Category Archives: Quezon

Enchanted with Cagbalete Island (Mauban, Quezon)

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Cagbalete Island

Come morning and after breakfast at the Mayor’s house, Bernard and I decided to do some more sightseeing.  Omar, Baby and Dax left earlier to cover the unveiling of the historical marker at Rizal Hill Park.  To burn some of our excess calories, we visited, on foot, a number of the town’s old ancestral houses (Alquiros Residence, Quintana Residence, Pansacola Residence and Taino Residence) and the monument to native son Fr. Horacio V. de la Costa.  By 10 AM, all of us met up at the municipal hall as we were slated to go on a day tour of the 1,640.48 sq. km. Cagbalete Island, one of Mauban’s top tourist draws.

Taino Ancestral House

We boarded to tricycles to get to the port at Brgy. Daungan as we were hoping to still catch the morning trip (10 AM) to the island and leave the island on the afternoon boat (1:30 PM).  At the port, we were met by Mr. Romano “Roman” Balatbat, the former barangay captain of Brgy. Cagbalete 1 (now headed by his wife), one of the island’s 2 barangays (the other being Cagbalete 2).  Mang Roman is a Visayan migrant to the island, just like most of the island’s inhabitants.  Our huge motorized outrigger boat left the port by 10:45 AM and the 6 km. trip took all of 45 mins..  Along the way, we passed the the 440 MW, coal-powered Quezon Power Project.  Built in 2000, it is the first privately built, owned, and operated power generating facility in the Philippines.

Quezon Power Project

We were within sight of the island’s beach by 11:30 AM but we had to transfer to a smaller, flat-bottomed boat to get to shore as we were anchored some distance away, it being low tide.  Just the same, I had to raise my pant legs and remove my shoes and socks to wade ashore.  Mang Roman first invited us to his house where a simple but filling lunch of fried chicken, fish and soft drinks was prepared for  us.  After lunch, we walked along the barangay’s narrow pathways and, after that, the beach itself to get to the island’s other side  where the island’s white sand beaches are less populated and at their most beautiful.  

Cagbalete Beach

Naturally, there were a number of resorts located along this beautiful stretch of white sand and we spent a substantial amount of time at the quaint Pansacola Beach Resort.  The resort has rustic fan-cooled, 8-10-pax nipa huts with common toilets and bath (rented for PhP2,000) and 12-20-pax houses with private toilets and bath (rented for PhP4,000).  Open beach huts are rented for  PhP1,000.  Other resorts located on the island, all in Brgy. Cagbalete 1, include Little Prince, MVT Sto. Nino and Villa Cleofas, said to be the best on the island.   

Pansacola Beach Resort

Our enchantment with the beautiful beach, where we did some “leaping” photo ops, made us forget about the time and, realizing this, we soon thanked the resort caretaker and quickened our pace to make it back to the landing area.  Too late.  We were still some distance away when we espied our boat already leaving the beach and us for that matter.  Luckily for us, there were still other, smaller motorized boats around, the barangay being a fishing community, and Mang Roman made arrangements for a boat to bring us back to the port.  The trip back took a little longer, it being a smaller boat, and there was to be no roof to shade us from the hot afternoon sun.  Still, we were thankful that we made it back to town as we had to depart for Manila in the late afternoon.  

The Public Bath

Back at the port, we thanked our gracious host and savior Mang Roman and met up with his wife (now barangay captain of Cagbalete 1).  Then, we returned to the municipal hall to inform the Tourism Office of our safe arrival.  Later, we left  it laden with bottles of nipanog wine, parting gifts courtesy of Mayor Llamas.  Before leaving the town, we visited the parents of Lee at their Mauban home (and again left it laden with additional 4-gallon bottles filled with nipanog wine for us and Lee)  and the town’s Public Baths at the end of San Buenaventura St. (cor. Mabini St.), between Brgys. Daungan and Mabato.  Built in 1725 by Kapitan Luis de la Cruz, it has 2 compartments, boys on the left and girls on the right.  The baths used to be supplied with overflow water from the town’s reservoir.  Now they’re dry.  Mauban is the only municipality in the country to have such a structure.

A Walking Tour of Mauban (Quezon)

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The Municipal Hall

We finally arrived at Mauban, at the midst of its Maubanog Festival, by 4 PM and we made a stopover at the municipal hall were we all dropped by the Municipal Tourism Office and paid a courtesy call on Mayor Fernando Q. Llamas, the uncle of our good friend Lee Llamas.  Prominently displayed outside the municipal hall is an old cannon, 1 of 3 (the other 2 are at the Museo ng Mauban) bestowed by Spanish Gov.-Gen. Rafael Maria Aguilar to the town as a reward for the rescue efforts done for the Spanish friars captured by Moro pirates. The cannon were later used against the Spanish to effect the surrender of Tayabas to the revolutionaries in 1898.  All 3 were  restored on April 16, 2004.  

