We drive by this wonderful church almost everyday and we haven’t been on site for about 8 months. So we decided to check out the progress of the construction project…you may recall from our previous visits we showed this sign announcing the project, well here is what we found.
The Very Friendly Mayor of Oton, Vicente B. Flores Jr, when I was visiting with him on business, loaned me a fabulous book written by his Great, Great Grandfather. The book is crammed with so many surprises, it is a real treasure for anyone looking at the history of Panay Island and Iloilo specifically.
Here is what the press release that accompanied the re-published version of the book had to report: “the Instituto Cervantes in Manila and Cacho Publishing House present Memoirs of the Philippines by Félix Laureano. Published in 1895, Laureano´s work provides us with scenes of daily life, landscapes and peoples, mostly from the region of Panay. He penned essays to accompany each photograph, lavishing details that, until today, draw the viewer´s gaze to that other time and place.”
If you can find a copy, make sure you get it…it is well worth the trouble of finding it as well as the expense of acquiring it.
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Friar Martin de Rada
1533 – 1578
Martin de Rada brought religion to the Philippines, initially with only 4 other Augustinian Friars who arrived with him from Mexico in 1566. They set about evangelizing and converting the native population they found in this land. He was a noted linguist and mathematician who introduced Christianity not only to the Philippines but also to China.
The driving distance from our jumping off point at the SM City parking lot in Iloilo to Oton’s Immaculate Conception Church is approximately 11 kilometres. Which translates into a driving time of about 20 to 30 minutes.
This is one of only two ‘modern churches’ in our study.
HP HERITAGE RATING: 
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UPDATED: 25 June 2012
The Augustinian Friars first arrived in Oton as early as 1572 under Friar Martin Rada from Dumangas where he had established ‘the church’ in southern Panay having been sent there from the town of Pan-ay in Capiz in 1566, because of his success in evangelizing the population and his ability in the languages of the region. According to history the first Church built by Friar Rada (date unknown) was destroyed in 1614 when Oton was attacked by Dutch Privateers who razed the church in one of their raids. Continue Reading
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A historic and significant church in Calinog, Iloilo. The beautiful church of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. A very nice slideshow awaits you here!
