Category Archives: SPECIAL TOPICS

Gallery I – Religious Art from the 17th to 19th Centuries (National Museum of Fine Arts, Manila)

Posted on by — Leave a reply

Gallery I – Religious Art from the 17th to 19th Centuries.  In the foreground are nearly life-size wooden statue of an Augustinian monk and St. Dominic.  At the back is the huge, 18th century, Neo-Classical retablo mayor (altar piece) of the Church of St. Nicholas of Tolentino in Dimiao, Bohol, now a National Cultural Treasure

Gallery I: Religious Art from the 17th to 19th Centuries, at the second floor of the National Museum of Fine Arts, features Christian themed art from the 17th-19th centuries that show the faith and devotion of Filipinos to Christianity.

Check out “National Museum of Fine Arts”

Gallery entrance

Displayed at the sides of the gallery are a free-standing crucifix, a door of a tabernacle and a Pieta hanging from a wall; carved, free-standing wooden statues of saints or santos (St. John the Evangelist, St. Mary Magdalene, St. Dominic, St. Anne, St. Isidore the Laborer, St. Rita of Cascia,  St. Catherine of Alexandria, St. Roche, St. James Matamoros, etc.), the Christ Child (Santo Nino), angels and the Virgin Mary (La Immaculada Concepcion); and wooden Corinthian pillars, all made by unknown artists.

Hanging on the wall is a door of a tabernacle, a Pieta and an angel. In front is a free-standing crucifix flanked by angels

At the middle of the gallery are two, nearly life-size wooden statues of St. Dominic (San Domingo de Guzman), founder of the Dominican Order, and an Augustinian monk.

Wooden statues of San Isidro Labrador, San Roque and San Domingo de Guzman

A notable exhibit here, near one end of the hall, is the huge 18th century, Neo-Classical retablo mayor (altar piece) of the St. Nicholas of Tolentino Church in Dimiao in Bohol which was declared as a National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum of the Philippines on July 18, 2011.

Wooden statues of Santo Ninos (Christ Child)

Gallery I – Religious Art from the 17th to 19th Centuries: Luis I. Ablaza Hall, 2/F, National Museum of Fine Arts (NMFA), Padre Burgos Avenue, Ermita, Manila 1000, Metro Manila. Tel: (632) 8527-1215 and (632) 8298-1100.  Email: inquiry@nationalmuseum.gov.ph.  Website: nationalmuseum.gov.ph.  Open Tuesdays to Sundays, 9 AM – 4PM. Admission is free.  Coordinates: 14°35′13″N 120°58′52″E.

Gallery XIV: Pillars of Philippine Modernism (National Museum of Fine Arts, Manila)

Posted on by — Leave a reply

Gallery XIV (Pillars of Philippine Modernism)

Gallery XIV: Pillars of Philippine Modernism, a permanent exhibit at the third floor of the National Museum of Fine Arts, features Philippine modern art from the 1920s-1970s.

 

Check out “National Museum of Fine Arts”

On display are works of five of the revolutionary Thirteen Moderns  (a group of artists that broke away from the Conservatives led by Fernando Amorsolo) – Victorio C. Edades (1895-1985), Diosdado Lorenzo (1906-1984), Galo B. Ocampo (1913-1985), Anita Magsaysay-Ho (1914-2012) and Ricarte Puruganan (1912-1998).

The Sketch (Victorio Edades, 1928, oil on canvas)

National Artist for Painting (1976) Victorio Candido Edades, the “Father” of Modern Philippine Art,” was an artist influenced deeply by his studies and exposure to the style in the United States.

Modern Maria Clara (Victorio C. Edades, oil on canvas)

He presented figures in muddy earth colors (yellow ochres and raw sienna accented by bold black contours), his subjects were distorted figures (those whose proportions defy classical measure) and his brush strokes were agitated and harsh as reflected in his oils on canvas – The Sketch (1928) and Modern Maria Clara (1958).

An Old Woman with Mortar (Diosdado M. Lorenzo, 1937, oil on board)

Nueva Ecija (San Isidro)-born Diosdado Magno Lorenzo, who had already spearheaded Philippine Modernism even before its emergence became mainstream in Philippine arts, painted in different media and genres.

Barrio Scene (Diosdado Lorenzo)

A Barrio Girl (Diosdado M. Lorenzo, 1946, oil on board)

The imagery of his work consisted, for the most part, of the countryside of San Isidro – its guileless, uncorrupted people; its magnificent trees and its pristine environment.

