanish casadores and other loyal civil guards were besieged in the church and convent, finally surrendering to the Katipuneros on August 19, 1898.

The left side of the church

The central portion of the elaborate, exquisitely carved and frequently photographed three-storey Baroque façade, one of the most striking of all church facades along Laguna de Bay, surges outward and the catenated balustrade above gives the whole a dynamic feeling.

The church interior

It has superpositioned Doric columns, a semicircular arched main entrance and an elaborately decorated segmental pediment with carved cornice and tympanum.  Horizontal string courses with decorative moldings and balustrades identify each level. Various decorative elements, some Mexican in origin, give the facade a richness characteristic of Baroque.

The choir loft

Chinese influence is seen at the two (a boy and a girl) Chinese lion sculptures at the entrance to the steep entrance driveway (it is 30 feet above the town). One lion, said to be the girl lion (said to have a hidden treasure inside it), was stolen between 2000 and 2005. The male lion is safeguarded at the St. Jerome school vicinity.

Main altar area

Above the main entrance is its landmark single bell tower (characteristic of European churches), the church’s focal point, with its statue of St. Michael the Archangel on top and ornamented with floral and scroll designs.

Four angels, representing the cardinal virtues (Prudence, Justice, Restraint and Courage), stand at the corners of the bell tower. The Franciscan coat-of-arms (indicating it was once assigned to Franciscan missionaries), the hands of Jesus and St. Francis of Assisi, is seen on the main facade of the bell tower.

The cross at its tip is illuminated at night and can be seen from the surrounding countryside. When fishing at night and during the storm, the bell tower is used by local fisher man in the nearby towns as a light house. Fr. Felix Huerta, writing in 1852, states that the facade had finials shaped as jars and shells used for illuminating it.

An added attraction in the church is the first class relic (a part of the saint’s body) given to the parish year in 2005, through the effort of then parish priest Rev. Fr. Lawrence “Larry” Paz, when they had their first pilgrimage tour to Holy Land and Vatican City.

Publicly exposed every Saturday during the anticipated mass (the kissing of the relic is done every last Saturday of the month), the relic is guarded by the knights of St. Jerome. Another much bigger relic, given, in 2007 to the parish as a gift from the main chaplain of the church of St. Jerome in Rome, is now buried on top of the table of the main altar.  It is kissed by the priest every time there is a mass.

 

The Four Evangelists

Church of St. Jerome: Turentigue St., Brgy. San Jose, Morong, Rizal. Tel: 8653-1259.  View Map>>>Feast of St. Jerome: September 30.

How to Get There: Morong is located 4.5 kms. (a 2-hr., 15-min. drive), via R-6, from Manila and 26.6 kms. (a 1-hr. drive), via Sumulong Highway, from Antipolo City.

St. John the Baptist Church (San Juan City, Metro Manila)

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Church of St. John the Baptist

St. John the Baptist Church (Filipino: Parokya ng San Juan Bautista), also known colloquially as the “Pinaglabanan Church,” is located several meters from the Pinaglabanan Shrine.

Check out “Pinaglabanan Memorial Shrine”

The first church was constructed, under the supervision of architect Luis Arellano and the financial support of Mariano Artiaga. A Franciscan, Fr. Roman Pérez, OFM, a year after the parish was established on July 15, 1894.  Fr. Perez served as the first parish priest from 1894 until 1897.

The Romanesque Revival facade

On August 30, 1896, the Battle of San Juan del Monte between Filipino and Spanish troops occurred on the tract of land fronting the newly built church. Damaged during the Philippine Revolution, Ramón J. Fernández spearheaded repairs to the church.

Plaque installed by the National Historical Commission in 1974

In 1951, when Fr. Hernando Antiporda (who later became Auxiliary Bishop of Manila) was parish priest, the church was renovated and expanded under the supervision of architect Otilio A. Arellano (grandson of Luis Arellano, the original architect) who notably preserved the original façade and nave of the structure.  The church acquired two additional front doors with the expansion.

The church’s interior

In 1975, Msgr. Severino Casas built two mortuary chapels in the church compound. In 1983, the nave was lengthened, the choir loft above the main door was removed and a crucifix above a new altar was installed.  The retablo (reredos) was preserved and the antique, centuries-old image of St. John the Baptist (previously at the top-center of the retablo) was moved to the St. Joseph Chapel.

Main altar

In 1987, a rectory, social hall, and crypt were built on the location of the Our Lady of Lourdes grotto (built in 1955) and, a year later, a Perpetual Adoration Chapel was built (only to be demolished to make way for the Holy Child Parochial School, now the St. John the Baptist Catholic School). In 2009, a smaller, air-conditioned Adoration Chapel, at the ground floor of the school near the church’s southern entrance, was finished.

St. John the Baptist Catholic School

The St. John the Baptist Church was declared as a historical landmark through San Juan Municipal Council Resolution, Ordinance No. 63 Series of 1989.

San Juan Centennial Belfry

On May 15, 1994 (Feast of the Ascension), Jaime Cardinal Sin, Archbishop of Manila, blessed and inaugurated the new San Juan Centennial Belfry, built to commemorate the church’s hundredth anniversary. Designed by Architects Renato Berroya and Arsenio Topacio, the belfry matches the façade and houses the church bell that dates to 1896.

Centennial Tower plaque

AUTHOR’S NOTES

The church’s single level Romanesque Revival façade has a semicircular arch main entrance in receding planes.   It is flanked by semicircular arch niches with statues of St. Peter and St. Paul.  The triangular pediment, with its oculus, is topped by a small decorative cupola. The left and right wings, with their square doors, were added during the 1951 expansion.

 Church of St. John the Baptist: 140 Pinaglabanan cor. Mons Alvarez Sts., Brgy. Pedro Cruz, San Juan, Metro Manila. Tel: (02) 8725-7731.