The Heritage of Cebu

Aug 16 2008

Of walls and carved street names

Published by Knight Carl at 6:00 am under Around Town

This is the second of three installments about my trip in Oslob.

Above: Entrance to the church complex of Oslob.

First timers in Oslob would have been able to discern immediately the location of the church if it hadn’t got burned due to its massiveness which can be sighted upon entering the town proper. Its most prominent feature was the pyramidal dome and the bell tower.

Upon disembarking at the bus stop from the highway one still needs to walk a few meters to the east. There’s a different aura here in Oslob perhaps because of the thought of a mystery that will unfold once one reaches the old town proper. I read in one book that during the Spanish times, some houses here resembled like those in Europe. Like most towns in the country that were established by the Spaniards, the lay-out of Oslob follows the laws of the indies — gridiron roads that emanate from a square flanked by the church and some government buildings.

Below: The rectory of the church, one of the very few in Cebu that still has the original clay roof tiles until it got burned on March 26, 2008.

Below: The seal of the Spanish monarch. The church of Oslob was built through a plan made by Cebu Bishop Santos Gomes Marañon.

Depending on where you would enter the church complex, one will be greeted with stone pillars bearing the old names of the streets — Calle del Camposanto at the northern side and Calle del Aragones on the southern portion. Calle del Aragones is much better carved owing perhaps to the fact that it was named after an “illustrious” person, a former parish priest of the town who was elevated to the bishopric of Nueva Segovia, now Vigan. Calle del Camposanto, a street that leads to the cemetery, is now called Calle Eternidad.

Below: An old street marker. The street was named after Fr. Aragones who was later on elevated as Bishop of Nueva Segovia (Vigan).