Welcome to the cemetery of Placido Penitente!

The libingan ng mga pari in Tanauan, Batangas is a beautiful, untouched cemetery
set in an equally beautiful, untouched setting.

To many Filipinos, Tanauan is the home of a hero: Apolinario Mabini, known as the Sublime Paralytic. To those who are familiar with Jose Rizal's El Filibusterismo, this Batangas town is also the home of the fictional Placido Penitente, a brilliant but troubled student. 

What happened to the mortuary chapel of Malabon?

What was once a ruined mortuary capilla is now a two-level, semi-concrete structure.

Earlier, we featured the monumento of Malabon cemetery, an impressive two-storey structure and probably the largest of its kind in existence. At the rear of the cemetery behind this monument are the remains of a mortuary chapel, which might possibly date to 1853.

Uncovering the 'lost' cemetery of Guiguinto

This is all that remains of the entrance to the colonial-era cemetery of Guiguinto.

Would you ever think that just along a major highway lies the remains of a once-imposing cemetery? That's what the Pinoy Taphophile uncovered recently in Guiguinto, Bulacan.

Monumento--in Malabon

The monumento: a cultural gem in the midst of urban blight.

Do you know where Monumento is? Many Filipinos would answer Caloocan City. But did you know that a short distance behind the historic Bonifacio monument is another historic monumento?

Jagna cemetery: a time capsule

How do you write the history of a community? That certainly must have been on the mind of Ambrosio Iturriaga, the curate of Jagna, Bohol during the last quarter of the 19th century

But the Augustinian Recollect priest had a big challenge: there were hardly any documents and other historical materials available. Precious records had vanished when the previous town church and convent burned down in 1808. 

A house, a cemetery and a boy named Pepe

The date '1853' is inscribed above the portal of the cemetery chapel of Biñan, Laguna.

Mention Biñan, Laguna to heritage enthusiasts and what usually comes to mind is the sad saga of the Alberto House, which is associated with the family of Teodora Alonzo, the mother of national hero Jose Rizal. The young Rizal also lived in this town between 1869 and 1871 when he studied under a local maestro or teacher, Justiniano Aquino Cruz.

Did Padre Damaso build this cemetery?

The beautiful cemetery gate of Dingras, Ilocos Norte.

Any tour itinerary of Ilocos Norte always goes through a familiar list: Paoay Church, Laoag's so-called Sinking Belltower, the Marcos mausoleum, the beaches of Pagudpud, Bangui's windmills, etc. To a lesser extent, some tourists visit the once-ruined, now-restored church in the town of Dingras.

But what about its Spanish-era cemetery? But that is getting ahead of the story.