IMPRINTS OF TUGUEGARAO

The first Spanish to set foot in what is now the town of Lal-lo is Juan de Salcedo --- Miguel Lopez de Legazpi’s grandson --- in 1572. Don Juan Pablo Carrion established it as a pueblo in 1581 and named it Nueva Segovia in memory of his hometown in Spain,. In 1595, Pope Clement VIII created the Diocese of Nueva Segovia and in 1596, the Dominicans accepted it as an ecclesiastical mission. Nueva Segovia had three churches: the cathedral that was under the secular clergy, and the parishes of Bagumbayan and Tocolona under the supervision of the Dominicans. But because of its distance from Manila and the constant threat of the Cagayan River’s rampaging waters, the Diocese of Nueva Segovia was transferred to Vigan in 1755. This effected the closure of the cathedral and the fusion of the three churches into the single parish of Bagumbayan. The two other churches were abandoned and eventually destroyed because of neglect while the church of Bagumbayan, dedicated to Sto. Domingo de Guzman, became what is now the present church of Lal-lo. The remains of three bishops are interred in the church: Bishop Miguel de Benavidez who was Nueva Segovia’s first bishop and later of Manila where he founded the University of Santo Tomas, Bishop Diego de Soria who was the second bishop of the diocese, and Bishop Diego Aduarte who was the sixth. The diocese’s name went along with the transfer to Vigan and, to avoid confusion, Bishop Miguel Garcia requested that Nueva Segovia and its suburbs be called Lal-lo while Vigan became known as the Diocese of Nueva Segovia until today. Lal-lo means twisting two strands to make a rope, and may also refer to the strong river current. It also used to be the capital of Cagayan province until 1839 when the provincial seat of power was relocated to Tuguegarao.

The decline of Lal-lo is the transformation of Tuguegarao as the most important town in Cagayan. It was accepted as an ecclesiastical mission by the Dominicans in 1604 --- 23 years after the foundation of Lal-lo. Its origins is probably a place called Tubigarao that was listed as a Spanish encomienda in 1591. The first parochial building to be constructed in 1598 is a chapel that became the foundation of what is now the Ermita de Piedra de San Jacinto. The present chapel is the latest in a process of rebuilding --- beginning in 1724 when it was rebuilt by Fr. Bernabe dela Magdalena (OP) until 1892 when it was destroyed in an earthquake.

Tuguegarao’s larger church --- the Cathedral of San Pedro and San Pablo --- was the biggest built by the Spanish in Cagayan Valley and started to be constructed in 1761 by Fr. Antonio Lobato (OP), author of the first Ibanag-Spanish dictionary. The church is what is called as the “main Cagayan style” of Spanish churches in the area that became the influence in the construction of the following churches in Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya: Gamu’s Church of Santa Rosa, Cauayan’s Church of La Virgen del Pilar, Alicia’s Church of Nuestra Senora de Atocha, Bambang’s Church of Catalina de Sienna, Bayombong’s Cathedral of Santo Domingo, and Dupax’s Church of San Vicente Ferrer.

In the province of Cagayan, the Tuguegarao architectural influence is most visible in the Santa Ana Church of Buguey --- a sleepy old town along the northern coast of Luzon. Buguey was established in 1596 as a Dominican ecclesiastical mission. In 1610, the first parochial buildings were started to be built. These were razed by fire in 1732 destroying what was said to be the best library in Cagayan valley during that time. The church and convent were later rebuilt and renovated in 1890 under the supervision of Fr. Juan Gomez (OP). Buguey was derived from the Ibanag word bugay which means “shipwreck”.

The road linking Buguey to Lal-lo (via Magapit Bridge) is perhaps the most misnamed superhighway in the world: some 25 kilometers of gravel through unpopulated rolling hills. I thought the “super” in the highway is something close to the NLEX. Don’t believe the map (as I did); take the road via Camalaniugan instead.

ANGELS IN ILOILO

I had the chance of visiting Iloilo when the Family Planning Organization of the Philippines or FPOP invited me there (as the president of its Nueva Ecija Chapter) for a workshop. There are plenty of Augustinian-built churches in the province so I braced myself for the following task: visit as many churches as I can while actively participating in the workshop.

