Santo Niño Shrine and Heritage Museum — Attraction in Tacloban

Someone jokingly said, "This is where our taxes went." And i lolled

Kidding aside, this place gives us a sneak peak of the Marcos' lifestyle during their time. The "house" and valuable items inside are preserved. Some of the items range from extravagant chandeliers, chinese-made ceramics, a pure-silver chair, and many more which are given to former president FEM and Imelda during their state visits to various countries. Seeing those gifts gave me a glimpse of how other nations saw our country and made me realize the true meaning of the word imeldific!

Okay, back to the shrine. It's a two-storey structure made of wood. Entrance fee is 100 pesos per pax plus 50 pesos per phone. Yes, you have to pay if you want to use your phone. If you're on a budget with your date, you can use one phone only for the tour inside.

You can't just roam around in there like some shrine or museums. Here, you will be guided during your tour and its actually good since there are so many interesting things that the tour guide is discussing.

The shrine itself has so many rooms, guest rooms, and the family's room. There different styles of rooms all in the 80s era theme. In BBM's room, you can see his report cards when he was still young. The largest room is Imelda's with separate bath tub and toilet.

Then there are two huge long tables on the second and first floor. I think the seating capacity is around 25 or 35 people.

The walls are also adorned with different items. In FEM's room, the walls are made up of leather. Some rooms have decorative banig style. On the ground floor, it wood chip lawaan.

The tourist guide will tell you everything about the shrine, rooms, furnitures and other things inside including all questions you might have. All in all, sulit ang P100 entrance fee!

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A trip to Tacloban will not be complete without visiting the Santo Nino Shrine and Heritage Museum or the Romualdez mansion. In here one would learn to appreciate the beautiful taste of Imelda Marcos or for others frown at the extravagant way of life.

Included in its collection are Chinese and Japanese vases and porcelain , ivory artifacts, religious items which are of high quality and with stickers of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) which meant they were part of the assets seized after the Edsa revolution.

I just wonder though if we have updated appraisal of the value of everything inside including several Malang paintings that were part of the artworks displayed in the rooms inside the museum. The Malang paintings were no longer in display but I saw them in 2019. Per the volunteer tour guide the Malangs were put in the storage during the pandemic.

For a minimal fee of 150 per person this is a good deal. One may also opt to have a tour guide which I found better than going on our own since the guide will be able to give insider info on some historical tidbits like it was there where George Hamilton danced with Imelda Marcos.

Highly recommended when in Tacloban especially for lovers of antiquity and student of history.

#museum #SantoNinoShrine #ImeldaMarcos #chineseporcelain #whenInTacloban

P.S. some of the photo captions were generated through the use of...

Seriously run down: this place could definitely use a makeover. Interesting items are not highlighted, there's no explanation panels on their origin or significance. You're basically rushed through every room by a bored caretaker who gives you ultra basic info ("this is the coconut room"), then lets you wander for a very short time before switching off the lights and taking you to the next one. Would be much better to go at your own pace and have a knowledgeable person storytelling the rooms to you. Anyway, all in all, it's difficult with the guided tour to understand why this place has historical value, because at no time does it put it in perspective with the Marcos' rise to power and grip on the country's economy. That being said, the place is the finest building in Tacloban that survived the Yolanda typhoon in 2013, and showcases Filipino craftsmanship, so all in all, it's...