Church of St. Joseph (Las Pinas City)

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Church of St. Joseph (left) and the old Spanish convent (right)

While driving along the Alabang-Zapote Rd. in Las Pinas City with Jandy, I decided, on a whim, to revisit the Church of St. Joseph.   The church was built by Fr. Diego Cera de la Virgen del Carmen, parish priest of Las Piñas till May 15, 1832 (when he could no longer perform his duties due to severe illness) between 1792 and 1818, to replace an earlier structure of bamboo and nipa.

Facade of Church of St. Joseph

This labor of love, built with adobe stones in the “Earthquake Baroque” style was, however damaged during the 1829 (January 18, July 29 and September 30), 1863 (3 June) and 1880 (19 July) earthquakes and rebuilt again in 1883.

The statue of Fr. Diego Cera sculpted by Napoleon Abueva

The church façade and its grounds were effectively renovated, from 1971 to 1975, using the services of noted architects Francisco “Bobby” Mañosa and Ludwig Alvarez.

Historical plaque installed by the National Historical Institute (now National Historical Commission) in 1995

The major part of the restoration involved the cleaning of the exterior walls to reveal the original walls and the missing stones were replaced with similar stones to limit the use of cement.

The bell tower on the church’s left

On December 3, 1972, the new church was inaugurated.with a slightly advance middle section and a semicircular arched main entrance topped by a depressed three-centered arch. Semicircular arched windows and jambs with fluted piers flanked both. It is 34 m. (110 ft.) long, 29 m. (94 ft.) wide and has a nave width of 21 m. (70 ft.).

The church’s interior

On its left is the massive, 4-storey high square bell tower while on the right is the old Spanish convent (it now serves as an entrance).  Inside the church are stained capiz windows, narra pews, a bamboo ceiling and carriage lamps on bamboo stands.

The church’s main altar which was repositioned, during the 1971 to 1975 restoration, to face the people as required by the new Ecumenical Council guidelines

Within the church compound is a statue of Fr. Diego Cera, sculpted by National Artist for Sculpture Napoleon Abueva, and unveiled on July 27, 1995, the 200th anniversary of the Parish of St. Joseph.

Bamboo Organ

Also called the Bamboo Organ church, it houses the Bamboo Organ, a pipe organ made mostly with bamboo pipes.

Check out “Bamboo Organ“

A side altar

 

NOTE: On July 15, 2013, the Church of St. Joseph was declared as a National Historic Landmark by National Historical Institute.

The original hewn stone baptismal font, discovered buried in the courtyard of the church, was cleaned by the late notable sculptor Eduardo Castrillo who also added a brass basin sculpture as his additional contribution.

The old, hewn stone baptismal font with the brass basin sculpture added by Eduardo Castrillo

Church of St. Joseph: P. Diego Cera Ave., Brgy. Daniel Fajardo, Poblacion, Las Pinas City, Metro Manila.  Tel: (632) 8820-5454, 8825-7190 and 8820-0795.

Mystical Mt. Makiling (Los Banos, Laguna)

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It was field trip time for my daughter Cheska’s Colegio San Agustin class and Lakbay Kalikasan, Southeast Asia’s first and premier outbound education outfitter, was tasked to organize it.    Mt. Makiling was the selected destination.  Upon invitation by Mr. Ramon Jocson, Lakbay’s Corps Director, I decided to tag along.

Mt. Makiling
This 1,090-m. high, 3-peaked mountain, located 65 kms. southeast of Manila, is, owing to its natural history, the most biologically well-known of Philippine mountain and a favorite for field trips.  The slopes of the mountain form a 4,244-hectare national park covering portions of Bay, Calamba City and Los Baños; all in Laguna, and Sto. Tomas in Batangas.  These places depend on the watershed of the mountain for their domestic water requirements and irrigation while Los Baños’ and Calamba’s resorts and tourism industries depend on it for their hot springs.

 

Most field trips, including this one, enter via U.P. Los Baños (UPLB) which is halfway up the summit.  The mountain is also accessible from Alaminos (Laguna) and, for the extreme adventurer, from the more difficult and barely passable (due to the thick jungle) Sto. Tomas route, on the other side of the mountain.   Makiling is said to be the legendary home of the beautiful local goddess, Mariang Makiling.

