The Construction of Capiz Provincial Capitol, 1911-1912

Capiz Provincial Capitol, c1912. Image from the Bureau of Public Works Quarterly Bulletin


There are a many digital repositories to check out for one who wishes to learn more about the past of his community. spending some time to dig deep will give you surprising details of our history, otherwise buried and forgotten. In my search to learn some tidbits of information about my hometown, I began to read details about our historic provincial capitol. I originally posted this article on Facebook and eventually added more later. Enjoy reading!

The American occupation of the Philippines following the Treaty of Paris in 1898 and the resulting end of the resistance after the surrender of General Ananias Diokno [1] led to the establishment of a civil government in Capiz on April 15, 1901 by virtue of Act 115 with Simplicio Hugo Vidal as the first civil governor [2]. With the transition from military to civilian rule, the insular government desired for efficient administration of the Philippine Islands' 31 provinces, thus, provincial capital centers were established with provincial administration buildings at the heart of every province. 

The newly established provincial governments were patterned from that of the United States, except that there was no legislative body at that time. The provincial board—the governing body—was composed of two elective officials (the governor and the third member) and an appointive member, the treasurer. Other officials of the province who also had their offices in the provincial center included the district engineer, district auditor, district health officer, district forester, district veterinarian, provincial fiscal, provincial assessor, provincial sheriff, superintendent of schools, weather observer, postmaster, inspector of Constabulary, and internal revenue agent. The provincial capitol also houses the court room, where the judge of the Court of First Instance also holds his legal duties. [3]

The provincial buildings established during the Spanish period were "attractive both in design and surrounding," [3] but were, nevertheless, not durable.  At the onset of the American rule, William Howard Taft launched comprehensive building construction and city planning in the country.  This was the height of the City Beautiful Movement,  a reform philosophy of North American architecture and urban planning that had seen its better days in the 1890s and 1900s, the focus of which was beautify cities and introduce  monumental grandeur [4].

On the helm of the insular government’s building and city planning was American architect William Parsons, who served as Consulting Architect of the American Commission by virtue of the Philippine Commission Act No. 1495 (enacted May 26, 1906) [5] [6].  His job gave him general architectural supervision over the design of all public buildings and parks throughout the islands, including provincial and municipal work as well as insular. Parsons envisioned provincial government buildings to be “arranged in a logical and convenient scheme. The order and system which exists in the form of provincial government should prevail and find expression in an orderly plan for grouping buildings.”

The Provincial Capitol for Capiz Province was one of the 31 provincial capitols built following the plans of American Architect William Parsons. It was originally a two-storey reinforced concrete structure, box type, and with Roman doric columns on the facade. The roof was made of flat tiles, unlike the "heavy curved Spanish clay tiles"  used during the Spanish period, which quickly deteriorated due to the infestation of white ants or dry rot and were replaced by corrugated galvanized iron [3].  Capiz shells were later installed on the window sash, instead of glass. The shells are trimmed into squares and set in thin strips of wood, providing a soft opaque light rather than the harsh, oftentimes intolerable glare from glass windows.

The site of the building was an old fill in a swamp. The foundation was prepared by "compacting large adobe rocks with an 8 and 10-ton road roller over the entire area of 1,110 square meters."  [3] Parsons planned out the provincial capitols to be far from the crowd:

“Unlike municipal buildings and markets, provincial buildings need not be near the centers of the population. In fact, a location at some distance from the business centers is much to be preferred for both practical and aesthetic reasons. ..” [3]

He further emphasized that “provincial buildings should be in a park, in a position of dignity, and retirement.” This principle was not merely for aesthetic reasons, but also for practical purposes as this will remove the civil servants “from the noise and dust of the streets and from the danger  of fire spreading from neighboring buildings.” [3]

As such, surrounding of the Capiz provincial capitol was laid out to be spacious enough to accommodate "tennis court, walks, lawns, hedges, and both ornamental and shade trees."  I am not sure, though, if our capitol ever had these amenities and what surrounds it today are commercial establishments. [3] parsons, nevertheless, emphasized how parks surrounding a capitol should be laid and maintained:

"The park which surrounds the buildings ought to have well-kept lawns with shade trees and blossoming plants which the Tropics like no other climate afford. Quite the most beautiful thing in the vicinity, it ought to set a good example in the way of beautifying the streets and plazas of the municipalities. Where there is prison labor, good soil, good drainage, and a supply of water in the dry season, the conditions are ideal for its accomplishments." [3]

Records from the Bureau of Public Works show that the building of the present-day Provincial Capitol of Capiz started in 1911 after the provincial government secured a loan from the Insular Government.  To finance the construction, a loan was secured by the Provincial Government from the Insular Government amounting to P55,000 by virtue of Acts No. 1728 and 1729,payable in seven instalments, payable quarterly beginning December 23, 1911, with the last payment on December 23, 1916.  The provincial treasurer took charge in the disbursement of the  fund. Of the total amount, P16,500 was taken from the insurance fund created by Act No. 1728, while 38,800 were taken from the sinking bond created by Act 1729. When the capitol was finally completed in 1912, the provincial treasurer assessed the actual cost to be P113,911.75. However, the district engineer appraised the capitols value to be P116, 880.70. [7] [8]

The Capiz Provincial Capitol has seen improvements, repairs and extensions many times in its long history. Here are some photographs of the capitol through the years.

Capiz Provincial Capitol, c1935. Image from David and Campos via Nerio Lujan's Facebook.

An image of Capiz Provincial Capitol, c1970, on a clipping at Capiz State University Main Campus Library. 

Capiz Provincial Capitol, c1980, from the Lindsay Bridge Collection via Nerio Lujan's Facebook. 

I took this shot of Capiz Provincial Capitol in 2010.

Capiz Provincial Capitol in 2018, shortly before the opening parade of Dayaw Festival.


  References

[1] Watterson, H. (1898). History of the Spanish-American War: Embracing a Complete Review of Our Relations with Spain. Werner and Co., 657-668. 

[2] Act No. 115 (1901). An Act Extending the Provisions of the “Provincial Government Act” to the Province of Capiz.

[3]Cameron, H.F. (January 1, 1914). Provincial Centers in the Philippine Islands. Bureau of Public Works Quarterly Bulletin, 2 (4), 2.  

[4]Daniel M. Bluestone, Columbia University, (September 1988).Detroit's City Beautiful and the Problem of Commerce Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. XLVII, No. 3, pp. 245-62.

[5]  A.N.  Rebori (1917-04). ("Architectural Record, Vol. 41 - The Work of William Parsons in the Philippine Islands". pp. 305-309. Architectural Record, Ltd, New York.

[6]  Bureau of insular Affairs (1907). "Acts of the Philippine Commission, Nos. 1408-1538", pg. 248. Government Printing Office, Washington.

[7] Loans for Roads, Bridges, Schools, Municipal Buildings, Etc.—Sept. 22 to December 27, 1912 (2013, January 1). Bureau of Public Works Quarterly Bulletin, 1 (4), 2-3. 

 [8] Capiz: Provincial Building (January 1, 1914). Bureau of Public Works Quarterly Bulletin, 2 (4), 51.

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