Experiencing the sacred in Iloilo City
HISTORIC buildings are sacred spaces for solidarity, human connection, and legacies that inspire respect both for the past and the future. Some of them, such as baroque churches and museums, are an invitation to a spiritual journey insofar as they bring elegance and dignity to everyday life.
One such space is the Iloilo City Hall, built in 1933 by no less than Juan Arellano, the legendary architect known for designing now iconic buildings such as the Manila Central Post Office, Manila’s Metropolitan Theater, and the National Museum of the Philippines, among others.
Iloilo’s first City Hall can be considered sacred because of its splendor. The volume of the spaces arouses wonder. Its inner courtyards and arches invite contemplation. The interiors are marked by quirky portholes, nagadesigned overhangs, and movable ventanillas, adapted from the classic “bahay na bato.”
The City Hall is what remains of the Juan Arellano Plan of 1930, which marked the birth of the Filipino City Beautiful. It is also a testament to the first grand city plan ever made by a Filipino. Built on an elevation and insulated by a winding walkway, its NeoClassicism as well as the sculptures of Law and Order by Francesco Riccardo Monti can be daunting in their grandeur. The lobby’s Greek columns and grandiose arches allude to the period of ambitious urban planning.
This edifice has an uncanny way of surviving and becoming relevant through the years. Destroyed during World War 2, it was rebuilt in 1946 with funds from the Philippine Rehabilitation Act.
In 1975, it was given P150,000 for repair and renovation, which led to boarding up spaces to generate classroom and biological science laboratories.
In the 21st century, it has reinvented itself as a Museum of Cultural Heritage (MACH) as well as provided office space for the University of the Philippines-Visayas (UPV)’s Office of Initiatives in Culture and the Arts (OICA) and the Center for Western Visayan Studies.
Then, declared a National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) in 2015, UPV received a whopping P54 million restoration grant for it, through Sen. Lorna Regina “Loren” Legarda and former Senate president Franklin Drilon.
“Aside from leaks, the floors were wobbly. During an opening of an exhibit, we felt the floors were about to give way from the sheer number of people,” said Martin Genodepa, UPV’s OICA head, when asked about the state of the Main Building before its recent restoration. He was talking about the former Courtroom which, together with the Session Hall (now known as Lozano Hall), is one of the centerpieces of the City Hall.
Genodepa, a noted sculptor, went to school himself in these sacred halls, not suspecting then as a young student that someday he would be responsible for its continued survival. As MACH director, he has converted the spaces of the old City Hall into seven galleries showcasing not only the history of fine arts of Panay Island but also its intangible heritage. “This is the soul of the university,” he said.
Inclusivity
Throughout the years, the building has shed its colonial association and become the home of many UPV alumni. This fits into UPV’s current vision, which Chancellor Clement Camposano says is “working towards making the campus more inclusive to people of all ages and people with disability by introducing and fixing access and connectivity around the campus and its facilities.”
With restoration work on a number of UPV buildings underway, such as Old High School and Women’s Club, Camposano said, “The four-hectare property of the campus has been designated as Overlay Heritage Zone in the Land Use and Development and Infrastructure Plan of Iloilo City.”
One can only infer that the designed inclusivity would agree with the initial masterplan of Arellano, regarded as the first Filipino urban planner. His 1930s blueprint for the City of Iloilo intended to bring together the isolated villages. Aside from building a large park near the Iloilo River, a main parkway was to link the Spanish plazas. According to historian Ian Morley, this plan was not implemented.
Today, however, one can experience a well-connected city through the celebrated Esplanade, a 9-kilometer linear park that runs on both sides of the river. According to Ilonggo culture writer Dr. Vic Salas, tourists can take a bicycle ride or have a scenic and leisurely walk from the UPV Main Building to the Molo Plaza.
Decades ago, Ralph Doane, the first consultant for architecture of the American Colonial government, said that true democracy required that a government recognizes the right of the people to encourage the love of beauty.
Arellano’s City Hall has always belonged to the people. Ilonggos can be proud not only of its aesthetic value but the spirit of cooperation it brings.
(Part 2 will be published on April 2, 2024).