According to folklore, she was the beautiful young daughter of two deities: Dayang Makiling and Gat Panahon.  Half goddess, half spirit of the air, she was tall, svelte, sweet, with big black tantalizing eyes, long, black, abundant hair reaching to her ankles, pure brown skin, and enchanting smile and a captivating, melodic voice.  She was born of the rays of the moon and lived in the beautiful mountain, roaming the forest and protecting its wild boars and other animals.

Visible to, and loved and respected by the townspeople, she had a generous heart, scattering golden ginger in the yards of every house in her domain and never turning down a request for help or assistance.  She rewarded hunters, who, at her request, spared the animals.

Her kindness, sympathy and acts of benevolence were often forgotten and disregarded by the people.  To punish them, she denied permission to pick fruits in the forest and prohibited hunting of wild animals. For those who disobeyed, she would cause the sky to grow dark and the heavy rain to fall.  To hunters, she assumes a frightful form and sends them to their death.  She fell in love with a mortal man who proposed to her but backed out before their wedding day and later married a mortal woman.  Despondent, she disappeared into the forest and was never seen again.  Her presence, however, is still felt as she continues to watch over the mountain’s natural bounty.

Makiling is one of the few mountains in Luzon that still has some primary forests.  It originally had lowland dipterocarp forests up to the 600 m. mark but the western and southern flanks are now denuded due to kaingin (slash and burn) farming and logging while the eastern slopes are covered with coconut, banana, coffee and other crops.  However, exotic lowland type dipterocarp forest trees and orchards have been introduced for reforestation at its lower slope, transforming the forest below 300 m. into a “parang” type of vegetation.  Above 900 m. are some montane forest and, at the summit, a dwarf mossy forest.  Makiling is a dormant volcanic massif but remnants of its north wall crater no longer exist.  However, heat still escapes from it in the form of mud springs and hot sulphur springs.       Makiling is also a field laboratory for many environmental and biological researches in UPLB.   Aside from being a favorite for school field trips, Makiling is also a popular camping and hiking area for Boys and Girls Scouts, as well as other camping enthusiasts.  The 10th World Boy Scout Jamboree was held on the mountain from June 17 to 26, 1959 and camping is still done at the BSP Wood Badge Area.

Camping, however, wasn’t in the field trip agenda.  They were here to learn. This outdoor classroom showcases the rich biodiversity of the country, being home to 2,038 species of vascular flora (85% of Philippine flora spread out in 949 genera, 19 sub-species and 167 varieties), 24 species of mammals (10 families and 19 genera) and 21 species of amphibians (4 families and 8 genera), 10 of which are endemic. Bryoflora includes giant ferns, 34 species of mosses and 42 species of liverworts.   About 60% of all known fungi have also been found here.     Popular with bird watchers, the mountain is home to 163 species of birds (spread out in 110 genera and 16 families).

Museum of Natural History
A repository for all these biological specimens is the Museum of Natural History, located immediately to the left of the archway going into the College of Forestry and Natural Resources. Housed in a former student dormitory of UPLB, here students are awed by its collection of more than 200,000 Philippine plants, animals, microorganisms and other bioda.  Most of the late Prof. Dioscoro Rabor’s priceless collections are also housed here. Its exhibits feature, among others, the Philippine eagle, tamaraw, tarsier; snails in Mt. Makiling and Laguna de Bay; Philippine plants, forests, shells; Philippine cobras, marine turtles and mammals; and a Philippine map made of 4,012 locusts and lahar from Mt. Pinatubo. A visit here is the piece de resistance for any Makiling field trip.

Rappelling at Wawa Gorge (Rodriguez, Rizal)

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Wawa Gorge

I again joined as a guest in a demonstration tour hosted by Lakbay Kalikasan for teacher representatives from 9 different schools, this time to Montalban (now renamed Rodriguez after its late local son and Senate president Sen. Eulogio “Amang” Rodriguez, Sr.), a town steep in mystery and folk legends, and one of the nearest, it being just 28.60 kms. from Manila.  Assembly and pick-up point was our usual EDSA Shrine.  Our 2-van convoy made a brief stopover at U.P. Diliman (my college alma mater) before proceeding to our final destination, the town’s Wawa Dam and its beautiful gorge.

