Above: The imposing Osmeña mausoleum.

Built in 1920, this stately mausoleum, located at a cemetery (Osmeña Cemetery??) in M.J. Cuenco Avenue near Carreta Cemetery, contains the mortal remains of Doña Estefania Chiong Veloso de Osmeña (first wife of Philippine Commonwealth President Sergio Osmeña Sr.), Sergio Osmeña Jr. (the president’s son who became mayor and governor of Cebu and senator), Juana Osmeña (the president’s mother), and several other members of the Osmeña, Veloso, and Suico families.

The actual tombs are located in a crypt at a basement which can be accessed through a flight of stairs at the back of the mausoleum. The door to the crypt is still the original — of hardwood and of heavy built similar to the doors of the old Banco de las Islas Filipinas building across Cebu City Hall.

Below: Entrance to the crypt.

The upper storey of the mausoleum which is the one visible from outside contains a structure in the middle that looks like either a tomb or an altar. Decorated with a statue of a dying lady held by an angel, this is actually an access for the coffin to be brought down to the crypt below.

Below: Access for the coffin to be brought down to the crypt below.

Currently, the mausoleum and the entire cemetery itself is filthy and surrounded with shanties. Several homeless people are also living in some of the abandoned mausoleums there. With some mausoleums containing life size carrara marble statues that date back to the 1930s, this place will surely attract a number of classical art lovers.

Below: Details of the mausoleum.