Fuerte de San Pedro is a military defense structure in Cebu
(Philippines), built by the Spanish under the command of Miguel López de
Legazpi, the first governor of the Captaincy General of the Philippines. It is
located in the area now called Plaza Independencia, in the pier area of the
city. The original fort was made of wood and built after the arrival of Legazpi
and his expedition. In the early 17th century a stone fort was built to repel
Muslim raiders. Today's structure dates from 1738 and is the oldest triangular
bastion fort in the country. It served as the nucleus of the first Spanish
settlement in the Philippines. During the Philippine Revolution at the end of
the 19th century, it was attacked and taken by Filipino revolutionaries, who
used it as a stronghold.
The fort is triangular in shape, with two sides facing the
sea and the third side fronting the land. The two sides facing the sea were
defended with artillery and the front with a strong palisade made of wood. The
three bastions are named La Concepcion (SW) Ignacio de Loyola (SE), and San
Miguel (NE). It has a total inside area of 2,025 square meters (21,800 sq ft).
The walls are 6.1 meters high by 2.4 meters thick (20 feet high by 8 feet
thick), and the towers are 9.1 meters (30 ft) high from the ground level. The
circumference is 380 meters (1,248 ft). The sides are of unequal lengths and
the one fronting the city is where one may find entry into the fort. Fourteen
cannons were mounted in their emplacements most of which are still there today.
Work first started in 1565 with Miguel Lopéz de Legazpi breaking ground.
Little was known about the activity of the fort from the
time it was built until two centuries later in 1739 when the King of Spain,
Philip V, desired information regarding the island of Cebu. Governor-general
Tamon, who was the Spanish ruler of the islands at the time made the following
report.
Fuerte San Pedro, the fort is described as built of stone
mortar with a terreplein where guns are mounted. The fort contains the
necessary buildings. The largest of these buildings was the Cuerpo de Guardia
where the personnel that manned the fort lived. Adjacent to it was the Vivienda
del Teniente which was the living quarters of the lieutenant of the fort. In
between the aforementioned buildings is a well. At one corner attached to the
walls of the bastión San Miguel (NE) was the Almacenes de Pólvora Gunpowder
magazine.
The date of construction of the stone fort is uncertain,
although there are claims that a Jesuit Antonio Campioni built a stone fort in
1630, and the gate of the fort bears the date 1738 together with the arms of
Castile and Leon. It is certain, however, that the fort underwent major
renovations in the late 19th century as part of a building program to improve
Cebu.
The victory of the Americans led by Commodore Dewey at the
Battle of Manila Bay on May 1 1898 marked the end of the Spanish era in the
Philippine Islands. The fort was then surrendered by the Spaniards to the
Cebuano revolutionaries.
Fort San Pedro became a part of the American Warwick Barracks
during the American regime. From 1937 to 1941 the barracks were converted into
a school where many Cebuanos received their formal education. During World War
II from 1942 to 1945, Japanese residents of the city took refuge within the
walls. When the battle to liberate the city of Cebu from the Imperial Japanese
forces was fought, the fort served as an emergency hospital for the wounded.
From 1946 to 1950, Fort San Pedro was an army camp. After
1950, the Cebu Garden Club took over and fixed the inner part and converted it
into a miniature garden.
Although already in ruins, the upper deck was utilized for
different offices. First, as a clinic of the City Health, as the office of the
Presidential Arm and Community Development then the City Public Works Unit used
the ruins of the lieutenant's quarters as its field office.
In 1957 mayor Sergio Osmeña Jr. jolted the public with his
announcement to demolish Fort San Pedro and erect on the spot a new City Hall.
This started a movement against the demolition idea. Articles voicing
opposition appeared in the local dailies and magazines in Cebu City and in
Manila. Finally, confronted by civic leaders and society heads at his Cebu City
Hall office, he gave up his idea and said he will use instead the space behind
the fort.
In the very same year, the city council commissioned
"The Lamplighter", a religious sect, to manage a zoo subsidized by
the city within the fort courtyard.
By 1968, the façade, quarters, and walls of the original
structures of Fort San Pedro were so obliterated that only the two towers were
recognizable. Plans for the restoration of the fort were started and the zoo
was relocated.
Plans and estimates for the restoration of the fort were
completed by architect Leonardo Concepción, who had completed his MA in
Building restoration in Madrid. The project was jointly funded by the Board of
Travel Industry (now Department of Tourism), the Cebu City Government, and the
Cebu Zonta Club.
The Fort San Pedro restoration was a tedious, time and labor-consuming
project. To restore the fort as close to the original as possible, coral stones
which were hauled from under the sea along Cebu coastal towns were utilized.
Delivered crudely cut to the restoration site, the fort laborers did the final
cutting and polishing to make the blocks fit each other.
Work progressed slowly but the façade, the main building,
(Cuerpo de Guardia), the walk, and the observatory roof garden were faithfully
restored after one and a half years. To make the project functional; the
restored main building serves then as the Cebu Office of the Department of
Tourism, the lieutenant's quarters now houses a museum, the inner court is an
open-air theater and its immediate vicinity is a park.
At present, it is under the care and administration of the
city of Cebu, as a historical park under City Executive Order No. 08-87 of
February 20, 2008. This order is also known as Plaza Independencia - Fort San
Pedro Interim Policy and Advisory Board (PIFSIPAB) appointed by Hon. Michael L.
Rama as overall overseer of the Plaza Independencia and Fort San Pedro. The
land on which it is situated is, however, owned by the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources.
These days, part of the fort is a museum. Inside the fort
houses the legacies of the Spanish Government and well-preserved Spanish artifacts
such as Spanish documents, paintings, and sculptures. A large statue of Legazpi
and Antonio Pigafetta may be seen outside the fort walls.
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