Cebu town mayor shot dead

CEBU CITY–The mayor of Ronda town in southern Cebu was gunned down inside his office early Wednesday morning.

Mayor Mariano Blanco, allegedly in President Duterte’s list of officials linked to illegal drugs, was killed six months after his nephew and vice mayor, Jonah John Ungab, were shot dead by motorcycle-riding men in Cebu City.

The Cebu provincial police said two municipal watchmen reported seeing a white van arrived at the municipal hall at around 1:30 a.m.

Four men got out of the van and confronted the two watchmen with guns.

The watchmen were told to drop to the ground, and the armed men entered the town hall.

Minutes later, gunfire was heard inside the municipal office.The four gunmen left in a rush and sped away in the van.

INCREDIBLE as it may sound, I have never seen Magellan’s Cross, not even when I was secretary of tourism. I attended the Sinulog twice but no one ever asked if I had been to Cebu’s raison d’etre. Who hasn’t, after all?

Recently, a Rizal cousin ( as we call each other) Salud Reyes, greatgranddaughter of Lucia, told me about “a Jesuit house discovered in a bodega” and the largest Rizal collection outside Metro Manila. She took out her cell phone and showed me photos she had snapped during her incredible visit to the “Queen of the South.” Instantly, Cebu beckoned, I knew I had to fly there and see for myself.

Fortunately, I mentioned this to Anna Labrador, the indefatigable assistant-director of the National Museum, who was leaving for Cebu to convene a strategic planning session of the Sugbu Chinese Heritage Museum Foundation. We took the same PAL flight, stayed at Henry Hotel, but went our separate ways. Councilor Margot Osmeña was kind enough to send me a guide, Mr. Bino Guerrero. In fact, I had two guides; the other was a former classmate, Marilou Briones Chiongbian whom I had not seen in ages. She had not been to the Jesuit House either. We caught up with Anna in the evening at the house of Cebu’s “Chocolate Diwata,” Raquel Choa.

Cousin Salud was not exaggerating; we had to enter through a disciplined clutter of pipes, nuts and bolts, iron bars and metal sheets, etc., because Mr. Jaime Sy of the Ho Tong Hardware, Inc., now owns the Jesuit House. His father bought the land around it to build the warehouse so it does look “enclosed.”

In fact, there are two houses connected by a caged corridor, the smaller one must have been a kitchen and azotea, according to Jesuit historian Fr. Rene Javellana. He curated the museum on the ground floor, gratis et amore. Mr Jaime Sy went to the Ateneo in Diliman and reminded Malou and me that only a creek separated our two schools.

I could feel how proud he is of the Jesuit House museum. The beams had deteriorated, detached from the corbels; these enormous trunks were actually floating in water. Mr. Sy spent 150k for the restoration of each beam and as the engineers were excavating to put in concrete bases, they accidentally found a lot of ceramic shards. From heritage restoration, the project suddenly became archeological so the National Museum had to be called in to supervise the digs. They found more than 10,000 shards of Chinese trade ware of various dynasties, Annamese pottery, sawankhalok, native clay vessels, as well teeth of pigs and goats. Significant finds are on display, like two coins minted during the reign of Ming dynasty Emperor Wan Li (1572-1620) and a set of six ceremonial teacups dotted with gold powder, also from the Ming period.

“Año 1730” reads a plaque above an old entrance. The house had changed hands through the centuries, specially during the 100-year period when the Jesuit Order was disbanded and banished from Europe and all Spanish colonies. By connecting bits and pieces, we now know that after the Jesuits, the colonial government took possession of the property and later sold it to a Chinese mestizo family surnamed Villa in 1880. When the Jesuits returned (the “second coming,” said Mr. Sy), the Villas returned the property in exchange for perpetual indulgences for living and dead members of the family. The saga did not end there.

In 1910, Don Luis Alvarez bought the Jesuit House from a certain Don Cristobal Garcia, an agent of the Tabacalera in Cebu. In the 1960’s, the house was used as a club by one of the Alvarez relatives. Mr. Jaime Sy’s father eventually bought the property and bequeathed it to him.

So far, I have had the pleasure of meeting two Tsinoy gentlemen, both in the hardware business, who have shown a deep interest in preserving Philippine heritage – Johnny Cobankiat of Cobankiat Hardware, Inc., in Binondo, Manila, and Mr. Jimmy Sy of Cebu.

Now, about the Rizal memorabilia and that charming museum of the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Mabini campus. Apparently, the founders of the USPF, Agustin and Beatriz Jereza, are related to us by affinity. Lucia married Mariano Herbosa whose granddaughter Concepcion married Escolastico Duterte, a nephew of the founders. Lucia, Trinidad, and Concepcion donated the Rizal memorabilia in 1951.

What struck me is that Rizal’s clothes, specially his fall overcoat, look much bigger and are in a better condition than the ones displayed at Fort Santiago, Intramuros. The socks were of particular interest because they were darned in so many parts, especially at the heels, and the stitches were as fine and flat as they should be, for the comfort of the wearer. Poor Rizal, he bought books and assembled a personal library, but could not afford new socks. The first floor of the museum is dedicated to his life in Europe what with photomurals of the places he mentioned in his letters and travel journal. There is a re-creation of his room at Pastor Ullmer’s house.

On the second floor, which is still closed to the public, there were two “barong Tagalog,” one with elegant ruffles on the chest, much like the paintings of Lozano. There was a Katipunan flag, also donated by the sisters, of very fine linen, tattered at the edges, the blazing faceless sun and KKK appliqued with incredibly fine stitches.

A precious set of postcards will soon be framed and displayed, an encomium to Rizal, each stanza of the “Ultimo Adios” in Spanish, is beautifully illustrated in 19th century style, with local landscapes, anahaw leaves, the Mayon volcano, and allegorical figures of Mother Filipinas, archangels and cherubs. There were also a couple of letters from Josephine Bracken and a self-portrait Rizal sent to Blumentritt. The second floor will be ready by May, 2019, in time for the festival of museums in Cebu. Thanks to Curator Odette, we were allowed a glimpse.

While the city of Manila is capering in the crossfire between heritage and so-called progress, Cebu City has gone beyond Magellan’s Cross and is proudly conserving its built heritage and historical sites.

(ggc1898@gmail.com)