THE LAGUNA LAKE LOOP

The Laguna lake loop offers plenty of interesting and magnificent colonial churches for churchopiles. The trip can be done in one day but I did mine 3 times during trips to the Bicol region and Quezon province --- one via Lucban in Quezon, the next via Angono in Rizal, and the last one via Los Banos, Laguna. Personally, the best starting point should be a pilgrimage to the shrine of the Nuestra Senora de la Paz y Viaje in Antipolo, Rizal (to be discussed in another posting). Chronological along this route are the old churches of Morong, Baras, and Tanay in Rizal which is a national heritage site; and Mabitac, Pakil, Paete, Pagsanjan, Lumban, Sta. Cruz, Pila, Bay, Los Banos, Calamba, and Sta. Rosa in Laguna:

MORONG, RIZAL. The church of San Geronimo was started to be built in 1615 mostly by Chinese craftsmen under the supervision of Fr. Blas de la Madre. The beautiful bell tower and intricate façade --- acknowledged to be the most beautiful and the tallest to be made by the Franciscans --- was built by Bartolome Platino of Paete under the supervision of Fr. Maximo Rico (OFM) between 1850 and 1853. The church has been declared as a national treasure.



BARAS, RIZAL. The first church was built by the Franciscans in 1595. The town was handed to the Jesuits in 1616 who relocated the church to a place called Ibayo in 1636. After the Jesuits left in 1679, the church was returned to its old site in 1682. The present church, dedicated to San Jose, was built in 1686.

National Heritage Site: Via Crucis and Retablos

Tanay used to be a small village of what is then Monte Tan-ay under the jurisdiction of Pililla. A church was built, probably of light materials, when it was established as an independent parish in 1606. A new church was probably built when the town was relocated to what was then San Antonio in 1620. The town was moved to its present site in 1640 after it was razed by fire during the Chinese uprising. A stone church was then built and completed in 1680. This was demolished due to its deterioration and replaced by the present church (dedicated to San Ildefonso) that was started to be built in 1773 probably by Fr. Ildefonso Petanes (OFM). The church underwent repair works in 1851. The church features a Via Crucis (i.e. Way of the Cross) with remarkable indigenous motifs and a five-panel Rococo retablo. The National Commission on Culture and Arts had declared it as a national heritage site. During the Philippine revolution against Spain and the Filipino-American War, Tanay's Rawang Pass and Kalinawan Plateau are known strongholds of the Filipino revolutionaries.

MABITAC, LAGUNA. The first church was probably built at around 1615 when an image of the Nuestra Senora de la Candelaria --- brought from Mexico and venerated throughout the province of Laguna --- was enshrined. There are no records on who built the present church that was damaged during the earthquake of 1880. Fr. Antonio dela Fuente (OFM) had it repaired only to be destroyed during the 1937 earthquake. Only the bell tower is left of the original structure. A 96-step stairway leads to the church and a panoramic view of Laguna de Bay.



PAKIL, LAGUNA. Construction on the present church (dedicated to San Pedro de Alcantara) started in 1732 under the supervision of Fr. Fernando Haro (OFM). In 1788, the Virgin of Turumba was enshrined in the church. It was repaired in 1852 after suffering damages from a fire, and rebuilt in 1881 after it was damaged by an earthquake.

PAETE, LAGUNA. The mission of Paete was established by Fr. Juan de Plasencia (OFM) in 1580. The first church was built in 1602. Another church was probably constructed in 1646 that was rebuilt in 1717 and again in 1840. This was destroyed during the 1880 earthquake and was again rebuilt in 1884 under the supervision of Fr. Pedro Gallano (OFM). The church, dedicated to Santiago Apostol, was again damaged during the 1937 earthquake and was immediately reconstructed.



PAGSANJAN, LAGUNA. In 1687, Fr. Agustin de la Magdalena (OFM) had the first church of light materials built. This was replaced by the present church of the Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe that was constructed in 1690 under the supervision of Miguel Guna-co and Alguacil Mayor Alfonso Garcia. The church was damaged during World War II and has been repaired.

