Sarabosing, Kathleen Joy Y.

2014

December 2,

BS-MATH IV
6:00)

Elective 7 (TTh 4:30-

Fort San Pedro

Fuerza de San Pedro is a military defense structure, built by
Spanish and indigenous Cebuano laborers under the command of
Spanish conquistador, Miguel Lpez de Legazpi and the Spanish
Government in Cebu. It is located in the area now called Plaza
Indepedencia, in the pier area of the city.
Fuerza 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 bastion San Miguel (NE) was the Alamacenes del

Polvera (powder magazine).

Timeline

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 in 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 was 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 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 Osmea 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 facade, 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 was started and the zoo was relocated.
Plans and estimates for the restoration of the fort were completed by

architect Leonardo Concepcion, 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 facade, 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 also known as Plaza Independencia - Fort San Pedro

Interim Policy and Advisory Board (PIFSIPAB) appointed 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: well preserved Spanish artefacts such as Spanish documents,
paintings and sculpture. A large statue of Legazpi and Antonio
Pigafetta may be seen outside the fort walls.