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San Nicolas de
Tolentino Church
History Notes |
Modesto Sa-Onoy |
Next month, the parish of San Nicolas de Tolentino in Talisay City will mark the 75th anniversary of the completion and inauguration of its present imposing church. Refurbishing and repainting are now going on for this historic occasion, particularly its retablo, one of the surviving religious artifacts of Negros Occidental.
Aside from this, the parish is also constructing a bigger chapel for St. Vincent Ferrer with a multi-purpose building annex. As I wrote earlier, thousands of pilgrims and devotees come to the saint’s shrine every first Friday of the month. The long queue takes hours to end.
The parish grew out of a village along the Minuluang River. The people were then parishioners of the San Diego Parish of Silay. In 1848, the mission field of Negros was given to the Augustinian Recollect Order. They took over the parishes administered by the secular priests, except Bacolod and Silay.
In 1849, Minuluan was created a parish although, as Fr. Fernando Cuenca, the first and the longest ministering parish priest of Talisay, said there were only a few houses in the village. There were, however, many remontados, or hill people, that Fr. Cuenca spent time to gather into a new location to form what is known today as Talisay. The name is derived from these native trees that abound near the Matab-ang River. Minuluang, as the name suggests, was a typhoon-prone place.
He spent plenty of time gathering people into resettlement areas that formed the nucleus of many towns and cities of Negros today and opening roads to link these towns and missionary centers.
For Talisay, he designed the streets and the location of the church, the casa real or municipio, the school, the campo santo or cemetery, the residence of the prominent families and the market place. We can still see this design today.
The plaza of Talisay across the street was an open space. It remains a Church-titled property though being used by the city.
Fr. Cuenca was a young priest. He took his vows on June 6, 1844. He arrived in the Philippines on February 2, 1849 and, in June, was assigned assistant to Fr. Agustin Olmedillas, Recollect parish priest of Himamaylan. Fr. Cuenca studied Hiligaynon in Tinungan to best perform his duties. He stayed briefly here and was assigned to Minuluang where he served since then until his death in 1902. The first baptism in Talisay was on January 1, 1850.
The Negros revolution of 1898 failed to take him out. When the revolutionary soldiers came to arrest him, he dared them to do so and they backed off.
Fr. Cuenca constructed a church in Talisay that was common during those days – simple structures, first of wood and then of concrete but unassuming. They looked like boxes with a tapered roof of galvanized iron. He was unable to complete the church and left the final task to his successor, Fr. Miguel Garcia.
Fr. Cuenca also constructed a convent and there dug a well from where he drew water for his hydrotherapy cures. The convent was large enough to be the lodging place for his patients, some of whom were from Manila, and prominent personalities.
His achievements are numerous but this article is about the church he constructed. It was damaged by an earthquake and a new one was built.
The present church, one of the most beautiful in the diocese of Bacolod for its design that rivals the Bacolod Cathedral, was started in 1936 under Fr. Luis Alvarez, the parish priest (1932-37) and continued by Fr. Santiago Vilda, parish priest of Talisay in 1938-39. The church was completed in 1939 and blessed on September 9, 1939 by Msgr. Gugliemo Piani, Apostolic Delegate to the Philippines.
There were several churches that were constructed at the same time as that of Talisay, thus they have several similar features. The flooring of checkered tiles in San Nicolas is the same as that of the 1936 reconstructed Cathedral as well as those of the Sacred Heart Shrine in Lupit, which was constructed in 1941. Their tiles came from the Lizares industry.
Even the pews and benches of these churches have similar designs and decorations of the fleur-de-lis.
One feature of the San Nicolas de Tolentino church is the canopied main entrance. It set a model for churches constructed during the years 1935-1940 as those in Binalbagan, Vito, Sagay, Murcia, Victorias, San Enrique and the Sacred Heart Shrine.
The Recollects had given up the parishes in Negros but Talisay was retained for them in perpetual care, in recognition and gratitude for their pioneering missionary work for God, the Church and the people of this island that are beyond measure. *
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Nat’l statistician
a Bacoleña
The new head of the Philippine Statistics Authority appointed by President Benigno Aquino is a Bacoleña.
Recently appointed as National Statistician was Lisa Grace Bersales, former vice-president for planning and finance of the University of the Philippines System and dean of the UP Diliman School of Statistics, Negrense lawyer Rowena Guanzon, her SILAB sis, said.
