Friday, October 26, 2007

Basilica Minore del Santo Niño

"The convent of the Sto. Niño de Cebu was founded by Fr. Andres de Urdaneta OSA on April 28, 1565 , the very day the Legazpi-Urdaneta expedition arrived in the island. On May 8 of the same year, when Legaspi and his men planned the urbanization of the city, they allotted a “place for the church and the convent of San Agustin, “where the Santo Niño image had been found.”

In 1599, the convent was made a house of studies of grammar, headed by the Visayan linguist, Fr. Alonso de Mentrida.OSA It also served as a rest house for missionaries working in the province and as a retirement home for the aged and the sick, usually attended to by a lay brother.

The church has always been the Sanctuary of the Sto. Niño, under the custody of the Augustinians. The number of priests assigned to the church varied from three to five aside from one or two lay brothers."




The text, postcard of The Santo Niño De Cebu and the picture of Basilica Minore were encoded here and scanned from Brochures and Postcard purchased from The Basilica Del Santo Niño Museum. The pictures below were taken by this blogger during my trip to Cebu.








This is going to be the final post of Famous Landmarks I have taken from my Cebu Trip. Formerly known as San Agustin Church. It was originally built in 1565 to house the oldest and the most celebrated Christian relic in the country, the image of the Señor Sto. Niño de Cebu. This statue is Magellan's baptismal gift to Queen Juan. After being destroyed in by fire, the structure was rebuilt in 1602 and then rehabilitated in 1740.

At present, there are minor repairs done at the facade of the church so it is not really naturally possible to obtain a full frontal view of the Church without capturing those cranes and construction materials stored in front of the Church. I was informed that repairs at this time are necessary to maintain and preserve its facade in its original stone texture and natural color in order to convey an air of simplicity of line and elegance.


SIDE NOTES:

As much as possible, I refrain from political comments because I want this blog to showcase the other side of me. However, yesterday, President GMA granted an executive clemency on convicted plunderer Former President Erap Estrada, so I just want to give my two cents worth on the topic.
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As a new lawyer who have just recently passed the bar, the latest political development really shook me. Last night, I have reviewed and researched on the topic of executive clemency more particularly on pardon and I strongly believe that what had recently transpired was really unconstitutional.
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How could Erap be entitled to a pardon when there is no admission on his part that he has committed plunder. More so, by the looks of it, the terms and conditions of pardon was based primarily on the demands of Erap's lawyers in direct contravention of the Rules. In fact, Erap did not personally applied for pardon. It was GMA who readily handed it to him.
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I personally think that what happened in this case is a blatant disregard on the Rules of Law and the Rules of Court. If what GMA wanted is to free Erap, then, what she should have done is to use all her powers to convince the Sandiganbayan to acquit Erap. Doing so could get her the same results with less fuzz.
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My friend opined that GMA has pardoned Erap to set a precedent wherein a former president convicted of plunder or graft is immediately pardoned by his/her successor. GMA is already preparing for her future. She knows that when she is no longer president, she will be inundated with charges of graft and corruption or plunder. She is therefore making it easy for the next president to pardon her.
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A good point don't you think? Well I believe that this topic will not end here and in days to come. It may even reach the Supreme Court. As for now, I don't know if you feel the same way as I do that this GMA-lead Government is playing us around.

11 comments:

  1. I have been there to Cebu and I have also visited the place s you have posted here. Maganda talaga ang Cebu and I will always go back there.

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  2. Is it just a co-incidence that you chose to mix church and our sorry state of Philippine politics?

    The last time I was inside the basilica, I there were bats in the belfry.

    If we come to think of it, our government officials of today are like bats to a church.

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  3. Hay naku nakakangitngit talaga. Meron ba naman na sentebsyahan makulong tapos palalayain agad. Alis na tayo Pilipinas.

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  4. That is why I hate Philippine politics. Sooooo dirty. May God save our country.

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  5. I see the irony in your post. First part is about church and the second part is about government. You really should not mix it up. ;-) Take Care again.

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  6. By the way, too many posts, i can't keep up.

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  7. Hay naku, whatz new ba? Magulo talaga politics satin.

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  8. Maganda talaga ang Cebu! I have never been there, but I have lots of friends from there. I have been to Manila, and Bagio, and Sumabnit, 100 Islands... and I can't remember where else right now. I hope to visit again this summer, but would rather go in January when it isn't so hot!

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  9. @ cesz - i couldn'e agree more. given the chance, i'll visit other places of Cebu.

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  10. @ mtan - poor bats.

    @ jenny - indeed, may God save our country.

    @ carol - thanx for visiting, i'll try to slow things a bit for you. i am just making up for future lost grounds.

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  11. @ rochelle - thanx for dropping by. i am not quite sure where sumabnit is but 1oo islands is in pangasinan. i ahve been to pangasinan but never been to 100 islands.

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