Cebu City "heritage barangays" identified

CEBU, Philippines - Barangays Parian, San Roque and Sto. Niño in Cebu City are identified as heritage sites by the Cebu City Tourism Commission, which hopes to showcase these to attract more foreign visitors and local tourists as well.

“Our target is not necessarily the abroad or the foreign but the local tourist or the residents of Cebu City,” said Cebu City Councilor Margot Osmena, chairperson of the committee on tourism.

Barangay Parian is where the Heritage of Cebu Monument stands, located in the original Plaza Parian. It showcases some significant and symbolic events in the history of Cebu from the time of Rajah Humabon to the recent beatification of the Cebuano martyr, Pedro Calungsod.

Across the monument is the Parian Fire Station, which was built in the 1950s and stands at the very site where the St. John the Baptist Church stood before it was demolished during the Spanish colonial period.

Within the vicinity of the monument is the Yap-Sandiego House and the Jesuit House of 1730. A few walks away from it stands the Casa Gorordo.

In Barangay San Roque, Osmeña said there is the Plaza Hamabar in honor of the Cebuano chieftain who, together with his wife Queen Juana and 500 of their supporters, converted to Christianity when the Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan arrived in 1521.

The Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral and the Fort San Pedro are also in Barangay San Roque.

Barangay Sto. Nino, meanwhile, covers the Magellan’s Cross and the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño.

At the heritage sites, which are dubbed as pockets of beauty, Osmeña said there is an actual experience of seeing for oneself the places where history happened.

Osmeña added that there are more heritage areas to showcase in Cebu.

Residents or certain organizations of the barangay, or the barangay government itself, could serve as tour guides in their respective places. (FREEMAN)