The Temple of Leah in Upper Busay, Cebu City, which draws hundreds of tourists, now stands witness to a husband’s undying love for his departed wife.
A businessman wanted to immortalize his love for his wife, Leah, who was snatched away from him by cancer.
So up in the mountains of Busay, about 7 km. from the nearest mall in Barangay Lahug, Cebu City, Teodorico Adarna built a temple named after her.
Now, tourists and locals flock to the Temple of Leah which has been dubbed as Cebu’s Taj Mahal, a popular tourist attraction in India, built in the 1600s by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in honor of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
The seven-floor edifice is inspired by Roman architecture and Greek mythology with its huge columns at the entrance and gigantic lions that seem to be looking at the city’s panoramic view.
Leah’s books and her other treasures, among these, baby pictures of actress Ellen Adarna, Leah’s granddaughter, are contained in chambers which are still close to the public and can only be viewed through window bars and plastic sheeting.
Ellen’s father, Alan, is the oldest son of Leah and Teodorico who own the Queensland motel chain and a construction firm.
Teodorico and Leah had four children — Alan Modesto, Arlene Mae, Arthur Edward and Alec Teodoro.
Teodorico had children from other women; one of them is his namesake, Teodorico, who is fondly called Jumboy.
Jumboy said that though Leah was his stepmother, she treated him like he was her own.
Teodorico “Jumboy” Adarna recounts how his stepmother, Leah, loved him as if he were her own son.
CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO
“I only learned that she was not my biological mother when I was a young adult,” 37-year-old Jumboy shared with Cebu Daily News.
“ I grew up thinking she was my biological mother because I was already living with her when I was only a week old,” he added.
When Leah got sick, Jumboy accompanied her to treatments. She died on Jan. 4, 2010, eight days after her 69th birthday.
A promise
Following her death, Teodorico built the grand edifice to honor his wife of 53 years and to fulfill his promise to put all her collections under one roof.
For the project, the businessman decided to use his 5,000 square-meter property in Barangay Busay which overlooks the city.
A year after construction began, the Temple of Leah opened to the public in 2012.
“This was originally planned as a rest house because my mother really wanted a house in this area,” said Jumboy.
The temple is made of cement, wood and concrete reinforced with steel frames.
Although no fees were collected at the start, Jumboy said that they decided to charge an entrance of P50 from each adult visitor because some people started to loiter and vandalize the property.
At least 500 visitors would go to the temple on weekdays. The number usually doubles on weekends.
The structure
From the temple’s gate, people walk about one to two minutes to the main structure where two bronze lions and two angels greet visitors by the frontage. A fountain at the center of the wide front yard features three naked women and horses.
A few more steps from the main doorway, in the middle of a grand staircase with brass angels, is a nine-foot bronze statue of Leah — inspired by an old photo taken when she was chosen as matron queen of her alma mater, the University of Southern Philippines (USP).
Near the statue is a bronze tablet where Teodorico acknowledged the people who helped him take care of his wife when she was sick; as well as those who assisted him with the temple’s construction.
It read: “To Teodorico “Jumboy” N. Adarna, who helped me care for her (during) her last days and her two granddaughters Dr. Leigh Angeli Adarna and nurse Mary Adele Hlynn “Madel” Dejon who cared for her in her most critical days until she breathed her last.”
He also thanked his two sons — Alan and Teodorico — for sharing their expertise in construction as it was Alan who deployed heavy equipment to carve the temple from the mountain side.
Vast collections
Twenty-four chambers serve as home to Leah’s vast collection of treasure chests, books, Persian carpets, Buddha heads, Chinese vases, jars and several figurines which she gathered from her travels abroad.
The collections came from at least seven houses where Leah had lived in throughout her life.
“This is a structure that expresses my father’s devotion to my mother,” said Jumboy.
Teodorico himself supervises the construction, said Jumboy, adding that there are future plans to move the remains of Leah to the temple named after her.
For now, Jumboy said it is the desire of his 77-year-old father to complete the temple.
“He said this will be his last project and then he will retire and live in Davao,” said Jumboy.
Ruddy and Marilou Berondo, a couple from Isabela, Basilan, went to the temple last Feb. 5 after reading about it on social media.
“It’s praiseworthy to know of a man who would construct this temple for his wife. He used his wealth to share with the world his love and share with the public his devotion. There are many rich people who chose to hide their wealth. Mr. Adarna is not one of them,” said Marilou.
And like Teodorico’s undying love for his wife, his Temple of Leah continues to brim with life as it continues to attract more visitors each day until maybe, forever.