A beautiful structure just along the highway of Saravia (now E. B. Magalona), Negros Occidental. Built by the Augustinian Recollects, this was made with mortar and bricks and is still complete with its chapel, niches, arch and perimeter fence with beautiful iron grills.

The first time I saw this cemetery entrance when I visited the Roxas City in Capiz, I was awed by its elegance and size. It is huge compared with the others that I have seen to date and one of the most beautiful in the country.

At the old Catholic cemetery or camposanto in Roxas City is a beautiful antique octagonal structure that dates back to the Spanish colonial era. The cemetery chapel, built at the center, is made from cut coral stones with simple decorations.

While on my way to take a photo of Dumalag Church in Capiz, I was able to pass by the beautiful cemetery located at the south of the present church and along the highway. What made this a discovery was that, it is the third circular cemetery that I’ve seen, bounded by a wall made from cut stone, an entrance gate with arch and a ruined chapel at the other end.

Located less than a kilometer from the church grounds and ruins of Oton in Iloilo is the old Catholic cemetery of the municipality. Lacking the artistry and sophistication when compared with the other chapels in the province, it is a simple structure

Part of my visita iglesia series, this free PDF download features the six existing Spanish colonial era churches of Capiz province: Roxas City, Loctugan, Pan-ay, Dumarao, Dumalag and Dao.

Capiz province in Panay Island has six existing Spanish colonial era churches to date: Roxas City, Panay, Dao, Dumarao, Dumalag and Loctugan presented here as a visita iglesia route.

At the Oton Church grounds, remnants of the once massive and elegant gothic style church and a portion of the original wall can still be seen.

Dumarao means to be in mourning.

On 16 November 2009, a fire broke out at the ceiling of the second level of the Our Lady of the Snow Institute at 0130H that gutted the whole building and the adjacent parish church of Dumarao. Today, it is being rebuilt.

Last January 2010, I was invited by the North Philippines Visitors Bureau to join a media tour of travel writers and bloggers to experience North Luzon. Part of the tour included a visit to 9 churches.

In the June 2010 issue of Bluprint Magazine, San Sebastian Minor Basilica is the main feature entitled: Prefab Gothic Revival: Saving the All-Steel San Sebastian Basilica in Manila. The article is written by Tina Paterno, a New York based conservator, who is in the country spearheading, as project head, the restoration of this stunning and historic edifice. I’ve contributed images.

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.

I’ve always been fascinated with the all-steel structure of the San Sebastian Minor Basilica in Quiapo, Manila and when the opportunity came to document it inside and out, I grabbed it.