Above: The pre-war main building.

Tucked behind high concrete walls is another heritage jewel waiting to be discovered. The Mandaue campus of the Colegio dela Inmaculada Concepcion has a pre-war school building that is still in perfect condition and serves as one of the last examples of religious educational edifices in Cebu that have survived the ravages of war — and man.

The main structure, a high-ceiling two-storey wooden building, is slightly elevated from the ground similar to Gabaldon-type school buildings. Beside it is an adjoined low structure that bears obvious influences of the typical bipartite “bahay-na-bato” construction. Perhaps the two structures were from two different periods of time.

Below: An archival photo of the old building (Photo courtesy of Jobers Bersales).

What caught my attention was a low round concrete structure beside the main building with some of the cement chipped away revealing some cut-coral stones beneath it. It was obviously a water well that dates back to the Spanish colonial era only that it has now been covered with concrete on top and plastered with cement all over. A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers.

A staff from the school told me that during the Japanese occupation during World War II the basement of the main building was used as a garrison by the Japanese Imperial Army. History now plays a role here. It’s good enough to know that the Sisters running the school have very much well preserved the buildings especially that they tell a story of their humble beginnings as an educational institution.

Below: The adjoined low structure.

Below: A water well that has been covered with concrete on top and plastered with cement all over.