LUMBAN, LAGUNA. The Franciscans probably established the mission of Lumbang in 1578. On the same year, Fr. Juan de Plasencia (OFM) initiated building the first church that was later destroyed by fire. A new church --- dedicated to San Sebastian --- was completed at around 1600 by a native Filipino called Burlon and was the first to be built of stone in Laguna. Lumban used to be the center of all missionary activities in Laguna. From 1606 to 1618, a rest house for sick Franciscan missionaries was maintained there. The church was seriously damaged by the 1880 earthquake and was repaired.

STA. CRUZ, LAGUNA. In 1608, a stone church was built during the administration of Fr. Antonio de la Llave (OFM). In 1790, Fr. Miguel Perciva (OFM) enlarged the church that was dedicated to the La Imaculada Concepcion. This was destroyed during the 1880 earthquake and was reconstructed during the administrations of Fr. Martin de Vidales (OFM) and Fr. Gregorio Ercilla (OFM) from 1881 to 1883. The church was burned down in 1945 and was rebuilt in 1948.



Sta. Cruz is the birthplace of my father-in-law. Like my father, he moved a lot: in Sta. Ana in Manila, in Cebu City, before finally settling down in my mother-in-law’s hometown of Talavera, Nueva Ecija where he died (my father died in my mother’s hometown of Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya). I only met him through my in-laws’ stories and a cut-out picture that my wife keep. He is a relative of Andres Manambit --- a local hero in Laguna who’s life has been made into a film starring Eddie Garcia.



PILA, LAGUNA. The Franciscans were already in Pila by 1606 when they put up a printing press that was supervised by Tomas Pinpin and Domingo Loeg. The first church was built in 1618. To avoid the frequent floods, the town was relocated to its present site in 1800 where a new church was built. The present church (dedicated to San Antonio de Padua) was built in 1849 under the supervisions of Fr. Antonio Argobejo (OFM) and Fr. Domingo de Valencia (OFM).



BAY, LAGUNA. The church dedicated to San Agustin was probably built in 1864 during the administration of Fr. Geronimo Hervas (OFM) and Fr. Pedro Moya (OFM) after the town was relocated to its present site. It was destroyed during World War II and was rebuilt in 1953.



LOS BANOS, LAGUNA. A hospital chapel served as the town’s first church from 1613 until 1727. Fr. Domingo Mateo started building what is probably the present church in 1790. This was destroyed during the earthquake of 1863 and was repaired in 1880 under the supervisions of Fr. Manuel Rodriguez and Fr. Gilberto Martin. The church (dedicated to the La Imaculada Concepcion) was probably damaged again during the 1880 earthquake and subsequently restored.

CALAMBA, LAGUNA. Calamba is popularly known as the birthplace of the Philippines’ national hero --- Dr. Jose Rizal --- who was baptized in the church of San Juan Bautista by Fr. Rufino Collantes in 22 June 1861. There are no records on when and who built the church. During World War II, the fleeing Japanese soldiers herded Calamba’s residents inside the church and then burned it. Fr. Eliseo Dimaculangan, the parish priest during what is now known as the Calamba Massacre, had the church rebuilt after the war. Just across the street is the Rizal house that was restored through funds donated by Filipino school children and under the supervision of National Artist for Architecture Juan Nakpil.



STA. ROSA, LAGUNA. Sta. Rosa was established by the Dominicans as an independent parish in 1792. It took 16 years to build the church from 1796 until 1812. The image of the patron saint (i.e. Sta. Rosa de Lima) enthroned in the church was a gift from the ambassador of Peru to the Philippines who brought the image in 1999. The church has been renovated several times.



Sta. Rosa is one of Uncle Kidlat’s last assignment before he retired from the military service. I visited him once in their camp located in the middle of a sugarcane field. He was mad because he was ordered to join a night patrol despite his senior status as the Battalion First Sergeant and his impending retirement.

