The legacies held within San Agustin’s hidden tombs
On Feb. 13, the remains of 22 individuals unearthed in a mass grave inside the Malate Catholic School in 2019 were interred at the crypt of the San Agustin Church in Intramuros.
Victims of the American bombing of the Remedios Hospital 80 years ago, their remains were identified through the Malate Grave Project. Among the 13 identified was Maria Orosa, who was a war heroine and the inventor of the banana ketchup, the drink made from soybean called Soyalac, and rice flour called darak.
The remains were interred inside niche numbers one to six of the San Jose section of the crypt, which was formerly called Sala de Profundis.
Sala de Profundis (lower hall) was the antechamber of the dining room where prayers for the Augustinian brothers and benefactors were said before lunch and for the soul prior to dinner.
This section was converted into a crypt in 1933 when Fr. Francisco de la Banda, OSA, was prior of the convent. This was two years after various Manila families proposed a burial space in the church complex.
A pantheon for over 130 San Agustin internees who were victims of the Battle for Manila in 1945 was later erected at the center of the crypt. Also, later on, an extension was built at the back of this crypt, accessible through a small arched portal.
Hallowed ground
Orosa is now among the illustrious Filipinos and other important personalities interred in the crypt and inside the San Agustin Church complex in general.
Perhaps the most famous among those interred in the crypt is 19th-century master Juan Luna (1857-1899), known for, among others, his monumental painting “Spoliarium” which is now displayed at the National Museum of Fine Arts.
Following an extraordinary journey from Hong Kong to “surviving” World War II in Manila, his remains were placed in niche number 73 of the San Agustin section in 1953.
The sections of the crypt are San Agustin, Santa Monica, Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion, San Jose, Santa Rita, and San Nicolas.
Below Luna’s niche, in niche 46 are the remains of Lourdes Estella-Simbulan, also known as Chit Estella (1957-2011), a journalist and human rights advocate. Teodoro Agoncillo (1912-1985), National Scientist in the field of history in 1985, is interred in niche number 21 of the Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion together with his physician-writer wife Anacleta (1913-2010).
A prolific historian, Agoncillo wrote many books including the two-volume “A Short History of the Filipino People” in 1958, “History of the Filipino People” in 1958, and “The Fateful Years: Japan’s Adventure in the Philippines, 1941-1945” in 1965.
Likewise interred in the crypt are the scions of known businesses in the country, the likes of the Ynchausti, McMicking, Ortigas, Pardo de Tavera, and Paterno families.
At the extension composed of four blocks, former National Museum director Fr. Gabriel Casal (1938-2006) is interred together with two other family members in a row six niche of Block 1.
Casal served as NM director from 1987 to 2001 following his stint as the director of the Ayala Museum from 1975 to 2001. He also held other public-private posts such as commissioner of the Unesco National Commission of the Philippines (1987-2001), head of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts Committee on Museums and Galleries (1988-1992), and director of the Manila Archdiocesan Archives and Museum and chair of the Manila Archdiocesan Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church (2003-2006).
In 1981, he co-authored the quintessential publication, “The People and Art of the Philippines.”
Inside the church
The church itself is replete with famed burials ranging from business people to clergy and high-ranking public officials.
Foremost are the remains of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi (1502-1572), founder of Spanish Manila in 1571 and the first governor-general of the Philippines; and Juan de Salcedo (1549-1576) founder of Vigan, Ilocos Sur. Both their remains are interred at the Legazpi (formerly San Fausto and San Agustin) Chapel located at the gospel side of the altar.
Also interred in this chapel are the bones from a number of the church’s chapels desecrated by British troops in 1762. These possibly include the remains of governor-generals Guido de Lavezares (1512-1581), Gonzalo Ronquillo Peñalosa (ca 1460s-1583), Francisco Tello de Guzman (1532-1603), and Pedro Bravo de Acuña (d. 1606) which were originally interred at the Santo Niño chapel.
At the chapel of San Agustin near the church main door are the tombs of former Augustinian provincial and bishop of Kiang Si, China Fr. Alvaro Benavente, OSA, who died in Macau in 1709. His remains were transferred to this chapel in 1886.
Luis Cespedes (d. 1918), the architect who completed the Aduana Building in 1874, is also interred in this chapel.
At the Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion chapel on the General Luna side are the burial spaces for the Roxas, Soriano, and Zobel de Ayala families.
Among those interred here are Ayala Corp. and Bank of the Philippine Islands co-founder Antonio de Ayala (1805-1876); his wife Margarita Roxas de Ayala (1815-1869), founder of the La Concordia College in Paco, Manila; and Margarita’s brother Jose (1814-1888), the developer of the Calatagan hacienda in Batangas.
Also interred in this chapel was Jacobo Zobel de Zangroniz (1842-1896), owner of the first tranvias in Manila.
At the Santa Clara de Montefalco chapel lie the remains of Felipe Baldomero Roxas (1840-1899), member of the Roxas clan who was a 19th-century master in painting, known to paint historic buildings. Beside him lies his wife, Raymunda Chuidian.
Near this area is the resting place of Irish doctor William J. Burke (1873-1946), a known cardiologist in the early 20th century. The American-era Burke Building on Escolta, the first structure to have an elevator in Manila, was named after him.
Church builders
Many known Augustinian priests are interred at the San Nicolas de Tolentino chapel near the pulpit. These include remains from its monastery in Guadalupe, Makati, and those of sacred music composer Fr. Manuel Arostegui (d. 1903).
This chapel is also the resting place of many builder-priests: Jose Maria Ambrinos (d. 1903), designer of Pototan Cemetery in Iloilo and builder of the town’s convent; Manuel Fernandez Rubio (d. 1907), builder of the church complex including the cemetery of Carcar, Cebu; and Victoriano Garcia Alonso (d. 1907) who built the belfry and convent in San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte.
Also interred here is Manuel Camañes (d. 1919), builder of the plaza and artesian well of Betis in Guagua, Pampanga.
