CARCAR, CEBU (May 29, 2010) – Four of Carcar’s largest and oldest ancestral houses from the Spanish colonial period — Balay na Tisa, Ang Dakong Balay (Don Florencio Noel House), the Mercado Mansion and the Silva House get recognition and protection as national historical landmarks in ceremonies today in Carcar by top officials of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (formerly the National Historical Institute) to culminate May’s National Heritage Month activities in Cebu.

The Hon. Ambeth R. Ocampo, National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) chairman, will unveil and turn-over four heritage house markers to the owners of Carcar Spanish colonial ancestral houses dating from the mid-19th century that belong to the descendants of the Sarmiento-Osmeña family, the Noel family, the Mercado-Lucero family and the Silva family.
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CEBU CITY (May 16, 2010) — Four houses in Carcar will each receive historical markers from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP). The inauguration of the markers has been set this coming May 29 just in time for the closing of the National Heritage Month.

The cast-iron markers symbolize the official recognition by the NHCP of the houses as historical sites. Usually such markers will contain a brief history of the site including its cultural and historical significance.

Under a law protecting such sites, no site that has been recognized by the NHCP as culturally and historically significant may be altered without prior permission.

Just recently, a historical marker was also installed at the University of San Carlos.

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. Continue Reading »

On May 29, 2009 six museums in downtown Cebu City — Museo Sugbo, Casa Gorordo, Yap-Sandiego House, Cathedral Museum of Cebu, Basilica Minore del Sto. Nino Museum, and Fort San Pedro — will open their doors to the public from 6 pm to 12 midnight for only a single ticket worth P100. For an additional P50, guests can avail of unlimited tartanilla rides in between museums. There will be around five tartanillas that will be stationed at each museum. Continue Reading »

(Note: I wrote the article below on May 14, 2009 as a response to an earlier article which I wrote two years earlier on February 12, 2007 which got published in Cebu Daily News. The Jesuit House then was a mess but it has just been restored, thanks to its owners, and is now a museum that is open to the public.

All credits go to Fr. Rene Javellana, S.J., who wrote an essay about the house in 1989. Another short description of the house was also written by him for Panublion. It was in 2006 while browsing the Panublion website that I learned so much about the existence of the house and became so fascinated about it even until now.)

It was almost two years ago back in 2007 when I first stepped inside this Spanish-era house together with a friend who have just arrived from Manila. We were just discussing about the existence of such a house when we decided to walk-in there and secured on-the-spot permission to go inside. Continue Reading »