Bersales, who hails from Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, is the eldest child of Jose and Teresita Rio Sotocinal. She is married to Jose Bersales Jr. and they have three children Jose Mikael, Jose Karlo and Adora Isabel.
Before assuming the post, Bersales was the UP System’s VP for Planning and Finance, a position she has held since February 10, 2011. A member of the UP Diliman faculty for more than 30 years, she was director of graduate studies, while also dean of the School of Statistics in the late 1990s.
Bersales earned her bachelor’s degree in Statistics, cum laude, in 1978, MS in Statistics in 1981, and PhD in Statistics in 1989 in the same university.
She finished her elementary studies at the Education and Training Center School in Bacolod City in 1970, and graduated from the Bacolod City High School in 1974.
Her publications and research papers have mainly been on applying statistical analysis to a wide range of issues related to social development, agriculture, and the economy. She has been involved in several projects with government agencies, such as the former National Statistics Office that is now under PSA, and the departments of Social Welfare and Development, and Education.
Her most recent projects include the “Enhancement of the Municipal Talakayan for the DSWD’s KALAHI-CIDDS Monitoring and Evaluation Team,” and the “Quantitative Assessment of the Project Impact on Beneficiaries from Particularly Vulnerable Backgrounds” for the International Labor Organization.
Among the duties of Bersales as National Statistician are to direct and supervise the general administration of the PSA; and prescribe rules and regulations, instructions, schedule and form of business of the PSA in the collection, compilation and dissemination of statistics and other information, and in the conduct of any census, a National Economic and Development Authority report said.
She will also provide the overall direction of the Civil Registry Law’s implementation, technical supervision over the civil registrars, and will act as ex-officio chairperson of the PSA Board Secretariat, among others, the NEDA added.
The PSA was created by Republic Act 10625 on September 12, 2013. It consolidates the various statistical offices and bureaus of the different national government agencies under one authority, and is comprised of the former National Statistics Office, the National Statistical Coordination Board, the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, and the Department of Labor and Employment’s Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics.*CPG
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‘Brainsbee’ reaches 95
brgys in third district
The “Brainsbee ni Albee” spelling and math and science competitions reached 95 of the 115 barangays in the third district of Negros Occidental last weekend, a press release from organizers said.
Silay City was the first to complete its finalists from the 16 barangays, and preparations are in full swing for the citywide finals on September 7. The barangay winners were Lantad: Kyna Hosillos, University of St. La Salle-Integrated School; Jas Ferroin Cordero, Doña Monserrat Lopez Memorial High School; Balaring: Roniel Recustodio, Don Albino & Doña Dolores Jison IS; and Reneben Carnaje, DMLMHS, the press release also said.
In Murcia, the winners were, San Miguel: Jody Mark Zabal, San Miguel Elementary School; Kezia Magallanes, Lopez Jaena National High School; Minoyan: Christian Lyn Palma, Minoyan ES; Andrea Matti, Minoyan NHS; Canlandog: Jhon Christian Palermo, Don Arturo Alba Sr. ES; Giesel Mesa, Murcia Open Bible Christian Academy; Amayco: Zamantha Claire Llamado, Amayco ES; Hazel Alindog, Lopez Jaena NHS; Pandanon: Merry Lou Faye Domingo, Pandanon Silos ES; Lannie Mae Samayang, Lopez Jaena NHS; Sta. Rosa: Kristine Laverne Gapiz, Manuel Regalado ES; Kent Joe Miraflor, Lopez Jaena NHS.