The two mountains of Bernardo Carpio

Montalban is mostly mountainous, its central and eastern sections being traversed by mountain ranges extending north to south.  It also has a series of steep, sloping ridges. The province’s highest peak, the 1,468-m. high Mt. Caladang, is located along the Rodriguez/Quezon province boundary.  The town’s mountains and caves figured prominently during the early days of the Katipunan (a hideout and a site for secret meetings) and the Philippine Revolution (site of a June, 14, 1897 rout of Spanish forces under Col. Dujiols).     

Montalban is full of legends and folklore.  Near Wawa Gorge, the folk hero and demigod Bernardo Carpio was said to hold two mountains apart, with his mighty hands, to prevent them from colliding.   His enemy, the enchanted king of the mountains of San Mateo, was defeated by Bernardo in a wrestling match.  The king had his revenge when he enticed Bernardo to enter Pamitinan Cave.

He blocked the entrance, with two gigantic boulders of rocks, and trapped him inside forever, thus shackling him to a prolonged bondage. When an earthquake occurs every 100 years, it is said to be Bernardo breaking one of his chains.  It is said that when all his chains have been broken, he would then liberate all his countrymen from their own slavery.

Wawa Dam

Wawa Dam (also called the Montalban Dam), located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Mountains, in Brgy. Wawa, supplies water to the Novaliches area in Quezon City.  Overlooked by Mt. Irid, its spectacular, forested Wawa Gorge lies between two marble and limestone mountains (of Bernardo Carpio fame) and, through it, passes the Wawa River (or Marikina River) as it flows into Laguna de Bay.  On our way to the dam, our group espied one of 4 caves believed to be Japanese strongholds during World War II.  A historical marker was said to have been placed at the entrance of one of the caves in memory of the Japanese soldiers who died in the three-month long battle in 1945.  Treasure hunters are also said to be attracted by rumors of gold buried in the caves.

Wawa Gorge is also the place to be for the relatively new, adrenaline-pumping and extreme sport of rock climbing.  The gorge’s 400-meter high cliffs provide different levels of difficulty for rock climbers.  There are ten rock climbing sites with approximately 50 established routes, graded 5.0 to 5.12, all stable, free from vegetation and generally safe from rock falls.   Its Redemption Area, perpendicular to a metal footbridge, features “Fun in the Sun” (unrated), “Redemption” (5.10, bolted), “Sacrament” (5.8, bolted), “Sanctuary” (5.6) and “Under the Bridge” (has three short, unrated climbs).  The strictly traditional “Sanctuary” is the most popular.

Trying my hand at rappelling

We, however, weren’t there for the rock climbing and there was to be no rock-climbing spectacle either on this hot summer day. Lakbay Team Leader Ryan Viado, however, had a special treat in mind for us: the equally adrenaline-pumping sport of rappelling at the gorge’s metal footbridge.  Rappelling, is nothing new to me, having tried (and enjoying) it during a past Lakbay tour of Biak-na-Bato National Park in Bulacan. Assisted by Alan Galang and Alexes Erquiza, Ryan soon had our rappelling equipment installed at the bridge.  Initially, there were no volunteers willing to try this seemingly once-in-a-lifetime experience.  To set a precedent and embolden the others, I took the first crack at it, doing a near-flawless performance. Just like in Biak-na-Bato, rappelling was the piece de resistance for this fruitful and memorable day.

Lakbay Kalikasan: G/F Balai Lakbay, 2 Alondras St., Mira-Nila Homes, Tandang Sora Ave., Quezon City, Metro Manila.  Tel: (632) 932-7818 to 19.  Mobile number: (0917) 500-4796. Website: www.lakbaykalikasan.com.

