My friend Gaven Bagares who also was a recipient of the said email, told me to write about it and had it publish in the papers. But i don't have to confidence to write about it, for one i need to dig deeper on the issue at hand, secondly i don't have and outlet. Though i have some friends in the 3 dailies of Cebu so lets go back to reason number one.
I shared the said email to Jojo Bersales, and he asked if he can write about it, i said why not. Thus his Column Jesuit house in Parian came out.
For those who don't know the house yet, here is the blog of a good friend Arnold Karl Sancover on the Jesuit House.
The following is the email sent to my by Dr. Mike Cullinane, verbatim
Resil, Linda, Gavin, and Bino,
Here is an entry that you will all find interesting pertaining to the Jesuit residence in Panting. I had long assumed (as most of you know) that this was not a residence that had been established by the Jesuits during their earlier missionary assignment in Cebu (ca.1600-1768), but that it probably pertained to the time after they returned to the Philippines in the second half of the 19th century. Well, here's the document that let's us know when the Jesuits acquired the famous casa. The date on the interior wall clearly has very little to do with when the Jesuits acquired and began to use the house as their residence, which appears more likely to be 1880 -- as such, all the Jesuit insignia on the walls were more likely made after 1880. We can still argue (if we wish) that the casa itself dates back to 1730 (which I also doubt, but would love to be proven wrong about). Moreover, all the previous evidence we have (especially from Repetti) pertaining to the things in the house coming from the Villa family now makes sense, since it appears that in 1879-80 the house belonged to the Villa family. Here is a summary of the entry in the Cebu Protocolos (from a transaction I found yesterday in the Morman microfilm of the National Archives collection). Enjoy, Mike
Between October 1879 and June 1880, the heirs of the Villa family (children of Don Juan Villa and Doña Juliana Diaz): Valentin, Juan, Francisca, Ambrosia, Gavina, Enriqueta, and Maria Villa y Diaz, bequeathed a house and lot that they had inherited to the Jesuit Order to serve as a residence. The house was described as a "casa de mampostería" with its corresponding solar, located in Panting, Cebu City, "lintado por las paredes de piedra y estero que le sirvan de cerco" (bound by stone walls and the estero which serve as an enclosure); the house was given to the Jesuits with five conditions: 1) that the Jesuits will reside in the house ("habitarán a la tal casa") without any rental payment ("sin pagar alquiler ninguna") for 25 years, during which time they will be responsible for its maintenance and repairs ("reparaciones que se hagan en la casa"); 2) if the Jesuits leave the casa or abandon it before the end of the 25 years, the property will revert to the original owners or their heirs; 3) during their occupancy, the Jesuits will dedicate specific prayers for the lives and souls of the members of the Villa family; 4) the Villas and/or their heirs will regain ownership of the casa after the 25 years has elapsed; 5) if at that time, the family or its heirs do not wish to reclaim the property, the Jesuits will purchase it from them for 1,500 pesos; the transaction was between the Villa siblings (above) and Hermano Pelegrin Navarro, SJ, who was negotiating in representation of P. Joaquin Heras, Jesuit Superior in Manila; at the time of this transaction, all the Villa women were "solteras" and vecinos of Cebu City; Valentin Villa was casado, and Juan Villa was soltero, with both the men (Valentin and Juan) listed as vecinos of Matalom, Leyte; the final transaction (6/1/1880) was signed by the incumbent Alcalde Mayor, D. Antonio Cosin y Martinez, and the testigos instrumentales: Alejandro Cedeño, Pedro Gonzales, Jacobo Padilla, Mateo Donato, and Jose Castillo (Cebu Protocolos, Doc 108, 6/1/1880; 1359: 274b-282b)
The way i understand the notes of Dr Mike is that house was Villa's property and was given to the Jesuit for use rent-free.