On Day 1, our group was able to visit 3 of these churches upon my prodding. First stop was the church of Nuestra Senora de Purificacion in Jaro District that was built by Fr. Francisco Agueria (OSA) before the mission was handed over to the secular clergy in 1865. The hero Graciano Lopez Jaena was baptized in the church on 20 December 1856. One of the church’s attraction is an image of its patron saint that was taken down from its niche in the upper façade of the church because it was said to be getting bigger, and now installed in the front porch.

The “other" church is that of Santa Ana in the Molo District. It was built in 1869 and is known to be a church of women because all the 16 images of saints installed in the church are women. In contrast, the “other” church of Jaro is known to be a church of men because all of its saints are men. Dr. Jose P. Rizal visited the church in 1896 to look at its biblical paintings.



We ended the impromptu visita iglesia in La Paz, home of the famous batchoy. Despite the steady downpour, I persisted in visiting the church. The town was formerly known in various times as Lobo, Llauon, Ilaod (“down the river”), Bagong Banua (“new town”), Iznart before it finally settled for its patron saint --- the Nuestra Senora dela Paz. Fr. Candido Gonzales (OSA) probably initiated the building of what is now the present church in 1870. The church as it stands today has been disappointingly “improved” (defaced is my more appropriate term for it).



Sinful Batchoy


The batchoy I know is sautéed pig innards with a soup thickened by blood and misua noodles, and perked up by ginger and dahon ng sili. I was thinking of something like this in La Paz but was surprised by the very different dish: the yellow noodles are similar to that of Pancit Cabagan (almost like miki), the soup has the texture of bulalo, the sahog are pork bits and slices of pig liver, and garnished with chopped lasona. The pork bits are a combination of lean meat and deep fried pork skin (i.e. chinicharon: between chicharon and deep fried). We had the original, calorie loaded and deliciously sinful La Paz batchoy at Ted’s panciteria --- said to have the best batchoy in Iloilo. Perfect for soothing away the cold from being rain drenched during my visita to the church.



National Heritage: A Bas Relief for Celebrating a Distant Victory

I made arrangements with FPOP’s Iloilo Chapter to borrow their service vehicle for an early morning foray of churches along the south eastern Panay Gulf coast. Manong Rolly of FPOP’s Pangasinan Chapter, Madonna of the North Cotabato Chapter, and Regina of the Negros Occidental Chapter decided to tag along. We set off the next day at 4 in the morning, deciding to start at the farthest town then make the visita on the way back to Iloilo City.

We arrived by daybreak in San Joaquin --- Iloilo’s last town before the province of Antique. At various times, the town was called as Soaragam, Suiraga, and Suaraga after a river that runs through it that in turn was named after a poisonous snake called siuraga. The Augustinians established it as a visita of Hamtic in 1581. There are no records about the early parochial buildings. By 1850, a church of “mediocre quality” was reported. Fr. Tomas Santaren (OSA) had the present structure built from 1855 until 1886 probably on the site of the old church. News of Gen. Leopoldo O’Donnel and his Spanish troops’ victory over Moroccan Crown Prince Muley Abbas reached the Philippines while the church’s construction is midway. Father Santaren had Felipe Diez, a Spanish engineer, and an unnamed Filipino-Chinese carver depict this event in a bas-relief installed at the church’s façade. It is entitled “Redicion de Tetuan” and show the Spanish troops storming the gates of Tetuan in Morocco. The great Father Santaren also translated the legends of Panay into Spanish and, together with his brother who is also an Augustinian priest, supervised the building of a road that connected San Joaquin with the province of Antique. The National Commission on Culture and Arts had declared the church as a national heritage.

From San Joaquin is Miag-ao where one of the Philippines’ 4 world heritage sites on architecture is located (the 3 others are the churches of Paoay in Ilocos Norte, Sta. Maria in Ilocos Sur, and San Agustin in Intramuros). This will be later discussed in a separate posting.

After Miag-ao is the town of Guimbal which started as an Augustinians visita of Oton in 1575. Its people are known to be “the best traders of Panay”. The building of the present church (dedicated to San Nicolas de Tolentino) was finished in 1774 during the term of Fr. Juan Campos (OSA).