Ma-cho Temple (City of San Fernando, La Union)

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Finally, at the northern edge of the city , I drove my Toyota Revo up a promontory overlooking San Fernando Bay, to the impressive Ma-Cho Temple, said to be the largest Taoist temple outside of China.  Meaning “Heavenly Mother,” this ornate temple is a mélange of both Taoist and Catholic symbolism and decor and has 5 gates.  It was constructed in honor of Ma-cho, a Chinese deity of the Sung Dynasty.  

Ma-cho was born in 960 AD at Meizhou village in the scenic island of Moichow in the province of Fukien in southeastern China.  According to legend, she did not cry during the first month of her infancy.  Thus, she was first named Mo meaning “keeping silent.” Intelligent, she became a monk at the age of 10 and was said to be gifted with healing powers and the ability to predict the weather and sea conditions, even days ahead.  During typhoons, she actively participated in rescue operations for fishermen.  Locals called her the “Dragon Girl,” “Goddess of the Sea” or “Queen of Heaven.”  She died young, at age 27, but even today, local sailors and fishermen believed that her spirit, dressed in red, continues to  watch over and protected them.

Here in the country, Ma-cho is known as the Virgin of Caysasay, patroness of the Filipino-Chinese faithful.  The temple houses a replica of the image, a parting gift of love given by Taiwanese fishermen in 1968.  The distinctive features of the temple were inspirations of Ma-cho through buyong sessions  held every other week.  Here, temple elders read or interpret Ma Cho’s message to the faithful.

Ma-Cho Temple

The temple, designed by Arch. Tomas Diokno, sits on a 9,000-sq. m. lot at an elevation of 70 ft..  Groundbreaking began on September 11, 1975 and actual construction began on December 2, 1976.  The Virgin’s image was enshrined on July 3, 1978 and the temple was finally inaugurated on December 6 that same year.  Devotees believe that Ma Cho and the Virgin of Caysasay are one and the same.  From September 21 to 26, devotees gather for the annual celebration of the image’s enshrinement.  From the Basilica of St. Martin of Tours in Taal, Batangas, the devotees, together with the image of Ma Cho, will travel back to San Fernando City.  Once in the city, it is borne in a procession around the city’s business district, accompanied by the traditional Dragon Dance.  It is then culminated by a cultural presentation.

The temple’s  meditation room

The temple’s entrance wall is adorned with beautifully-carved, imported stone statues of the “Chinese 18 Saints,” in different poses.  Its circular courtyard, made with brick, has a centrally-located pond with water lilies and goldfish.  Beside it is a small structure where one can burn offerings for the gods.  On the other side are statues of animals, believed by the Chinese to be good luck charms.  The temple’s towering arch has a panoramic view of the South China Sea.  The meditation room has a grand staircase and red kneelers.  Ma Cho’s 8″ high wooden image is adorned with a traditional Chinese headdress and richly-colored robe.  Her oriental eyes are closed while her hands are clasped together at her chest. Aside from incense, devotees also offer food and money at the shrine.  Also housed in the sacred temple is Tho Ti Kong (God on Earth) while in another garden stands the statue of Kuan Yi Ma (God of Mercy), another important Chinese deity.

Ma-Cho Temple: Ma-Cho Temple Driveway, Brgy. II, City of San Fernando, La Union.

Pindangan Church Ruins (City of San Fernando, La Union)

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Off the National Highway, near Camp Oscar Florendo, I drove for about 500 m. to the Carmelite Monastery of the Holy Family in Brgy. San Vicente, about 1 km. south of the city.  Beside it are the Pindangan Church Ruins,  the picturesque, roofless remains of a small vine-covered brick and coral church, the first in San Fernando. The monastery’s nuns are the caretakers of these church ruins.

The Pindangan Church Ruins

The church was built on May 6, 1786 to celebrate the union of sitios San Vicente de Balanac and San Guillermo de Dalangdang into the new village of Pindangan (derived from the Ilocano word pindang, a traditional method of drying fish).  It was damaged during the 1892 earthquake and left in ruins.  Today, only the solid stone walls and buttresses remain and a new chapel was built at its former altar where a mass is regularly celebrated. A belfry and a deep well are located at its south end. 

