Holoprosencephaly: A Visit to the Town of Lazi

Thursday, April 8, 2010

A Visit to the Town of Lazi

Road to Lazi

It was a warm and clear typical summer day when Johnson, my habal-habal driver, decided to bring me to one of the loveliest and most peaceful towns I have ever set foot into: the town of Lazi, Siquijor (The Philippines).

We drove leisurely along the coast of Siquijor island, and the fresh breeze of tropical wind was gently making soft whispers as if to welcome us to Lazi. Once in a while, we passed by some farmers, and some barefooted kids going to the nearby white-sand beach. After a few minutes, we already reached Lazi, one of the six towns of Siquijor.

My first impression of Lazi was how peaceful the town was. What one can hear around is the constant whistling of soft breeze of wind as it gently rustles the leaves of the numerous acacia trees around, and the once-in-a-while drones of the habal-habals passing by. As a city lad who grew up in the noise, the rush, and crowd of Manila and Cubao (with not much trees around), the peacefulness of Lazi is a welcome experience. It seemed that time has been frozen here. Even the people I met did not seem to be in too much of a hurry. Indeed, I felt that I have walked into a Time Machine, and were it not for the people walking in modern costumes, I might have thought that I was transported to a Philippine village in the 19th century.

"This is a very quiet town", I said to myself in a whisper, although I might have said it quite loudly (or was it just too quiet?), since Johnson answered: "Yes, Lazi is very peaceful, as most Siquijor towns are".

The town of Lazi is one of the two southernmost towns of Siquijor, Philippines. (the other being, Maria, Siquijor). It is a fifth-class municipality with only about 3,890 households (2000 census). The main livelihood of the people is farming (peanuts and corn), and fishing.

The center of the town is the magnificent Roman Catholic church from the 19th century. Known as the St. Isidore de Labradore Church, or simply as Lazi Church, this Baroque church is probably the most famous and most photographed church in Siquijor. It is also in the tentative list of the UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. The National Historical Commission, by virtue of Presidential Decree No.260 signed by President Ferdinand Marcos in 1973, made the church a national historical landmark.

I have seen many beautiful and magnificent churches in the Visayas, and the Lazi Church is no less impressive. It is huge and it is majestic, one of the most beautiful Catholic churches I have ever seen. Its elegant yet simplistic facade reflects the very character of the Lazi people. No over embellishments, no grand trappings nor grand panoply, but simply elegant in itself.

Built in 1884 from public subscriptions and donations, the Lazi Church was constructed from limestones, coral blocks, and molave hardwood that abound in the area. The Recollect Friar Fr. Toribio Sanchez supervised the construction. The church had two pulpits, a solid facade, a pediment of hardwood, and wooden flooring. During my visit, I just noticed some damage to the wooden pediment which I hope the Lazi parish should repair soon for proper preservation.

In 1887, the convento was also constructed across the church, also under the supervision of Fr. Sanchez. This convent was constructed in the style of Bahay-na-Bato (colonial stone house), and reputedly the largest convent ever built in the Philippines, possibly in all of Asia.

Today, the Lazi Convent still functions as the residence of priests. A huge portion of the convent was converted into a Catholic school, while a large portion of the second floor was converted into a museum containing antiquities, religious statues, paintings, and the old baptismal/marriage/death records of the Lazi town.