PARIAN

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE

From the very beginning, the Spanish authorities believed that for political,
administrative, and religious reasons it was necessary to keep disparate ethnic groups
segregated. In 1565, Legaspi had already put the policy of ethnic segregation into
effect when he divided the port area of Cebu into the poblacion de naturales(which
became the town of San Nicolas) and the poblacion de europeos (or what was referred
to as the ciudad of Cebu).
It was only around 1590 that a Chinese settlement came to be established in
Cebu. This was located on the Spanish citys north side and was connected to the sea
by an estuary. Visiting Chinese traders had come to Cebu before this time but it was
only during the Spanish rule, and in the 1590s when Cebu briefly participated in the
galleon trade, that the Chinese district of Parian was founded and evolved into a market
and trading center.
The district was under the charge of the Jesuits who baptized, taught reading,
writing, arithmetic and Christian doctrine to the community of traders and artisans and
their families. On October 22, 1614, the second bishop of Cebu, Fr. Pedro de Arca,
separated the port area into two parished: the parish for the Christian Chinese and
Filipinos who lived in the areas bordering the ciudad. A third division was set aside for
the local people (naturales, indios) in San Nicolas. Parian remained a parish
administered under the secular clergy until 1828 when the bishop of Cebu abolished
and placed it under his jurisdiction.
During the commercial decline of Cebu in the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries, the Chinese population of Cebu dwindled, particularly with the expulsions
done by Governor-General Simon de Anda in 1780. By this time, Parian had become
a community of Chineses mestizos. At the same time, it became more of a suburban
residential district rather than a trading ghetto.
There was also an ecological reason for the change in the character of Parian, from
a commercial to a residential district. the small Parian river that ran through the district
had begun to silt up and was no longer navigable. When Chinese immigrants began to
flow back into Cebu in the nineteenth century, they gravitated towards the Ermita-Lutao
area (now Carbon Market area), which was close to the shore, leaving Parian to
mestizo and indio residents.

By the middle of the nineteenth century the Chinese mestizos (and the Chinese)
had become the most dynamic commercial group in the city, while the native Cebuanos
had become a commercially anonymous group.
Before 1860 the Cebu mestizos had a brokerage monopoly in their part of the
Visayas. They owned coastal vessels, collected goods in the provinces and forwarded
them to Manila. They aggressively protected this monopoly by urging restrictions on the
activities of the Chinese in Manila and the provinces. When the advent of foreign
houses and the new cabecilla wholesale system broke this monopoly in the midnineteenth century, the mestizos shifted their interests from commerce to agriculture.
They farmed out to the countryside and acquired estatesin places like Talamban,
Talisay, Naga, and Carcar, and were in a position to accumulate weath with the boom in
cash crops in the late nineteenth century. This was the basis of Parians reputation as
the richest and most productive district, the center of commerce in Cebu.
Through the years, when Parian enjoyed power and pestige, various controversies
arose as to its civil and ecclesianstical character and jurisdiction. In 1828 a conflict
broke out between officials of the Parian and ciudad concerning jurisiction ove the
barrio of Zamboanguillo. At about the same time the officials of Parian and the
Augustinian order disputed claims over the Hacienda de Banilad.
As a civil body, Parian also had a problematic character. At the time the Cebu
Ayuntamiento was dissolved in 1755 because of the lack of Spanish residents in the
city. the alcalde mayor of Cebu divided the city area into three separate pueblos or
municipal units: the Ciudad, Parian, and Lutao. Parian then was a separate town from
1755 to 1849.
Ecclesiastically, Parian existed as a parish separate from the ciudad as early as the
start of the seventeenth century. It was initially suppressed in 1830 and was
reestablished in 1838. In 1849, the parish was abolished and placed under the
jurisdiction of the Cathedral. As a parish, Parian continued to function with diminished
powers until the mid-1870s when the Parian church was finally demolished.
The parian elite responded to the Tagalog Rebellion of 1896 by donating money to
the Spanish cause and by either supporting or joining the voluntarious leales, the proSpanish local militia. It was traditionally-indio dominated San Nicolas which was the
seat of insurrectionary activity, and it was San Nicolas which supplied the Revolution in
Cebu with many of its leaders.
The Cebuano uprising of April 1898 was a dramatic event. The insurgents
occupied the larger part of the city as Spanish officials, soldiers, priests and residents

