It would have been a sight as one enters the lost church of Oton with its trompe l’oiels massive copula and an impressive gothic style and four sided retablo at the center.

The lost church of Oton was the only one of its kind in the Philippines in form and structure. It’s architecture is a combination of different architectural styles: gothic, classical and romanesque, a trait that is very much common in most Spanish colonial period churches in the country.

It would have been one of the country’s spectacular churches, if not the most beautiful were it not for a natural cataclysm that razed it to the ground. Oton’s once majestic church, in the form of a Greek cross, was unique as it was the only one with such a plan and architecture blending Byzantine with Gothic and classical elements.

A few kilometers from the poblacion of Nasugbu, Batangas, in the town of Lumangbayan, aptly named as this translates to “old town” which is the original location of Nasugbu, is a Spanish colonial period church ruin that is still being used by devotees today. However, it was in this church that many of the townspeople were imprisoned and burned in 1896.

Nineteen months after the fire in Oslob Church, the second in its history, I visited the church again during a south Cebu trip and from what I have found, there is still so much to do.

Barrio Inayagan in Barangay Valladolid is the former site of the visita of Salug. In 1622, Muslim slave raiders destroyed it forcing the people to transfer inland where the present town center of Carcar is now located. While there are no longer any trace of the structures, archaeological excavations found segments of walls.

Salug continues to live in the memories of the people as Barrio Inayagan is also known as Daanglungsod or the old town.