Remains of the church’s buttresses

Cathedral of St. William the Hermit (City of San Fernando, La Union)

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The kids were still asleep when I awoke the next day and, after informing Grace of my plans, decided to drive the short 5-km. distance, along the National Highway, from the resort to the City of San Fernando to do some sightseeing before we leave for Manila.  I arrived at the  Cathedral of St. William the Hermit, located across the plaza and along Gomez St., just when the mass was about to end.

Church of St. William the Hermit

The seat of the Diocese of San Fernando and a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia, this church was first built of stone and brick from 1773 to 1786.  The present church was built in 1817 by Fr. Simon Torrado, damaged during the 1860 earthquake and rebuilt in 1873 by Fr. Luis Perez.  Fr. Jose Rodriguez Cabezas made some modifications and laid the foundation for the two bell towers and choir loft.  The church was severely damaged during the 1892 earthquake, occupied by rebels in 1898, destroyed again during the liberation (February 26, 1945) and was rebuilt from 1947 to 1949.   The convent, also built in 1817 by Fr. Torrado, was restored by Fr. Jose Rodriguez Cabezas.

The cathedral’s interior
The colonial Baroque facade, profusely decorated in the Art Nouveau style by ornate scrolls and rosetted and foliaged ornaments in plaster reliefs, is supported on each side by four tiers of Tuscan columns, paired columns on the first and second level and single columns on the triangular pediment and its crown.  Single columns are at the far end of the side walls.  The church’s semicircular arched main entrance, heavily moulded with floral patterns, is topped by a depressed three-centered arched window flanked by pointed arched windows.  The bell tower on the right is a later addition.

Basilica of Our Lady of Charity (Agoo, La Union)

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This town’s church was first built in 1578 with bamboo and nipa by Fr. Juan Bautista Pizarro, replaced with brick and stone, destroyed during the 1592 earthquake, restored in 1873, heavily damaged during the 1892 earthquake and repaired in 1893 by Fr. Aquilino Garcia.  The present church was designed by Arch. Ignacio Palma Bautista, its cornerstone laid on September 8, 1975 and was consecrated on December 8, 1978, the fourth centennial of the Christianization of Agoo.  The church was declared as a minor basilica in 1982, badly damaged during the 1990 earthquake and was again repaired and renovated.

Basilica of Our Lady of Charity

Basilica of Our Lady of Charity

The basilica, located along the National Highway, houses the image of Our Lady of Charity.  The image was first venerated and enthroned in Bantay (Ilocos Sur) and brought to Agoo by its Augustinian parish priest.  It survived, intact, the 1892 earthquake and was canonically crowned on May 1, 1971 by Carmine Rocco, papal nuncio to the Philippines. The massive Mexican-Baroque basilica contains some stone blocks excavated from the old church and has a charming garden, a wishing well and an interesting mural called The Second Coming of Christ by Rey Gimeno.  It is a popular pilgrimage site during Holy Week.

How to Get There: Agoo is located 235.92 kms. from Manila and 33.27 kms.  south of the City of San Fernando.

Church of Sts. Peter & Paul (Bauang, La Union)

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The town’s church, already built around 1873 by Fr. Mariano Garcia, was severely damaged during the 1892 earthquake, restored by Fr. Leonardo Collado in 1895, slightly damaged in 1944 and its interior was painted in 1978 by Fr. Esteban Mosuela.  Its facade was damaged during the July 16, 1990 earthquake and was rebuilt.  The rectangular, 4-storey bell tower on the left, restored with cement and hollow blocks in 1973, has two bells.  The stone convent, built in 1873 by Fr. Mariano Garcia, was destroyed in 1955, was restored and is now the Sacred Heart School.

Church of Sts. Peter & Paul

Church of Sts. Peter & Paul

The plain and sober-looking Neo-Classical facade has a segmented arch main entrance topped by foliage and flanked by four massive Tuscan columns with double capitals and two semicircular arched statued niches.  The undulating, low and broken pediment, separated from the lower level by a heavy architrave, has a semicircular arched niche flanked by two less massive and shorter Tuscan columns.

