BRIDGING THE GAP
Looking back at some grand old structures in Janiuay, Iloilo
Janiuay is one of the municipalities of the province of Iloilo. It is an interior town about a thirty-minute jeepney ride distance from Iloilo City and is located on plain land by the southeast and on partly hilly land by the northwest. It is bounded by three other municipalities: Maasin in the south, Lambunao in the north and Mina in the east.
The town was formerly called Matagup and was just initially a visita of the municipality of Dumangas. In 1752, it became an independent parish with the coming of Fr. Eugenio Moya and, soon after, was organized as a town. In the 1770s, the town was relocated to its present site and was called Janiuay.
The Catholic Church, the first major project built in Janiuay, was initiated by Fr. Miguel Carod who served as parish priest from 1830 to 1871. The stones used for the construction were transported to the site from Guimaras and were ferried by balsa. Ovens were put up to bake the bricks for use in the structure. When Father Carod died in November 1871, the grandiose church was almost finished. Fr. Nicolas Gallo, the priest who succeeded Father Carod, was responsible in finishing it. He constructed the solid convent of stones and bricks, following the structural design of a certain Architect Hervas. The Janiuay Church was a real fortress, as can be observed from the remaining walls. The structure measured 75 meters long and 16 meters wide.
Unfortunately, the church was burned down by Filipino guerillas when the Japanese landed in Panay in early 1942 to deprive the invaders of its use. The church and the convent have never been restored since then.
Another major structure built in Janiuay during the Spanish period is the Janiuay Cemetery. The cemetery has survived up to the present and is known for its beauty, artistry and extra-ordinary size. The one-hectare Filipino-Hispano cemetery has a striking archlike entrance flanked by two similar structures.
The person responsible for constructing the beautiful Janiuay Cemetery was Fr. Fernando Llorente. The work started in January 1874 and it took almost ten years to complete the monumental structure which, upon its completion in November 1884, was blessed by Archbishop Pedro Payo of Manila. It was reported that about 600 men worked in the construction of the cemetery.
Built on top of a low-lying hill, three wide staircases made of twelve layers of stone slabs leading to the three main entrance gates provide easy access to the cemetery. Reminiscent of the period in which it was constructed, it has big sturdy columns where images of saints and angels are enshrined. The whole cemetery area is fenced by steel and stone columns. The huge center chapel dominates the whole panorama of the entire area.
The Report of the Philippine Commission to the U.S. President (1901) says that "the cemetery in Janiuay is especially notable". However, it can be said that behind the beauty and symmetry of the cemetery is the unsung tale of the hardships and sufferings of men who labored hard and long to carry big slabs of cut stones to the site from the municipality of Dingle, Iloilo, twenty-seven kilometers away (Mesa 1985).
Two more structures built during the 1880s in Janiuay were the two buildings of the Escuelas de Janiuay (La Ilustracion Espanola y Americana 1885). The two buildings stood opposite each other and were separated by a town road. They were put up to provide basic formal education to the young people of the town. The structures were massively built of stones and bricks, and were identical in size and design. The schoolbuildings were well-ventilated with two wide doors and three archlike front windows each. Just like many of the Spanish vintage structures, the Escuelas de Janiuay have not survived the onslaught of time and human activity.
(Note: The writer is thankful to A.Y. Mosteiro Jr. of U.P. Los Banos, Laguna for providing most of the materials used in this column article.)