REFERENCES

I was introduced to Philippine colonial churches by Regalado Trota Jose’s “Simbahan: Church Art in Colonial Philippines, 1565-1598” that was recommended to me by Oyet. It is a beautifully illustrated and well researched red-covered book that ignited the churchopile in me. The book is a must for Spanish-era church researchers. It is available in selected bookstores only and I bought mine at the Los Filipinos Bookshop at the Ayala Center in Makati.

Oyet also introduced me to F. Sionil Jose and his Rosales saga (i.e. Po-on, Tree, My Brother My Executioner, The Pretenders, Mass) that inspired my attempt at creative non-fiction and the search for my roots and past. I am slowly building a section of F. Sionil Jose in my small library.

Most of my materials on Augustinian-built churches are taken from Pedro G. Galende’s (OSA) “Angels in Stones: Augustinian Churches in the Philippines” --- a fine, comprehensive and illustrative book on Augustinian church building history. It is available at the San Agustin Museum, the Popular Book Store, and at the Tradewind Books in Intramuros where I brought mine at a discounted price. Interesting and surprising local history was also provided by the Ilocos Norte travel guidebook published by the Ilocos Norte provincial government and sold at the provincial museum. I wish every province should have one.

I mined Pedro V. Salgado’s (OP) “Cagayan Valley and Eastern Cordillera, 1581-1898” and Florentino H. Hornedo’s “On the Trail of Dominican Engineers, Artists and Saints in the Cagayan Valley and Batanes” for interesting and informative tidbits on Dominican church building history. Salgado’s book consisting of 2 volumes and that of Hornedo is available at the Popular Bookstore in Timog Avenue.




Emmanuel Luis A Romanillos’ “The Augustinian Recollects in the Philippines: Hagiography and Story” provided some details on the church building activities of the Augustinian Recollects. It is available at the La Solidaridad Bookshop in Padre Faura where I found my copy.

Valuable information were also sourced from the following general references: the National Historical Institute’s “Historical Markers: Regions I-XII and the National Capital Region” (available at the NHI library), Norma I. Alarcon’s “Philippine Architecture During the Spanish and Pre-Spanish Periods” (I got my copy from Tradewind), and the website of the National Commission on Culture and Arts and its brochure on national heritage sites.

My hero Nick Joaquin provided the social and historical context of this work mainly through his “Culture and History” which is a must read for Filipiniana fanatics. The book gave me a refreshing perspective on the evolution of the Filipino as a people and as a nation. His “Manila, My Manila” and “A Question of Heroes” are also guaranteed to be fine reading.

I am greatly indebted to these authors and institutions who made this endeavor much easier. I consider them part of whatever this work might accomplished. All errors, however, are mine alone.

Wish List

Its distressing for me to have so few references on those fine Franciscan churches except what I can glean from the NHI’s books on historical markers and the website of the Franciscan archives. A burning desire (but mostly a dream) is to one day write a book about them. Someday, I will find the time to finally visit their archive in San Jose del Monte, Quezon City which is just a long walk from our national office. I also long to have a copy of Rene Javellana’s “Wood and Stone for God’s Greater Glory: Jesuit Art and Architecture in the Philippines” and “Great Churches in the Philippines” but these books seem to be out of print and stock. My wish list also include Alicia M.L. Coseteng’s “Spanish Churches in the Philippines”, John Schumacher’s “Reading in Philippine Church History”, Gerald Anderson’s “Studies in Philippine Church History”, the National Media Production Center’s “Philippine Churches”, and Pablo Fernandez’s “History of the Catholic Church in the Philippines”.

What will I give for these books…

HOW ALMAGUER GOT ITS NAME

The only document I have of Almaguer’s history is a 3-paged manuscript written by Manong Flor Arellano --- one of the most respected citizens of our barrio. It tells the following story on how Almaguer got its name:

“How the barangay got its name no one knows for sure, although there is an unverified story on the subject. Fact or myth, in the absence of a more plausible material for the purpose, the story is worth retelling.