Gumamela (Diosdado M. Lorenzo, 1975, oil on canvas)

Landscape (Diosdado M. Lorenzo, 1966, oil on board)

This imagery can be seen in five of his paintings displayed in the gallery – Barrio Scene (1970, oil on masonite board), An Old Woman with Mortar (1937, oil on board), Landscape (1966, oil on board) Gumamela (1975, oil on canvas) and A Barrio Girl (1946, oil on board).

Portrait of Lucio R. Ildefonso, Alejandra Tagle Ildefonso and their Children (Diosdado M. Lorenzo, 1936, oil on canvas)

Also on display is his commissioned oil on canvas painting of Portrait of Lucio R. Ildefonso, Alejandra Tagle Ildefonso and their Children (1936).

Portrait of Enrico Costamagna (Diosdado M. Lorenzo, ca. 1930, plaster of paris)

Self Portrait (Diosdado M. Lorenzo, ca. 1930, plaster of paris)

Displayed together are two plaster of paris busts, titled Kiss,” sculpted by the artist himself during a sojourn in Italy in the early 1930s – Self Portrait (when Lorenzo was a young man in his 20s) and Portrait of Emilio Costamagna (a portrait of the father of Mario Costamagna, Lorenzo’s friend and fellow student at the Academy of San Luca in Italy).

Self Portrait (Galo B. Ocampo, 1982, oil on canvas)

Pampanga (Santa Rita)-born Galo B. Ocampo was also known for rejecting academic tradition and embracing Western modernism. Stylistically, his paintings, often blending Christian themes with references to Filipino indigeneity, showcase the influence of Cubism, Surrealism, and Expressionism on his works.

Portrait of a New York Lady (Galo B. Ocampo, 1947, oil on canvas)

On display oil on canvas paintings of his Self Portrait (1982) and Portrait of a New York Lady (1947), gifted by Ocampo’s family to the nation in 2013.

The Black Nazarene of Quiapo (Ricarte M. Puruganan)

Ilocano (Dingras, Ilocos Norte) painter Ricarte Madamba Puruganan, using bold strokes of thick impasto for which he was known, preferred fusing Philippine folk art themes with Modernist techniques, painting scenes closest to his heart – the rustic, the indigenous; quaint seascapes and evocative agricultural. On display are his The Black Nazarene of Quiapo (1937, oil on canvas) and Graveyard Scene (undated, oil on canvas)

Graveyard Scene (Ricarte M. Puruganan, undated, oil on canvas)

Filipina painter Anita Magsaysay-Ho, the only female member of the “Thirteen Moderns,” specialized in Social Realism and post-Cubism in regard to women in Filipino culture. Her work appeals to Modernism by utilizing more abstract designs and styles rather than realistic approaches.  The Portrait of Marylisde Jesus Sevilla (1958, oil on canvas), the first work of the artist to be included in the national collection, was generously gifted, by the sitter, to the nation in 2013.

Portrait of Marylisde Jesus Sevilla (Anita Magsaysay Ho, 1958, oil on canvas)

Also represented in this gallery are painters of the Neo-Realist school, the second wave of Philippine Modernists.  This post-war group of artists advocated a style that is representational in form but more open to various degrees of abstraction.  They include Manuel Antonio Rodriguez Sr. (1912-2017), Romeo V. Tabuena (1921-2015), and Nena L. Saguil (1914-1994).

Carabaos in Pink (Romeo V. Tabuena, 1957, oil on board)

Romeo Villalba Tabuena, whose works primarily features figures pieced together from muted, monochromatic shapes, is best known for depictions, in oil acrylic and watercolor media, of Philippine rural landscapes (farms, carabaos, nipa huts, etc.) such as Nipa Huts on Stilts (1952, oil on canvas) and Carabaos in Pink (1957, oil on board).

Nipa Huts on Stilts (Romeo V. Tabuena, 1952, oil on canvas)

Simplicia “Nena” Laconico Saguil, considered a pioneer of Filipino abstract art, is most known for her cosmic, organic, and spiritual abstract works depicting internal landscapes of feeling and imagination. Saguil created impressionistic and naturalistic figurative works, including landscapes and still lifes.  On display at the gallery is A Filipina Maiden (oil on canvas)

A Filipina Maiden (Nena Saguil, oil on canvas)

Filipino printmaker Manuel Antonio Rodriguez Sr., also known by his nickname Mang Maning, was dubbed as the “Father of Philippine Printmaking.”  The first Filipino to have exhibited his prints in international biennial shows, Rodriguez had a unique and unparalleled knack for abstract and figurative forms.

