Throwback...Stories of Negros Island

     



             It was sometime on the second of January 1995, that  i joined tourism service in my province---Negros Occidental. After 27 years,  I chanced upon  the Tourism Situationer of the Department of Tourism compiled and prepared by the late Mr. Edwin Gatia, 

who was then assigned as Tourism Operations Officer

of the DOT Bacolod Sub Office. 

The April 27, 1876 San Sebatian Cathedral 

 This is an expanded version of the Annual Tourism Situationer, which has changed through the years but facts on History, Arts and Culture remain the same.

Interesting as it is, let me share to you what i read on the book about the San Sebastian Cathedral

In 1575 , Bacolod became a town from a small village by the river of Magsungay, under the patronage of Saint Sebastian.

When Jesuits were expelled upon the order of the King of Spain  in 1767, this was the time when the village was to be elevated as a parish.  However,  Fr. Leon Pedro  was appointed in 1806 as 'Propitario' and  Bacolod was able to meet the requirements to become a Parish. In September 1818 with Fr. Julian Gonzaga as the first Parish Priest.

He encouraged the people to live near the seashore, leaving the hills aka 'Buluboklods' which later on turned into a place of loneliness, locally  known as 'Camingawan' . 

The construction of San Sebastian began with coral stones from Guimaras, the roofing required 14,000 shingles, made of weaves of bamboo slats, with beams made of hardwood from Palawan. However, Fr. Gonzaga died in 1826, he was succeeded by Fr. Roman Manuel Locsin who continued the work and donated the large bell in 1853 dedicated to Saint Sebastian . Fr. Locsin  also died in 1863, at a time when recollects started coming . He was replaced by a secular priest Fr. Mariano de Avila, who donated the second largest bell and a smaller one. A belfry was constructed wherein bells were mounted, on October 1867. After eight years of serving the parish, it was turned over to Fr. Mauricio Ferrero in 1871.

Fr. Mauricio Ferrero

 It has always been a dream of every priest  who served in Bacolod to build  a bigger church of stone. In 1875,  lay out of the church began , with an extension of forty meters , the stones were strengthened with 72 cavans of lime.  On  April 27, 1876  a new foundation was laid  which led to the construction of the said church. Prisoners were required to render service in the construction supervised by a Chinese  foreman and stone cutters from Iloilo. Materials used were 45,179 pieces of stones, 7,056 of large hewn stones, held  together by 8,366 cavans of lime,  from Guimaras transported  through banca to Iloilo and steam boat 'Talin' to Silay , hauled to Bacolod by carabao carts and sleds .It was in 1879 when the facade was finished .A huge clock was installed  at the right side of the church donated by Don Jose Ruiz de Luzuriaga. Paintings in the interior was done by famous church painter at that time  Don Isidro Maria Lago aka painter of the Majesty in Manila. The chandeliers of bacarrat crystals  worth $450.00 were donated by Dona Cristeta Gonzaga and Don Emilio Escay with six other chandeliers of bacarrat crystals  purchased from Paris by other parishioners. The construction of the church was finished  on the eve of the Feast of St. Sebastian, January 19, 1882. This was the largest and most imposing church at that time, inaugurated by Bishop Mariano Cuartero, above the main entrance facing the altar was a huge pipe organ , installed by Schmidt Y. Zeigher Remscheid from Germany in 1884. About fifty years later in 1932, the Holy See decreed the creation of Bacolod Diocese. On June 23,1933 Casimiro Lladoc was appointed the first Bishop of Bacolod.  Two years later in 1935, reconstruction of the cathedral began where the post made  of hardwood was changed to cast concrete, each concrete column were donated by a family. While the coral stones were covered with finished concrete , the altar was expanded. 

 

Fr. Fernando Cuenca

There has been three attempts to redo the said situationer  the last five years yet we run out of time, changes caused a lot of missed opportunities.

     Still, i would like to dedicate this to Mr. Edwin Gatia , Butch Gerasmo  and Tina Lapres.

Here is a province  I appreciate and consider my residence, and there is no better way to describe the Land of Sweet Surprises , rather by telling you bits and pieces of what I learned to love through the years.

The Division of Negros Island (excerpts for the Negros Tourism Situation Manual)

It was on  July 1876 where  thirteen priests from the oriental side of Negros submitted a petition to  Governor -General in Manila, Valeriano Weyler, calling for the division of the island.

On September 2,1877 , a report was furnished after an investigation  had been conducted, recommending the separation of the oriental side of Negros Island.

The report recognized the arguments and justification of the 13 priests. They cited circumstances as distance  and the long hours of travel  between east and west coast, increase in population,  hearing of prisoners in courts was too far and many more.

A Royal Decree was issued by the governor in Madrid dated October 25, 1889, Governor Weyler then established  the Province of Negros Oriental as a separate political unit  on January 1, 1890 ---some thirteen years after the petition was made. 

Today, the island is composed of two provinces, Negros Occidental facing Western Visayas , and is part of  Region 6 while Negros Oriental facing Central Visayas is part of Region 7.

(first of three  parts)