The land of batchoy also has flavorful sights

We continue our series on Philippine plazas and parks this week with a return to Iloilo. I found myself in this heritage-rich progressive city recently, so I visited two districts and their plazas, which I had not seen in a while. We will look at two large plazas and parks (both have large areas and attached or adjacent football fields). We look at La Paz first and continue with Sta. Barbara next week.

La Paz is one of the seven districts of Iloilo City. It is best known to visitors for its famous batchoy, a rich noodle dish that is best savored at Netong’s inside La Paz Market. What most visitors miss is the district’s church and plaza nearby.

The district was originally known as Ilawod or “land by the sea.” The church that marks its center is devoted to Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buen Viaje (Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage). The first church was probably a smaller structure, which was replaced by the current one, completed in 1870 by an Augustinian priest, Fr. Candido Gonzales.

The church is done in a hybrid of Greek revival and Baroque styles with twin belfries. The façade is distinctive in its use of brick (although I suspect the brick was originally covered by plaster). It also has a relief in its pediment that features a ship and two doves, a representation of peace and good voyage.

The church was reportedly damaged in the war and rebuilt afterwards. I could not find a picture of the original structure of its interiors. The church is currently being renovated or conserved, a project involving architect Edgardo de la Crux, engineer Robert Cruz, and a consultant, Father Brian Brigoli, who is a trained architect and the church heritage director of the Archdiocese of Cebu.

The church and its associated structures and compound define the northeastern edge of the plaza and park. The other edges have little left in terms of heritage homes or structures compared to the other plazas of Ilolio, although I caught glimpses of some homes behind shop fronts and more contemporary additions.

La Paz’s civic space is large. It occupies approximately four hectares. The main elements are a paved plaza with a monument to Dr. Rizal, a stage, tennis courts, a football field, and a lake with pavilions.

The Rizal monument is from the American colonial era. The life-size Rizal statue stands on a six-meter-high plinth and base. Inscribed on the plinth is “Homenaje del pueblo de la paz a los benemeritos de la patria ericido en agosto 1922“ (A tribute to the people of La Paz and the country, erected on August 1922), and “La libertad es tan estimable como la vida y vale mas que todas las riquezas el mundo” (Liberty is as dear as life and is worth more than all the riches the world).

Fronting the statue, and in between it and the church is a band shell or stage. It looks like a very art deco design but I could not find any literature to date it, and it may have been a post-war addition.

The park contains sports fields, tennis courts and a football pitch. Panay and Negros are football country and tennis appears to be a regular amenity in plazas all throughout the Visayas. Both areas are actively used. I caught several ongoing tennis games even on a mid-morning Wednesday. The football field apparently is a much-used amenity, since the park is surrounded by a number of schools.

In one quadrant of the park sits what looks to be a man-made lake with pavilions. This corner was apparently added in the 1990s under the term of President Ramos and his DOT Secretary Mina Gabor. The lake is filled with fish (fishing is not allowed).

The whole perimeter of La Paz Plaza and Park is fenced off, with entrances only in certain corners. This may be because of the size of the park and to discourage vandals and people sleeping in the park at night.

The whole of La Paz and Iloilo is urbanizing rapidly. La Paz is close to the center of the city and the new business and commercial districts. Traffic is building up and new construction is mushrooming around the park, albeit not at the scale or sizes of structures in the neighboring Mandurriao district.

It is important for Iloilo to maintain and conserve its wonderful plazas and parks. La Paz’s church may be as grand or as old as the other district’s but its large area distinguishes it from the other plazas of the city. There should be a tour made that takes visitors around all the city’s plazas, not just for the churches, but also to show of the city’s heritage of civic space, monuments and landscapes.

I give La Paz Plaza and Park an 8.5 out of 10. It is well used and the space is kept relatively free of large structures (except for one at the eastern corner).  I would rather that the whole area was not fenced but this may be about security concerns.

Next time you visit Iloilo, do try La Paz’s famous batchoy but also visit its church, plaza and park to taste the flavor of the district. If you’re from Metro Manila, imagine how much better it would be if it had the same proportion of plazas, parks and opens space that Iloilo has.

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