How to Get There: Bauang is located 259.38 kms. (a 5.5-hour drive) from Manila and 9.81 kms. (a 30-min. drive) south of the City of San Fernando.

Mena Crisologo Street (Vigan City, Ilocos Sur)

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After lunch at Laoag City (Ilocos Norte), we continued on our way to Bauang (La Union) but decided to make a stopover at Vigan City and do some sightseeing and souvenir shopping along Mena Crisologo Street.  This cobblestoned street  is lined with a number of shops selling antiques and more recent novelties such as abel handicrafts, miniature furniture, fans and white and colored T-shirts.  Aside from some abel wall hangings and some T-shirts, we bought some decorative burnay pots.  


Mena Crisologo Street


The street also has a number of Spanish-era structures.  Vigan, recently included in the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage List, has 220 Spanish-era structures, 156 of which are old houses.  Many of the old homes of Vigan’s elite, documented by the Vigan Historical Society, were built in the 1850s by Chinese taipans during the profitable indigo trade.   Built in various styles (Spanish, Mexican or Chinese), all have thick brick and stone lower walls with imposing wide arch doorways, piedra china, grand staircases, wooden upper floors with massive, polished narra floors, high ceilings and sliding capiz windows with ventanillas, red tile roofs, balconies with ornate metal grillework overlooking the street and cool azoteas (tiled patio) in the rear. 


Church of St. Andrew and St. Joseph (Bacarra, Ilocos Norte)

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From Burgos, we drove a further 45 kms., past Pasuquin, to the town of Bacarra where we made a stopover to visit the town’s compelling landmark, the Church of St. Andrew and St. Joseph.  This church was built by Frs. Antonio Villanueva (1702 to 1705), Diego Mendarrosqueta (1704 to 1705) and Miguel Albiol (1705 to 1710) but was damaged during the 1709 earthquake and restored in 1868 by Fr. Felipe Fernandez (who also built a spacious and magnificent convent).  Again damaged during the July 18, 1880 earthquake, its roof and floor were later replaced.  The church was seized by the Aglipayans in 1901.  Damaged again during the 1931 and 1944 earthquakes, it was repaired by Fr. Celedonio Albano in 1940 and Fr. Fidel Albano in 1947.  Between 1965 and 1976, Fr. Amado Luz completed the interior and exterior painting.  The church was again damaged during the 1980 earthquake.  Fr. Pedro Berger built the 3-storey bell tower.

Church of St. Andrew and St. Joseph

This church, with its stark interior, used to have a Baroque-style facade which was destroyed during the 1983 earthquake.  The façade then had 4 sets of columns with double capitals sporting rosettes and acanthus leaves, all rising vertically from rectangular pedestals.  It was topped by a horizontal architrave and moving frieze, filled with geometric forms and stylized foliage motifs, and crowned by a pediment framed by huge wavy scrolls. The facade now has scant decorative elements and neat lines.  The Classic columns have been replaced by square ones and the simple straight lines on the pediment suggest where the huge, heavy scrolls used to be. The semicircular arched main entrance is flanked by two smaller, segmented blind windows on the lower section.   The choir loft window is flanked by rectangular openings with triangular canopies.

The church’s retablo is flanked by two small and graceful Ionic columns and broken volutes. Also inside are capiz-paned windows with wrought iron grilles, an old baptistery with domed roof, an upper storey with its original 250-year old narra floor and elegantly painted ceilings.  It also has a collection of ecclesiastical silver and pewter, plus church records dating back to 1702.   The adjacent L-shaped convent is reached by steps from the nave.

The bell tower

The massive 3-storey, 50-m. high square belfry has 4-m. thick brick walls supported by engaged columns (5 on ground level and 2 on the second story).  Its top segment, the campanille, crashed down into the third story during the 1931 earthquake where it remained until the November 22, 1981 earthquake when the dome fell almost in its entirety.  The September 7, 1983 earthquake caused its complete collapse.

After our church visit, we returned to our car and drove the remaining 8 kms. to Laoag City where we had lunch at a Max’s Restaurant outlet.