withdrew to the safety of Fort San Pedro. Spanish reinforcements drove the insurgents
out of the city but during the fenzied Holy Week of 1898 there was much destruction as
the Spanish vessel Don Juan de Austria bombarded the city. Parian was razed to the
ground.
In the half-decade of tensions that followed, some Parian residents sought refuge in
less troubled zones. Urbanization wrought ecological changes as the population filled
out the port area and residential patterns changed. In 1900, Parian was a much more
compact, smaller district. Parian retained its identitiy well into the twentieth century. In
1917, it was still referred to as an aristocratic bario where the wealthy families of the
city resided. However, in time it was to be absorbed into the larger area that was urban
Cebu.

PRESENT MODIFICATION AND FUNCTION

Conceptualized by multi-awarded sculptor Eduardo Castrillo, the mammoth structure depicts

significant moments in Cebus history beginning with that fateful fight of April 21, 1521 in the island
of Mactan where native chieftain Lapu-Lapu killed Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan.
Construction of the structure began in July 1997; its inauguration was on December 8,
2000.
The monument was purposely situated in Parian, Cebu City to highlight the areas important role in
the countrys history. Parian, which is near Colon St. , the oldest street in the Philippines, was the old
Chinese district of Cebu. It was a bustling community where the locals, the Chinese and Spanish
mestizos engaged in commerce and trade. Some of Cebu s prominent names such as Osmeas,
Avilas, Uy-Herreras and Cuencos traced their roots to Parian, which was once an enclave of wealthy
families.
Since the monument in a collaborative effort, the DOT has turned over to the
Cebu City local government the responsibility of maintaining the historical site.
According to the memorandum of agreement between the DOT, the Cebu City
local government and Barangay Parian, the monument gives the City the legal
basis to provide funds for the maintenance and preservation of the site. This
includes providing for the safety and security of its visitors.

SAN JUAN BAUTISTA CHURCH

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE
DIONISIO Alo stood seething with anger as authorities tore down the magnificent San Juan Bautista
Parish Church in Parian in the late 1870s.

His heart bled with every stone that was removed and all he could do was bite his lips causing them
to also bleed, said Ang Sugbo sa Karaang Panahon: An Annotated Translation of the 1935 History
of Cebu by Fe Susan Go.
Alo, who was capitan of the Parian gremio, was so angry at the destruction that he unknowingly
crushed the golden handle of his baston.
The destruction of what had been described in various historical sources as the most magnificent
church in Cebu was the end of centuries of struggle between the local mestizo community and the
Spanish friars who wanted control over the structure.
The Parian church, according to Gos translation submitted to the University of San Carlos as her
masteral thesis in history, has never been surpassed by any other church that has been built in
Cebu, such as the Cathedral, the Seminary and San Nicolas. It was built in 1602.
What remains on the site today, the San Juan Bautista chapel, is but a faint reminder of an opulent
past.
The church was made of stone blocks, plastered together in a mixture of lime and the sap of the
lawat tree. The roofs were made of tiles, and the lumber used was molave, balayong and naga. The
paraphernalia used in the mass was made purely of gold, the pews were carved by a sculptor of the
Parian, the altars were covered with stone slabs with money and gold inlaid, and the church bells
were big and loud. The tolling of these bells was so loud that it could be heard as far as Hilotungan
ang the town of Talisay, Go said in her thesis.
The Augustinian friars upon seeing the magnificence of the church of the Parian, got envious, and
employed every shrewd means they could think of to take over the Parian church, the thesis said.
Fr. Rafael Vasquez, a Parianon, however, fought back and kept the friars at bay.
Go said in one of her footnotes that Augustinian Fr. Santos Gomez Maraon filed a petition to have
the Parian parish supressed and incorporated into the Cathedral.

