By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The family that donated the land on which St. John’s Institute (SJI) and the former Queen of Peace Parish church stand have backed the Board of Trustees in its ongoing rift with the Diocese of Bacolod, particularly concerning the land donation it made decades ago.
In a statement released yesterday, former Assemblyman Roberto L. Montelibano, spokesperson of the family and Capitol Subdivision, Inc., clarified that the deed of donation of the property was intended for the establishment of a school and chapel for the local Filipino-Chinese community.
According to the former lawmaker, whose family transformed their haciendas into what now form most of Bacolod’s central core, it was the founding Chinese priests Monsignors John Liu and John Su, as well as Chinese community leaders, who approached the Montelibano clan seeking a lot donation and not the Diocese as claimed by Church authorities.
He further explained the deed of donations covering the two lots were only temporarily turned over to the Diocese of Bacolod during the time of Bishop Manuel Yap and Monsignor Antonio Fortich as many of the Chinese community leaders and both Monsignors were not yet recognized as naturalized Filipinos and were, therefore, not allowed to own properties.
He also said when SJI, also known as “Hua Ming,” was finally incorporated, a third deed of donation superseding the previous ones was issued to SJI and was even signed and attested to by Diocesan leaders which later became the basis of the land titles covering the entire school compound under the name of SJI.
“We believe that Hua Ming has stayed true to that intent and will continue to do so as it had in the past 60 years,” Montelibano said.
Montelibano also presented himself to be a mediator between the two opposing parties, saying the decision to de-parish the church last May 31 would give the opportunity for both sides to “cool off” and find a reasonable solution. However, as long as there is no designated mediator, he would rather see the church closed first.
“We would like to open it as a chapel for the school, and a chapel that is open to the public on weekends and holy days,” he said. “That is how it operated for many years.”
Montelibano gave the example of the University of St. La Salle (USLS), another school standing on a property donated by the storied clan, which opens its chapel to those who wish to participate in religious services./WDJ