Returning From the Fields (Manuel Rodriguez, Sr., 1949, oil on canvas)

The graphic quality of his oil on canvas works (Returning From the Fields, 1949; and Feeding Time, 1967), borrows from his forte of printmaking.

Feeding Time (Manuel Antonio Rodriguez, Sr., 1967, oil on canvas)

Another Modernist painter featured in the gallery is Spanish-born (b. 1929, Reus, Catalonia) painter Juvenal Sanso, one of the foremost masters of Modernism in Philippine Art.

Blue Floral (Juvenal Sanso, 1965, acrylic on canvas)

The graphic, textured works of Juvenal Sanso, best known for his surreal landscapes, are full of lush plant life and tropical skies painted in a bright palette culled from his idyllic childhood in the Philippines as seen in his Blue Floral (1965, acrylic on canvas).

Man with a Hoe (Juvenal Sanso, 1950, oil on masonite)

His unusual Man with a Hoe (1950, oil on masonite), painted after World War II, features a naked man holding a hoe with his head downwards.  It may be interpreted to depict the emotions and the traumatic experiences of the artist.  Another of his works featured is Muscle Bound (1960, pen and ink on paper).

Muscle Bound (Juvenal Sanso, 1960, pen and ink on paper)

Seemingly out of place in the gallery is Nestor Garcia Leynes (1922-2016), regarded as one of the leaders of the “Magic Realist” movement of the Philippines.  Typically, he painted idyllic scenes of Philippine rural life, much like his mentor Fernando Amorsolo, ranging from women sifting rice to harvest scenes, depicting romantic scenes in painstaking detail. However, his oil on canvas piece A Peasant’s Funeral (1948) is not representative of his work.

A Peasant’s Funeral (Nestor G. Leynes, 1948, oil on canvas)

Gallery XIV – Pillars of Philippine Modernism: 3/F, National Museum of Fine Arts (NMFA), Padre Burgos Avenue, Ermita, Manila 1000, Metro Manila. Tel: (632) 8527-1215 and (632) 8298-1100.  Email: inquiry@nationalmuseum.gov.ph.  Website: nationalmuseum.gov.ph.  Open Tuesdays to Sundays, 9 AM – 4PM. Admission is free.  Coordinates: 14°35′13″N 120°58′52″E.

National Museum of Fine Arts (Manila)

Posted on by — 9 Comments ↓

The National Museum of Fine Arts (Filipino: Pambansang Museo ng Sining), an art museum formerly known as the National Art Gallery, is  housed in the Old Legislative Building and is located on  across from the National Museum of Anthropology (former Department of Finance Building) in the eastern side of Rizal Park. Owned and operated by the National Museum of the Philippines, the museum was founded in 1998 and houses a collection of paintings and sculptures by classical Filipino artists such as Juan Luna, Félix Resurrección Hidalgo and Guillermo Tolentino.

Check out “National Museum of Anthropology,” “Old Legislative Building” and “National Art Gallery”

The author at the National Museum of Fine Arts

The National Fine Arts Collection (NFAC), the growing collection of visual arts and archives, constitutes a large part of our country’s artistic patrimony and featuring the achievements and aspirations of Filipino visual artists. It is composed of a significant number of paintings, sculptures, icons, sketches, mixed media, painted photographs, prints, drawings, studies, installation art, sculptures, documents, memorabilia and photographs by Filipino visual artists who significantly impacted the nation’s artistic heritage.  It includes important works of unknown artists of the 18th century, masters of the 19th century, National Artists, up to the leading modern artists of the 1990s to the 21st century.

Its increasing photography collection, by renowned art photographers, is a recent development.  It includes the contemporary works of Isa Lorenzo, Neal Oshima, George Tapan, Bengy Toda, and Ferrante Ferranti.

The present National Museum of Fine Arts houses 29 galleries (most offered to sponsors and patrons, individuals or corporations, for the naming right) and hallway exhibitions comprising of 19th century Filipino masters, National Artists, leading modern painters, sculptors, and printmakers. Also on view are art loans from other government institutions, organizations, and individuals.

