Zamboanga Architecture

Zamboanga Architecture
By: Rommel S. Reyes

A countryside Zamboangueno child walking and going to school in a rainy day said: El gulud bien malandug . (The hill is too slippery).
During the Spanish Colonial Era, Mindanao and Sulu comprises as one province called the Provincia de Mindanao y Sulu. Under this province there are numbers of municipio, Zamboanga then was one among the municipio together with Tetuan, Sta. Maria, Mercedes, Ayala and Labuan for Zamboanga City, Dapitan is also a municipio and Basilan, Lamitan and Isabela then were a barrio. There are no any structures that exist until now in this places except for the now the City Hall of Zamboanga where in one of its door there were inscription left and the building undergone so many renovation, and the old Tetuan church where a new one was constructed adopting the old character. Maybe if there are old structures in other municipio’s like in ayala, labuan or Mercedes in the City of Zamboanga then this structures can speaks for themselves. But if one will notice, old buildings are located in downtown City which was known then as the municipio de Zamboanga and these were, the fort Pilar, the City Hall, and the Plazas, for residences, it is very difficult to identify.
The question is, is there Zamboanga Architecture? In my personal opinion I believe there is. Architecture is built up by the people themselves, houses to be their shelters, gardens to be their source of livelihood, community to be their place where they can establish laws and regulation for their own common good, these structures that the people built is architecture. As to the character in terms of design they use, apply or exercise, it is more of the mannerism or the way that the people they carry out, like the Roman for the roman arch, the Egypt for their pyramid, the Chinese for their pai lou, the Japanese for the pagoda, the Filipino for our nipa house, the Ifugao for their rice terraces, the muslims for their ogee arch and so many with respect to their practices and believes.
For Zamboanga, most of our upland or countryside folks practice architecture, the construction of houses using indigenous materials, such as the use of woods, the design of the windows, the batalan were the bangga is located, “El Cahida” the balcon where the family used to converge and talks discussing things,”El bolo na dindin” where the blade to cut placed, the raised up floor to pass the air beneath, the location of the baul, the custom and tradition, the believes in the orientation of the door, the steps and so many things. As to the architectural character of the design, ours are more of influence to the Spanish architecture, and I do not see it wrong, most of the European countries were also influenced by the other countries, these were noticeable through colonization.
How about public buildings, this is one factor that affects the Zamboanga Architecture, by history, there were no public servant then, therefore no public building, the church and state works as one, like the alcadia mayor at the same time acts as vice regal patron for the church. This can be substantiate by the presence of the church of each municipio’s during the Spanish colonial era, like the St. Ignatuis de Loyola church in Tetuan, the old church in Sta. Maria, the old church in Mercedes and so with the churches in Labuan and Ayala. These were the structures that by history speak for themselves. At present, the role of the architect is to put things in proper places, satisfy the owners needs, design a shelter to fit the owner wishes and let the building stand to witness by the next generation and let architecture speak for the past.