E.B. Magalona, Sto. Nino: Joane Marie Duay, Don H. Maravilla ES; April Joy Banhao, EBM NHS; San Jose: Jullie Ann Duarte, Jose D. Cuaycong ES; Jerome Estardo, EBMNHS; Tomongtong: Trecia Casilda Sumpay, Tomongtong ES; Mike Mae Sonolan, EBMNHS; Poblacion 1: Ross Nestor Salvador, St. Joseph Academy; Chris Jan Dinaga, Negros Occ. NHS; Latasan: Lloyd Mongado, Latasan ES; Nicole Marie Divinagracia, DMLMHS; Tuburan: Gleann Ocquiana, Rita Lovino ES; Dominic Jalbuna, EBMNHS;
Victorias, Brgy. 8: Alyssa Marie Cabalhin, JL Suarez ES; Federick Muhal, Victorias NHS; Brgy. 18-A: Gladys Ann Genovia, Vicmico ES; Shane Padonio, VNHS; Brgy. 19: James Collen Canon, Don Bosco Technical Institute; Joshea Geselle Belicano, VNHS; Brgy. 16: Justine Frances Tumbagahan, St. Mary Mazarrelo School; Juan Miguel Retirado, DBTI; Brgy. 16-A: Christine Espino, Vicmico ES; Rexan Aguirre, DBTI; Brgy. 17: Marri Jo Demegillo, Vicmico ES; Jeanel Gelago, VNHS-Canetown;
Talisay, Zone 14-A: Janel Joy Jardinero, Tayabas ES; Jessa Ayagan, Rafael B. Lacson Memorial HS; Zone 15: Sherlyn Loreno, Tayabas ES; Amada Nikka Louise Yasay, RBLMHS; Zone 12: Shayne Reyel Marie Ladera, Talisay ES; Kent Magapan, RBLMHS; Zone 12-A: Patrice Anne Patria, St. Theresita’s Academy; Emerald Esona, Negros Occ. NHS; Zone 9: Jackelyn Glaraga, Efigenio Enrica Lizares Memorial School; Bea Andie Tupas, Carlos Hilado Memorial State College; Zone 1: Kian Marie Valenzuela, Tayabas ES; and Mark Alvin Valenzuela, RBLMHS.
The barangay winners were each awarded a cash prize of P700, and the top 10 qualifiers in both categories received gifts. In the city/municipal round, top finishers will receive P15,000 in cash, and gifts for their coaches, schools and barangays. The district champions will get P30,000 in cash prize, and rewards for their schools and coaches, the press release also said.
The community-based academic competition was launched by Rep. Alfredo Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) in 2009, the press release also said.*
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SKYCable airing
shows for kids
Several programs for kids will be aired over SKYcable as part of its diverse and widest selection of quality programs, a press release from the station said.
The twists and turns of Phineas and Ferb’s force-filled adventure in “Phineas and Ferb Star Wars” will be shown 11 a.m. on August 17. In “Toonami”, billed as the ultimate home of the superhero, adventure-seeking young viewers can expect fun and excitement from all-time favorite iconic characters of Marvel, DC, and Anime, like The Avengers, X-men, Superman, Batman, and the rest of the gang, the press release also said.
For young Anime fans, Hero TV offers wide selection of popular and action-packed series, like the “Naruto 6”, that is based from a Japanese manga series. Lego hit series “Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu” will also be shown. Discovery Kids channel, on the other hand, offer shows that promote good values and features a wealth of information, like the “Wild Kratts” adventure of travelling around the globe to discover various animal habitats.
SKYcable offers more than 190 channels, flexible subscription options via the SELECT, iRECORD feature that records, pauses and rewinds live TV, and real-time coverage of sporting events and concerts via free view and pay-per-view.
For more information, those interested can log on to www.mysky.com.ph, or call the Customer Service hotlines at (02) 381-0000 for Metro Manila, (034) 432-0051 - Bacolod; (033) 300-1210 - Iloilo; or (035) 225-1010 - Dumaguete, the press release added.*
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Silay wins 2 awards
in 5th Fire Olympics
Silay City, Negros Occidental got two first runners-up awards during the 5th Provincial Fire Olympics held at SM Bacolod Saturday, a press release from the city said.
The Hawaiian Philippine Company Sugar Central, represented by the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management personnel, won in the Industrial Fire Brigade category, and the Brgy. Mambulac in the Barangay Fire Brigade category, the press release also said.
The LDRRM participants were Senior Fire Officer 1 Junnel Uberas, Ruel Diosto, Robert Lorca Jr., John Denmark Diosto, Ariel Armigos, Gerald Perez, Elmer Escalona, Erwin de la Cruz, Ruben Lamis, Joey Buenafe, Ronlin Carisma, Randy Santos, and Josne Antonio.
The Fire Olympics was in line with the 23rd anniversary of the Bureau of Fire Protection, the press release added.*
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Nat’l statistician a Bacoleña