First Floor: The Judiciary Floor

  • The Government William H. Taft Entrance
  • The Architect Juan M. Arellano Foyer
  • The Sandiganbayan Reception Hall
  • Seminar Rooms
  • The National Fine Arts Repository
  • The National Archaeological Repository
  • Auditorium (North Annex)
  • Administrative Offices (South Annex)

Second Floor: The House of Representatives Floor

  • The Padre Jose Burgos Entrance
  • The President Manuel Roxas Foyer
  • The Spoliarium Hall
  • Gallery I: Religious Art from the 17th to 19th Centuries (Luis I. Ablaza Hall)- features Christian themed art from the 17th-19th centuries.
  • Gallery II: Gallery of the Via Crusis of an Unknown Bohol Master (Friends for Cultural Concerns of the Philippines, Inc. Hall) – features 14 paintings depicting the Stations of the Cross (Via Crusis).
  • Gallery III: Paintings of the Philippine Colonial Tradition of the Sacred Arts (Ramon and Milagros Del Rosario Family Hall) – exhibits the paintings that show images of saints and the Holy Family.
  • Gallery IV: Paintings of the Philippine Colonial Tradition of Portraiture (Fundacion Santiago Hall) – exhibits more than 30 portraits that showcase the status of the living and memories of the dead.
  • Gallery V: The National Hero in Art (Dr. Jose Rizal Hall) – displays sculptures and paintings made by the Philippine National Hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal, as well as the artists who created paintings, portrait busts, and sculptures of the National Hero.
  • Gallery VI: Gallery of Paintings of Los Dos Pintores Juan Luna and Felix Hidalgo (Far East Bank and Trust Company – Andres and Grace Luna de San Pedro Memorial Hall) – features major works and oil studies by Juan Luna as well as Félix Resurrección Hidalgo, Luna’s contemporary and friend.
  • Gallery VII (Special Exhibition Hall)
  • Gallery VIII (Silvina and Juan Laya Hall) – features paintings by Filipino artists who want to show the painful and hard life during the Imperial Japanese Occupation during 1941 to 1945, liberation of the Philippines by American and Filipino forces and the damage that happened in Manila during the war.
  • Gallery IX (Early 20th Century Philippine Portrait Hall) – features a collection of works of portraiture and Filipino types by artists under the Classical Realist School during 1903 to 1960 and works of artists that are the pioneer and prolific during that period.
  • Gallery X (Museum Foundation of the Philippines Hall)
  • Gallery XI: Drawings of Fernando C. Amorsolo (Society for the Preservation of Philippine Culture Hall) (SPPC Hall) – features over 100 black-and-white pencil and ink sketches and oil studies of the National Artist Fernando Amorsolo before creating his masterpiece.
  • Gallery XII – Eskultor ng Lahing Filipino:  Honoring the Life and Work of Guillermo Tolentino (Security Bank Hall) – features the work of National Artist of the Philippines for Sculpture (1973) Guillermo E. Tolentino.
  • The President Sergio Osmena Function Hall – houses the Madonna with Angels (ca. 1946), a plaster relief  by Francesco Riccardo Monti, donated by the heirs of Petronillo L. Del Rosario, Sr.

Check out “Gallery I: Religious Art from the 17th to 19th Centuries,” “Gallery II: Gallery of the Via Crusis of an Unknown Bohol Master,” “Gallery III: Paintings of the Philippine Colonial Tradition of the Sacred Arts,” “Gallery IV: Paintings of the Philippine Colonial Tradition of Portraiture” “Gallery V: The National Hero in Art,” “Gallery VI: Gallery of Paintings of Los Dos Pintores Juan Luna and Felix Hidalgo,” “Gallery VIII,” “Gallery IX,” “Gallery XI: Drawings of Fernando C. Amorsolo” and “Gallery XII – Eskultor ng Lahing Filipino:  Honoring the Life and Work of Guillermo Tolentino”

Third Floor: The Senate Floor.

