Parian District was one of the most important spots in Cebu during the Spanish colonial times. Most of the important commercial and cultural activities happened in this place. It also embraced most of the residences of many distinguished personalities then.

The Yap-Sandiego house is one of them. This 18th-century house was built through the efforts of Chinese merchant, Juan Yap and wife Maria Florido. The couple’s eldest of three children, Maria, married Pari-an’s Cabeza de Barangay then, Don Mariano Sandiego. Read the rest…

Just along D. Jakosalem Street in Cebu City, a different kind of palace stands.

The Archbishop’s Palace of Cebu was built in 1953 during the time of Julio Cardinal Rosales.

He was the second Archbishop of the Metropolitan See of Cebu. The original Episcopal palace was a bahay na bato, which stands across the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral.

As World War II raged on, the old structure was among those that were severely damaged.

Another building now stands on the exact location where it once held ground. Read the rest…

The sights of old buildings as one travels down south is always a wonderful experience. For instance, Barili, one of Cebu’s southern municipalities, has a unique but forgotten institution called Hospicio de San Jose.

The institution began its operations in November 27, 1925, when the Philippine Commission passed an act accepting the offer of one of its prominent residents, Don Pedro Cui and his sister Benigna to establish a home for the care of the indigent, invalid and abandoned elders, who are at least 60 years old, free of charge. The Cui siblings were merchant-philanthropists who built their fortune from tobacco production in the 19th century. Doña Benigna served as its first administrator. Read the rest…

Carcar City, located south of Cebu City, indeed is a treasure chest of heritage.

Apart from its old and intricately designed Spanish and American era houses, the newly-chartered city also keeps the beautiful St. Catherine of Alexandria church. Construction of the church started in 1860 under Fr. Antonio Manglamo. Read the rest…

In the northern municipality of Liloan, an old but beautiful lighthouse stands. Called the Bagacay Point Light (named after its home, the Bagacay sub-village), it towers to a height of 72 feet in an uphill area, overlooking the Mactan Channel. A narrative by Paul Perez at the website waypoint.ph states that “it sits on an elevated 5,000-sq m government property, 22 km from the main road.”

This white and octagonal tower was built in 1904 through an executive order issued on July 28, 1903 by William Howard Taft, who came to the country in 1900 as president of the Philippine Commission and later appointed US governor general. Read the rest…