The light of the candle flickered amongst the shadows around me; failing to illuminate what in daylight was clear. This candle was the only thing I had to protect me against darkness abounding. It felt threatening, maybe, but all the while comforting to know what it must have felt like…
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World War 2 In Cebu: A Child and her Japanese Friends
It was several days before the Japanese invasion of Cebu when the news reached the people of Talisay that the attack on the island was coming sooner rather than later. They gathered at the municipal hall to hear the grim news of the fall of Bataan and the surrender of…
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The Story of Guerilla Commander James M. Cushing in Cebu
This is a story of a man who gave so much to a people who loved so dearly; a man who deserves to be recognized and remembered by the people who he helped so much: James M. Cushing. It was the 27th of May inside a cave within the vast…
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The Liberation of Cebu: The Battles of Gochan Hill and Babag Ridge
The horizon stretched on with the mountains of Cebu in the distance, not too near, yet not too far from the troops of the Americal division that were present inside the main body of Cebu City that had been captured only days before. Cebu City was the second largest city…
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The Liberation of Cebu: Talisay Landings 1945
The day was March 26th, 1945, “E-Day” on the island of Cebu in the central Philippines. It was a hot day with all the tropical heat baking on the black sands of Talisay point some ten kilometers due south of the large and prominent city of Cebu. The people in…
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The Saga of Fray Julian Bermejo Part 1: An Age of Pirates and Baluartes
A warrior who along with his people defended the land they collectively called home; a teacher of arts, medicine and literature who instead of making others adjust to his prospectively foreign needs instead adjusting to his people. A priest whose veracity together with his ferocity in teaching the faith gave…
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How Cebu’s Parian Church was Erased: San Juan Bautista Parish
Once there was a church so grand, so magnificent in the eyes of many a person that it drew the admiration, and in some cases ire of those around it. A place of worship that was truly something to behold, its opulence something that many a traveler would write about.…
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The Great Bantayan Fire of 1973, a well and the Señor De la Paciencia
Bantayan island today is a place awash with the rampant walk and talk of tourists; known for the beautiful white sand beaches which are most prevalent in the southern town of Santa Fe. What most tourists do not know and to some extent some locals do not know is the…
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Two Buildings in Argao with History
“Every place has a history worth exploring. Every place has a history worth noting. Every place has a history worth knowing.” -UnknownCebu Southern Cebu is known for its splendid, pristine, clean white sand beaches and its other natural wonders like Kawasan Falls and Tumalog Falls. These are the sites most…
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Fallen beauty: Osorio Ancestral House
Right across the Old Central School of Dalaguete, Cebu is a massive ancestral house owned by the Osorio Family. You cannot help, but feel pity for the family that has sadly not taken care of their old home. Built in the late 1920s, possibly around 1928-1929 this house is owned…