  • The President Manuel L. Quezon Foyer
  • Gallery XIII (Vicente and Carmen Fabella Hall) – features works by National Artist for Sculpture (1976) Napoleon Veloso Abueva (1930-2018) and a monumental painting by National Artist for Painting (1973) Carlos V. “Botong” Francisco (1912 – 1969).
  • Gallery XIV: Pillars of Philippine Modernism – features Philippine modern art from the 1920s-1970s, most notably Victorio C. Edades, an artist who started the Modern Art in the Philippines.
  • Gallery XV (Emilio Aguilar Cruz Hall) – is dedicated to the life and works of Emilio Aguilar Cruz (1915-1991).
  • Gallery XVI (Philippine General Hospital Hall) – is dedicated to The Progress of Medicine in the Philippines, a set of four large-scale paintings by celebrated muralist and National Artist Carlos V. “Botong” Francisco (1912-1969) that depicts the evolution of healing practices in the Philippines from the pre-colonial period tribal practices to the modern period.
  • Gallery XVII (Special Exhibition Hall Dedicated to Women’s Art)
  • Gallery XVIII: Pillars of Philippine Modernism – features Modernist art pieces from the 1940s to 1980s, with works by a number of National Artists such as Carlos V. “Botong” Francisco (1912-1969), Jose T. Joya (1931-1995), Cesar T. Legaspi (1917-1994), and Abdulmari Asia Imao (1936-2014). Also displayed are palettes of Jose T. Joya and Mauro Malang Santos (1928-2017).
  • Gallery XIX (Philippine Modern Sculpture Hall)
  • Gallery XX (Placuna Placenta: Capis Shells and Windows to Indigenous Artistry)
  • Gallery XXI (GSIS North Hall) – features National Artist Federico Aguilar Alcuaz’s (1932-2011) Art Protis from the collection of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS). Art protis or non-woven tapestry is a unique process developed in Brno, the second biggest city in the Czech Republic. There, Alcuaz met a Czech artist who introduced him to the new textile collage technique. This exhibition shows Alcuaz’s skills and talent in using this foreign technique to create outstanding collage artworks.
  • Gallery XXII (International Rice Research Institute Hall) – features two large-scale paintings and their watercolor studies by National Artist Vicente S. Manansala (1910-1981) from the collection of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).
  • Gallery XXIII (GSIS Northwest Hall) – pays homage to the works of National Artist for Painting Vicente S. Manansala (1910-1981). It contains his works from the National Fine Arts Collection and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) art collection.
  • Gallery XXIV (Philam Life Hall) – shows seven large paintings by National Artist Vicente S. Manansala (1910-1981) commissioned in the 1960s by the Philippine-American General Life Insurance Company (Philam Life) for its building at United Nations Avenue, Ermita, Manila. Also featured here are rural-themed wood reliefs by renowned sculptor, Jose P. Alcantara (1911-2005), which previously adorned the Philam Life Theater.
  • The Senate Session Hall (Main Level) – features modern and contemporary Philippine art from the 20th to the 21st centuries. All the ornamentation and decoration in this Hall was done by Isabelo Tampinco.
  • The Senator Claro M. Recto Function Hall

“Gallery XIII,” “Gallery XIV: Pillars of Philippine Modernism,” Gallery XV,” “Gallery XVI,” “Gallery XVIII: Pillars of Philippine Modernism,” “Gallery XIX,” “Gallery XXI,” “Gallery XXII,” “Gallery XXIII” and “Gallery XXIV”

Fourth Floor: The Executive Floor.

  • The Senator Benigno S. Aquino Jr. Foyer
  • Gallery XXV
  • Gallery XXVI
  • Gallery XXVII (Special Exhibition Hall)
  • Gallery XXVIII (Special Exhibition Hall)
  • Gallery XXIX (Philippine Modern Sculpture Hall)
  • The Senate Session Hall (Mezzanine Level)
  • The President Jose P. Laurel Function Hall
  • Management Offices

Check out “Circa by Impy Pilapil” and “Placuna Placenta: Capis Shells and Windows to Indigenous Artistry“

National Museum of Fine Arts: Padre Burgos Avenue, Ermita, Manila 1000, Metro Manila. Tel: (632) 8527-1215 and (632) 8298-1100.  Email: inquiry@nationalmuseum.gov.ph.  Website: nationalmuseum.gov.ph.  Open Tuesdays to Sundays, 9 AM – 4PM. Admission is free.  Coordinates: 14°35′13″N 120°58′52″E.

Old Legislative Building (Manila)

Posted on by — 1 Comment ↓

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.

Check out “National Museum of Fine Arts”

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)

Posted on by — Leave a reply

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)

Posted on by — 1 Comment ↓

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)

Posted on by — 2 Comments ↓

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.

Check out “El Hogar Filipino Building”

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)

Posted on by — 1 Comment ↓

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)

Posted on by — Leave a reply

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)

Posted on by — Leave a reply

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.