So the House was indeed used by the Jesuit but its not 1730 but rather 1879-80. It is stated in the Protocolo that they bequeathed the house they inherited. It could still be that the house was built in the 18th century, but it is yet to be proven with documentary evidence such as one above which proves the ownership of the house.
Jojo Bersales sent me this:
here is rene javellana's response to my column, ka bino:
Dear Mr. Bersales,
Am in Cebu at the moment, but will be returning to Manila on 19 November.
I read your article quoting Dr. Michael Cullinane email to Ka Bino Guerrero on the document of 1879-1880 in which the Villa family donated house to the Jesuits. The terms of donation were standard in the colonial era. The house donated by the Villa may be a different house altogether from that mentioned in the email you quoted.
The dates October 1879 and June 1880, belong to the period of the return of the Jesuits to the Philippines. I have to ascertain from the Jesuit archives in Manila if there are corroborating records from the same era about the house. But as the the email you quoted stands, I have questions about the interpretation of that document.
1. Location. Where was the Villa house? The document mentions that the house is in Panting, Cebu City not Parian. You are probably more familiar with the Cebu but I am checking where Panting is.
2. Lot parameters. The document mentions "paredes de piedra y estero que sirven que la sirven de cerco." If there is an estero near the 1730 house, it is the Estero de Parian but that is now separated by lots from the house and there which is not completely enclosed by a wall. That needs explanation.
3. de mamposteria. The document describes the house as de mamposteria. This is a technical term meaning that the house was made of rubble, i.e. rough stones bound by lime mortar and smoothened by a lime finish. The description may fit the the house, (House B), which was the kitchen and dining hall of the residence when it was occupied by the Alvarez family. The main house (House A) where the date 1730 is found is technically described as "de sillar," i.e. cut-stone. That would have appeared in a document of donation, which would have to pass legal review.
Other details of the house suggest that the residence own by Sy Family is older.
1. By 1879-80, a house like that in the Parian, would not get a permit for construction, granting that the house was of 19th century provenance. Building laws had been passed after successive earthquakes banning the use of tile roofs. Instead a metal roof was prescribed. If it had a tile roof, it must have been in place before the 19th century building codes. This year is the same era as the construction of the San Ignacio Church in Manila, and that had a metal roof.
2. There are very few house built of cut stone that go a full two-stories as in House A. Most are a two part structure like Casa Gorordo, lower floor of stone and upper floor of wood. In Cebu, as far as I know, the only residence which has two floors of stone is the Santo Nino Basilica convento. Two floors of stone fell out of use for residences by the 19th century.
3. Some art details have emerged since the cleaning of the house. The date 1730 or is it 1750, are of the calligraphic style of the 18th century as seen in many documents. The Jesuist seal, the names or monograms of Mary and Joseph also appear in 18th century Jesuit churches and their style was belongs to the 16th-18th century. By the 19th century, the Jesuits used as less elaborate style as seen in their many publications.
I am presently working on the Jesuit suppression papers on 1768 and the years that follow. These are under the category of Temporalidades in the National Archives. Some papers are in the Jesuit archives and some are actually in diocesan archives. A fellow researcher, Ricky Jose, discovered the inventory of Indang church in the Archives of the Archdiocese of Manila. The work of reading inventories is tedious but should I find data on the Jesuit House, I will surely communicate it.
I am glad Cebuanos are taking an interest in this house. What ever data can be gathered to clarify the history of this house is most welcome. Please feel free to share this email with whomever want to contribute to a better reconstruction of the house at the Parian. Whatever year it was made, whoever owned it, the Jesuit House is revealing itself as worthy of deeper study; not the least is the obviously Chinese influence, like the flaring roof, the be gua at the end of the roof and the recently exposed painting on the ceiling beams.
I'd be happy to know Ka Bino's email, so we can keep communicating and solve the riddle of this house which has engaged my attention since the 1990s when I published a book on Jesuit architecture in the Philippines.
Rene J
Now the debate is brewing...
