Abstract

This study argues that more than simply a burial ground, the Baguio City Public Cemetery is a historical and cultural landscape that embodies the city’s layered past. To explore the historical depth of the cemetery’s establishment, location and spatial configuration, this study utilized archival research, walk surveys, photo documentation, and interviews to generate data. Findings indicate that while existing government records identify the 1930s to the 1950s as dates of the cemetery’s establishment, archival documents, oral accounts and structural evidence suggest an earlier origin during the American colonial period when Baguio was being developed as a hill station. These data suggest that the cemetery developed in conjunction with the beginnings and growth of Baguio as a city. The cemetery therefore reflects the shared and layered histories and cultural influences that have intertwined within the single developmental landscape of Baguio through time. Examining the spatial layout of the cemetery, the study found that it exemplifies social segmentation and political hierarchies through distinct structures and sections for various personalities and communities. This segmentation, however, has been gradually modified over time through successive burials, cultural interactions, and spatial reappropriation. Because of the cemetery’s historical significance, the study recommends that it is a potential heritage site that deserves to be protected and recognized.

Keywords: Cemetery, Baguio History, American Colonialism, Urban Planning, Cultural Heritage

DOI: https://doi.org/10.64743/FOSN3053