"Plaza Templado" was mentioned in this book by esteemed historian Danilo Madrid Gerona (also the author of "Ferdinand Magellan, The Armada de Maluco and the European Discovery of the Philippines”), which was commissioned by the Province of Albay under Gov. Joey Salceda and published in 2013 during the term of mayor Ami Villanueva.
This is a picture that I grabbed from the LGUTiwi FB page of the ongoing redesign and enhancement of the Plaza in front of the municipal building.
What caught my attention amid the chaos of construction and what have you was the concrete base of the flagpole. I can still vividly remember the story behind said structure.
One day in the late 70s or early 80s, while supervising the construction of the koi (Japanese carp) ponds & water fountains in front of the old 'municipio', my father, Aki Shimizu, was asked by mayor Oriel Clutario if he could improve the old flagpole in the plaza.
He immediately asked his workers to gather the materials needed for the simple design that he sketched on a paper bond in haste: bricks made at the Tiwi Ceramic Plant and corals that were brought from Corangon earlier; they finished the job by late afternoon of the same day.
Of course, as with many of his public landscape projects and works in Tiwi, my father did it for free.
The koi ponds and the fountains are long gone, and judging from the current design of the plaza, the flagpole will eventually be condemned to oblivion, too. I am sharing this backstory here for posterity.
On a side note: Can anyone tell me the proper name of the Tiwi Municipal Plaza?
Yes, it has a name that not too many people, especially the newer generations of Tiwinhons, are aware of. But if you read the book "TIWI Molding the Pots of Prosperity from the Springs of History" -- authored by eminent historian Danilo Madrid Gerona, you probably already know the answer to the question above.
This picture was taken in the late '60s. A few months later, this vacant lot in Poblacion (Tigbi) would transform into something that would put Tiwi on the map, tourism-wise.
An old photo of the Japanese Garden showing some large volcanic rocks/stones from Nagas that were used for the design and landscape. Also seen is the old Kanda (Kalachuchi/Plumeria) tree that became one of the focal points of the garden, as well as the old municipal building of Tiwi.
#TiwiTrivia #TiwiHistory
A partial view of the facade of the old municipal building of Tiwi. After serving as the home of the local government for over seven decades, it was supplanted by the present 'municipio' in the 1990s.
•photo courtesy of Kag. Bennett Templado.
This picture was taken in 1934. And as we can see, the view from Sogod remains the same -- Atulayan island (Sangay), the coastlines along the Albay-Camarines Sur boundary o maski gayud ngani su klase kan mga tinanom o awot.
*Title: "Albay province (Philippines), north of Tiwi village, looking north along coast" Photographer: Robert Larimore Pendleton, 1890-1957 Photographer's Note: "Tiwi...May 14, 1934. Looking North from road along coast N. of Tiwi. Sogod Barrio." ^American Geographical Society Library, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Library
One of the more vivid recollections of my childhood was that of a Toyota Coaster, a mini bus servicing the big hotels in Legaspi— Mayon Im...