Rivalry
Go said, Many reasons for this request were given, but it definitely had the earmarks of a direct
challenge against the dominance of the Chinese mestizo community of Parian and their elaborate
church, which far outshone the cathedral.

Through the years, however, the rivalry with Spanish friars continued with succeeding priests and
capitans of the Parian gremio.
During the time of Don Pedro Rubi as Parian captain, the bishop ordered that masses be held at the
church only on Sundays.
During the time of Don Maximo Borromeo as captain, the bishop removed the right of the Visayas
priests to officiate mass in the Parian Church.
In retaliation the residents of the Parian decided to make use of the school across from the church
and converted it into a chapel where the parish priest of Parian could officiate the mass.
In 1875, Dionisio Alo, known as Capitan Isyo, became capitan of the Parian gremio. With the San
Juan Bautista fiesta in June approaching, Capitan Isyo called for a meeting to discuss preparations.
The fiesta was a big affair in the area with most Parian residents spending as much as three
thousand pesos for the celebration.
Capitan Isyo also wanted to discuss who would replace their parish priest, the Ilonggo Fr. Anselmo
Pari Imoy Albancea, who died in December 1874. The replacement would be celebrating the
fiesta mass.
Fr. Tomas de la Concepcion, the parish priest of the cathedral, told the group to request the bishop
to appoint a white priest. De la Concepcion said there was no Filipino priest capable of being named
to the post.
Capitan Isyo, however, strongly disagreed and shouted at a cabeza de barangay who agreed with
the suggestion.
At that instance, a quarrel broke out between the two. While Capitan Isyo used his prerogatives as
head of the mestizo gremio, Padre Tomas also made use of his power as representative of the
Bishop in order to force Capitan Isyo to yield and accept (a) white priest as their parish and spiritual
guide.
The heated and bitter exchange ended with the two deciding not to hold a mass for the fiesta or even
holding any celebrations.

Grudge
Followers of Capitan Isyo feared he would be excommunicated and tried to change his mind but the
nationalist community leader just told them, I would prefer that the church be destroyed rather than
have a friar in it.
Fr. Tomas kept a grudge against Parian and boasted to his priestly friends, especially the friars, that
he was obsessed with the complete destruction of the Parian church.

When Fr. Tomas reported the incident to the bishop, including Capitan Isyos declaration that he
would rather have the church destroyed than have a white priest in it, the bishop felt insulted.
On June 24, 1875, the bishop forbade the parish priest from saying mass in the Parian church. The
communitys fiesta celebration was also overseen by the Cathedral parish priest. Capitan Isyo could
not do anything and his enemies made sure he would keep his post so that they could exact their
revenge. They told residents that the capitan was to blame for what happened in Parian.
The bishop then ordered a Spanish engineer to check the durability of the Parian church. The
engineer later informed the governor that the materials used to build the church were weak and the
structure, including the stone wall that surrounded it, should be torn down.

Date of destruction
The governor of Cebu then ordered the destruction of the church. He also ordered the bishop to take
possession of everything inside the church, including its statues and bells.
While Ang Sugbo Sa Karaang Panahon listed the destruction of the church as having occurred in
1875-1876, Go said the actual destruction of the church seems to have taken place in late 1878 or
1879.
According to information printed on a photograph found at the Cebuano Studies Center in the
University of San Carlos, the convent of the church was spared and was used later during the
American regime as a public library and a fire station.

PRESENT MODIFICATION AND FUNCTION

CUI RESIDENCE
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE
PRESENT MODIFICATION AND FUNCTION

SIDEBOTTOM RESIDENCE
PRESENT MODIFICATION AND FUNCTION

ESCUELA

PRESENT MODIFICATION AND FUNCTION

CALLE COLON
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE
PRESENT MODIFICATION AND FUNCTION

PRIAN ESTERO
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE
PRESENT MODIFICATION AND FUNCTION