Portion of San Pedro Street closure proposed

During these novena days when the statue of St. Peter is being carried in prayerful procession to our GKK chapels, it may be helpful to share with our people certain concerns which they can include in their novena prayer to St. Peter.

The portion of San Pedro Street between the Cathedral and the Sangguniang Panlungsod has been used for several public activities. They are vehicular traffic, pedestrian road, market, protest demonstrations, religious activities, and parking space.

Except for Church activities like procession, Easter vigil, Sugat/Salubong, all the rest cause unnecessary and disturbing noises to our worship, prayer and meditation inside the Cathedral. These are activities which much silence, attention and self- awareness. Vendors’  shouts, engine revolutions, motor horns etcetera terribly disturb the community at prayer. The worse effect is the unperceived but constant flow of dusts into the church interior that corrode the statues, images, decor, walls, ceilings, and pews.

Several years ago as archbishop and parish priest of the San Pedro Cathedral Parish, I asked Mayor Rodrigo Duterte for help. I invited him once for dinner at the Archbishop Residence where I presented to him some documents. I wanted to use the papers to back up my request for the City Government to close the portion of San Pedro Street referred to here.

The documents including some old photos show that the entire area in front of the Cathedral including the entire block where the Sangguniang Panlungsod stands used to belong historically and legally to the Church. The name of the entire block, in olden times known as Plaza Oyanguren, had been changed is now known as Plaza Osmeña. Why?

The document, which is a photocopy of a book page of The History of Davao by Gloria Dabay, states that in 1926 Governor Causing of Cebu requested the Church or then Prelature of Davao “to relinquish its ownership of Plaza Oyanguren to the government”. We can presume that the Church must have agreed because the area has been called Plaza Osmeña. Why Osmeña, the historian did not explain. But we can presume that President Sergio Osmeña was from Cebu. An additional proof of church ownership is a photo taken sometime in the middle of the year 1800 showing a cross standing on the spot where the Sanggunian had been erected, and another photo of the front door of the old San Pedro church a few yards from the cross with 3 Jesuit priests in black sotana.

We tried to find the documents on this matter in the records of the City but we failed to find any. We did try to inquire from Cebu and Zamboanga. We probably got the wrong contacts. I believe there must be some written document somewhere. An expert researcher may be needed in the future.

Mayor Duterte said he would study the matter and present it to the City Council. He must have liked the idea because the next time he came to see me he presented a new proposal on what to do, not only with the said portion of San Pedro Street fronting the Cathedral, but even with a longer space of San Pedro Street whose length reaches Anda Street. More info on this and why the Cebu Governor would ask the Church to cede its property to the government in next week’s Catholic Herald.