Our last church for the day is in Tigbauan. Fr. Fernando Camporredondo (OSA) probably initiated in 1750 the building of the first stone church (dedicated to San Juan de Sahagun) that was probably reconstructed by Fr. Fernando Martin (OSA) in 1867. Recent additions are two fake bell towers that somehow gave a grotesque outline to the church facade. Tigbauan was known as “the land of the reeds”. Its annual celebration of the feast of the Sto. Nino attracts many devotees from all over the island of Panay.



I took pictures of Madonna and Regina during our visita. The soft early morning light combined with the reflection of rain wash is perfect. The ancient church walls are also excellent backgrounds. Madonna later said that they seem to be in another country in the photos; its almost like Europe. I told her they look like angels among Iloilo’s ancient church walls.

Janiuay's Cemetery, Cabatuan Church and Other Angels


The third day of our workshop is an exposure trip in Bacolod which is around 45 minutes away by boat. I told the workshop facilitator that I won’t be coming and would prefer hunting around for old churches (besides, I have already been in Bacolod). This time, my itinerary is in the northern part of the province.

I again traveled my way from the north towards Iloilo City. In Janiuay, I dropped by the ruins of the church which is currently being rebuilt. The ruins is the town’s second church built in 1839 mainly by F. Miguel Carod (OSA) and destroyed during World War II. In one of the shattered walls partly hidden by foliage is a couple in romantic embrace, oblivious to the world around them. Almost a kilometer away is the cemetery --- acknowledged to be the most artistic Spanish-era cemetery in the Philippines --- built by Fr. Fernando Llorente (OSA) in 1874, and still in use today.

From Janiuay, I proceeded to the town of Cabatuan and savored the beauty of its church (dedicated to San Nicolas de Tolentino) --- one of the largest and said to be the best ever built by the Spanish in the island of Panay, and considered a “model church”. Its builder is Fr. Ramon Alquizar (OSA) who started the work in 1833.



My next destination is the town of Sta. Barbara, once the seat of the Philippine revolutionary government in Western Visayas under its native son, Gen. Martin Delgado, during the country’s years of revolt in the late 1800s. The well-preserved church was started to be built by Fr. Francisco Agueria (OSA) in 1849. It was spared from destruction during the war against Spain and World War II, and was faithfully restored (including the convent) by Fr. Enrique Perez.



I ended my visita in Pavia, a not so old town having been established as an Augustinian mission only in 1862. The church (dedicated to Santa Monica) is similar to the Augustinian church of Pavia in Italy and was started to be constructed by Fr. Antonio Fermentino (OSA) in 1882. Like most of the churches I visited in Iloilo, both church and convent were used as a Japanese garrison during World War II and were raided several times by Filipino guerillas inflicting damages on the buildings.

Post Script

The last church I visited is that of San Jose which is just a 5-minute walk from the Iloilo Grand Hotel where we stayed. The San Jose District is where Irog-irog --- later hispanized as Ilong-ilong that means "something that is similar to the nose" --- was said to be founded by ten Datus from Borneo. It is also the old town center where American era art deco buildings are still intact. The Jesuits probably built the first church in 1617 --- the same year that Hilo-hilo was accepted by the Augustinians as a mission. In 1873, Fr. Mauricio Blanco (OSA) started building the present church where an image of the Nuestra Senora del Rosario, said to be found in a box during a raid by Dutch pirates on La Punta de Iloilo in 1614, is enshrined.




My brief interlude in Iloilo left me exhausted but very much fulfilled. I enjoyed the company of angels (Madonna and Regina). Most importantly, I have communed with the “Angels in Stones” of Fr. Pedro Gallende (OSA) --- imminent church historian and curator of the San Agustin Church Museum.

McARTHUR'S CHURCH(es)

My eldest son Bulan always ask me why I keep pictures of old churches. I realized that I have not yet fully explained to him my reasons so one day in October 2005 during his break from school, I took him on one of my trips to Manila for a visita iglesia along the McArthur Highway (my route to and from Manila when the North Luzon Expressway began collecting their new sky high toll fee; I later realized that the traffic and the longer travel time is not worth the P200+ that can be saved).