Then as now, the Apean River (i.e. bassit nga carayan) is like an equator, dividing the barangay into half --- north and south. But unlike today, its water used to be deep and swift and the inhabitants of old used a hanging bridge made of bamboos joined end to end to cross the river. One day, a young man from the southern side was crossing the bridge. He was almost halfway when another young man from the northern side, tipsy from drinking too much tapuy appeared from the opposite end. The young man from the south asked him to wait for his turn, but the other fellow would not listen and pushed on his way. The two guys met at about two-thirds the distance from the southern bank where the river was deepest. A heated argument ensued culminating in an exchange of blows. In the shuffle, the tipsy fellow from the northern side fell and was carried downstream by the strong current almost drowning. When he got home to his folks, he related the incident, twisting facts making it appear that he was ganged up upon for no reason at all by several man from the south then thrown into the river. This angered the men folk from the north and without further investigation they gathered themselves to wage war on the southerners. A long and bitter feud followed, with dire consequences on both sides.

Sometime later when senses cleared and feelings settled, the truth about the incident on the hanging bridge surfaced. Angered by his lying which pushed them into a costly trouble, the elders of the northern side seized the young man who provoked the fight on the bridge, tied him to a tree and flogged him until he begged for mercy and promised never to start any trouble again. Then the elders decided to negotiate for peace with their counterparts in the southern side. They sent an emissary to transmit their offer of peace to their peers across the river. Fortunately, the southern elders were as desirous for peace and they readily agreed to set a day of truce at the riverbank.

Over a makeshift table laden with tapuy, tobacco, betel leaves, betel nuts, chewing lime and roasted venison, the men talked peace --- lasting peace.

As this happened, the place still had no name. The Spanish authorities who had already established a garrison in the town heard about the feud and the treaty that followed and decided to call the place “Calma Despues Del Guerra” which means “Peace after the War”. Later recorders, however, finding the name too long and cumbersome to write, shortened it to “Almaguer””.

Fr. Pedro Salgado (OP) mentioned that Almaguer was established by Fr. Teodoro Gimeno (OP) “with 1,500 souls who disappeared through sickness and other causes”. This might be in 1882 when Father Gimeno built a school and convent after an earthquake. This information means that Almaguer has been in existence long before the Ilocano settlers came. Perhaps, the two young men who fought at the bridge were the warring Isinays and Igorots that Uncle Baldo narrated to us (the bassit nga carayan is the demarcation of their territories). Uncle Baldo, great grandson of Miguel Tomas, also told me that Almaguer was derived from the Spanish “alma de guerra”. I forgot to ask him more about this but I will surely try to find out what it means.

Dung-aws and Reunions

My earliest recollection of death in our family was when our first sister died on my birthday three days after she was born. Mother told us that she went to heaven and became an angel. Our Lola Senang, bed-ridden for some time, died in 1980 when we were in Mapandan, Pangasinan. The telegram arrived too late and we failed to catch her funeral. We remember her as our Lola who would save Lolo Porong’s supply of Balita to sell and give the money to us. Auntie Angeling had a store below the big house in Bambang that Lola Senang managed and every time Daddy comes to visit, she would always slip him a can or two of Swift’s Frankfurters. Lolo Porong died 5 years later in the house Auntie Angeling bought in Almaguer’s Sonsona after selling the big house in Bambang.



Amang Lakay died in 1990 at the age of 89 in Almaguer. That was the first real reunion we had on our mother’s side of the family. The scions of Almaguer’s Fundadores came. An atong (i.e. fire made from big pieces of wood that is kept burning through out the wake) was lit and every relative who came did their dung-aws. Inang Baket and Apong Petra wore black clothes and covered their heads with mantos. Amang Lakay was the first to be buried in Almaguer’s newly opened cemetery that was donated by his second cousin Apong Ino --- son of Miguel Tomas and Lakay Burik’s first cousin. Inang Baket died 2 years later in 1992.

Daddy died in my sister’s house in Bambang in 2000 on his third heart attack during my oldest pamangkin’s birthday. Mommy will follow 4 years later because of cancer. During her wake, I found her collections of photo albums that she annotated depicting moments of our family, and a blue note book where she jotted down our history. I met long lost relatives and from them and Mommy’s chronicles, I learned the story of Lakay Burik and the barrio of Almaguer.