Preface | Introduction to the Visayas

Panublion is a multimedia project focusing on the cultural heritage of the Visayan Islands in central Philippines.  It seeks to inform about sites and places rich in history and expressive of the best in Philippine culture.  It fosters responsible cultural tourism and reveals why the Philippine archipelago of 7,107 islands, seas and waterways of exquisite beauty is unique in the whole world; unique not just because of the bounty of nature but because the Filipinos’ creative response to nature and the forces that have shaped the country’s history and culture.

The information contained in Panublion is disseminated through a CD-Rom containing an HTML-based and a PDF version and through a website.  The HTML version can be read by any browser; the most common being IE and Netscape.  The PDF version can be read using Adobe Acrobat.  The PDF version has been designed in a convenient format so that sections of the ebook can be printed out and carried in a pocket.  Versions of the Internet browsers and Acrobat Reader are available as free downloads from their respective sites.

Panublion is a multimedia project of the Jesuit Communication Foundation (JESCOM) and the Department of Communication, Ateneo de Manila University.  The CD and website were designed and completed in JESCOM’s Garage and the Department of Communication’s CCRT Mir-Lab (Multimedia and Information Resource Laboratory).

The publication of Panublion was made possible by a grant from the Spanish government under the program “Toward a Common Future,” Grant between Philippine Universities and Spain’s Ministry of Education.  The writers and creators of Panublion wish to thank Fr. Jose M. Cruz, S.J., program director of “Toward a Common Future” and his staff, especially Pauline, for handling our grant request.

Furthermore, the writers and creators of Panublion wish to thank Jesuit Communications for being the publisher, in particular, Fr. Aristotle Dy, S.J., of the print department for his support of the project and Fr. Peter Pojol, S.J., Director of JESCOM; Dr. Violet Valdez, chair of Ateneo’s Department of Communication.

Thanks is due to the following: Mr. Lorenzo Tan, President of World Wildlife Fund, Fr. Ted Millan Torralba of the Diocese of Tagbilaran, Mr. Regalado Trota Jose of NCCA, Monuments and Sites Committee, Architects Jojo Mata and Toti Villalon, , Joy Onozawa of Cebu, Lyn Gamboa of the Negros Museum Foundation, Fely Rendon of Panublion Museum of Roxas City, Negros Museum of Bacolod City, Museo de Iloilo and the Jesuit communities of Cebu and Iloilo, to the parish priests of the Visayas who offered welcome to the historic churches of the Visayas and to countless friends and relatives who made visits to the Visayas fun and a gastronomic feast as well.