As a prelude to our McArthur journey, we dropped by the town of Magalang to show him the town’s church since it is along the way. Magalang used to be called as Magalo which means “abundance” in Kapampangan. It was established by the Augustinians in 1605 and was relocated 3 times: from the barrio of Macapsa where the followers of Malong led by Melchor de Vera once battled the Spanish troops garrisoned in the area, to barrio Bartolome in 1734, to its present site in barrio San Pedro in 1863. A church was built in each relocation and the present structure (dedicated to San Bartolome) was started to be constructed by Fr. Ramon Sarrionandia (OSA) in 1875.



The church of Angeles Custodios in Angeles City is the first stop in our McArthur itinerary. The city was said to be named in honor of Capitan Don Angel Pantaleon de Miranda who founded the place. The Augustinians accepted it as a mission in 1830. The church was started to be built in 1860 by Fr. Ramon Sarrionandia (OSA) before he built the Magalang church. It was converted as a field hospital by American soldiers during World War II. Uncle Kidlat’s first wife, Auntie Remy, hails from Angeles City. They have 1 daughter --- our cousin Ma. Christina --- whom I last saw as a toddler when they stayed for some time at the old house in Almaguer. They have separated and I heard that Auntie Remy and our cousin have migrated to Canada.




Our next iglesia after Angeles is the church of Nuestra Senora dela Asuncion in San Fernando City. Fr. Sebastian Moreno (OSA) probably built the present church in 1756. The church and convent were burned by the troops of Gen. Antonio Luna during the 1898 Philippine Revolution. It was later restored but razed by fire again in 1939. Both buildings were rebuilt after World War II. San Fernando was named after King Fernando III of Castille and Leon who was canonized in 1671 by the Roman Catholic Church. It was established as an Augustinian parish in 1754 and was called as the second Parian or Escolta because of the big number of its Chinese population. In 1881, San Fernando became the capital town of Pampanga province.



From San Fernando, we turned right towards the church of Santa Monica in Minalin that was started to be constructed in 1834. The church once had a templete that was used to hold a beacon that will guide fishermen out in the sea. The town’s old name is Minalis --- a Kapampangan word that means “to move on”. It was said to be later mispronounced as Minalin by a local town official.

Two magnificent churches are found in the provincial boundaries of Pampanga and Bulacan near the confluence of the Baliwag and Rio Grande Rivers. On the Pampanga side is the Apalit church, dedicated to San Pedro Apostol and built by Fr. Antonio Redondo (OSA) and a Guagua native named Mariano Santos in 1876. The interior was painted by a native student of the Italian artist Alberoni. Fr. Toribio Fanjul (OSA) had the bell towers built in 1896 that were designed to be small to minimized the effects of an earthquake. The church on the Bulacan side in Calumpit is dedicated to San Nicolas de Tolentino that was built before 1779. Fr. Antonio Llanos (OSA) who helped edit the epic Flora Filipina once served in the church.

We again turned right at the town crossing after visiting the Apalit church and before entering the province of Bulacan for the church of San Nicolas de Tolentino in Macabebe. The first parochial buildings of light materials were built under the supervision of Fr. Ildefonso Heredero (OSA) from 1576 until 1583. He later had a stone church built that Fr. Felipe Tallada (OSA) had reinforced in 1613. Fr. Tomas Gresa (OSA) supervised the enlargement of the church in 1864 making it one of the biggest in the Philippines during that time. Macabebe in Kapampangan means “living on the banks of the river”. The Macabebes are known for their loyalty to Spain and, in retaliation to this, Katipuneros burned the church in 1898.



Next stop is Guiguinto --- a town that was first established as a visita of the Augustinians at around 1591 and 1607. The present church is dedicated to San Ildefonso and was probably built in the late 17thcentury or the early years of the 18th century.



Our visita iglesia culminated in the churches of Marilao (dedicated to San Miguel Arkanghel and built by Fr. Vicente de Talavera), and Meycauayan (probably built at the later part of the 18th century after the town was relocated from Lagulo to its present site).




Bulan slept the remaining kilometers from Meycauayan to Manila. During dinner at a Burger King branch, he told me that he finally decided to become a priest (the choices before that are becoming a scientist then a forensic like CSI’s Grisham). When I asked him why, he said: “Para po magkaroon kayo ng sariling simbahan”.