Traditional Mauban products

After our courtesy call on the Mayor, we  all dropped by the Mauban Product Development Office, beside the municipal hall, to check out the town’s traditional products such as finely-crafted nilala woven hats, baskets, slippers, wallets, bags, boxes, caddies, etc.;  delicacies such as pinangat, binalawan, pinais, tikoy, kalamay, pastillas, botarts, mazapan, suspiro, etc.; and nipanog, wine made with sasa (toddy palm nectar) instead of coconut and available in different flavors such as liputi, katmon, guyabano, mango, pineapple, guava, jackfruit, kalamias, tamarind and santol. Being a fiesta, booths selling these products, and more, were found in front of the municipal hall as well as along the major streets. 

Church of St. Bonaventure

While they were checking out the products, I took time out to visit the town’s present, modern Church of St. Bonaventure (the town’s patron saint).   This church underwent a lot of rebuilding since it was first built in 1647 and demolished in 1769.  The second structure, built in 1773, was badly damaged during the 1830 earthquake and rebuilt between 1836 and 1845.  The church collapsed during the July 1880 earthquake and the present church was built in 1891.  The bell tower, built in 1773, was seriously damaged during the 1880 earthquake and the portion that remained was partially destroyed again during the August 20, 1937 earthquake. 

Gat Uban Park

With the sun still up, we still had time to make a walking tour to Gat Uban Park, at the end of Gomez St., along the sea wall.  The park has a seaward facing statue the legendary Dumagat warrior and leader Gat Pangil who defended the town against ruthless Moro attacks.  Gat Pangil was also known as Gat Uban because of his gray hair (uban).  Accordingly, the town was named after the fact.  The well-lighted promenade area, with its gentle sea breeze, is a favorite meeting place for Maubanons. 

View from Rizal Hill Park

It was near sunset when we dropped by Rizal Hill Park (locally called Calvario Hill), along San Buenaventura St. in Brgy. Rizaliana.  To get to the top, we had a  choice of taking the shorter route (climbing a steep concrete stairway) or the longer route via a winding ramp skirting the hill.  Of course, we chose the latter.  At the top of the hill is a statue of National Hero Jose Rizal, erected on December 1912 by the Mauban Circle Association of Students.  The  park offers a panoramic view of the whole town.  In olden times, the hill was used as a sentinel post and a place for religious activities during the Spanish era, as headquarters by American troops, as an outpost by the Philippine Constabulary during the Japanese Occupation and, after the war, by the Civilian Emergency Administration.

Rizal Hill Park

Soon after our arrival,  Mr. Ludovico Badoy and Ms. Carminda R. Arevalo, Executive Director  and Officer-in-Charge (NHCP Research, Publications and Heraldry Division), respectively, of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), formerly the National Historical Institute (NHI), also arrived.  They supervised the installation of a historical marker recognizing the hill for its historical significance.  The marker was to be unveiled the next day, with Mayor Llamas and Mr. Badoy leading the ceremony.  It was now evening when we left the hill and, after dinner at the house of Mayor Llamas, we were billeted for the night at the nearby Llamas ancestral house.

Municipal Tourism Office – Municipal Hall, Poblacion, Mauban, Quezon.  Tel: (042) 784-1205 and 713-0314.  E-mail: gat_uban@yahoo.com.

Stopover at Tayabas (Quezon)

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Minor Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel

Last July 13-14, I,  together with fellow travel writer Bernard Supetran, were invited by photographer friend Lee Llamas to cover the Maubanog Festival in Lee’s hometown of Mauban in Quezon. Bernard and I met up at Starbucks Magallanes were we were picked up, around 11 AM, by a chartered Nissan Urvan.  Joining us were Lee’s photographer friends Ms. Baby de la Cruz (a just returned overseas contract worker from Kuwait), Mr. Dax Cruz (a balikbayan from Canada) and Dr. Omar Cacabelos (a dentist).  All, including Lee, are members of Gruppo i4i (eye for eye), a band of professional photographers who offer a wide range of services to clients.  We were in for a long haul, the trip to Mauban taking all of 190 kms.  Along the way, we made stopovers for toilet breaks, lunch at Chowking and a photo ops at Tayabas City.

The church’s beautiful interiors

This wasn’t my first visit to this city, the first being during a Holy Week break in 1999 when Tayabas was still a municipality (it only became a component city in 2007).  Still an eye opener was its 103-m. long Minor Basilica (it became such on October 18, 1988) of St. Michael the Archangel, the best preserved and the most beautifully-decorated church complex in the province.  It is also the longest Spanish colonial church in the country and also one of the oldest.   Its bell tower contains an 18th century clock (the only one of its kind in the country) that chimes every 30 minutes.  The church interior has seven altars, all done in the Neo-Classical style, an antique organ at the choir loft, a balcony below the beautiful dome and beautiful trompe l’oeil ceiling paintings.  The adjacent convent was used as a Japanese garrison during World War II.  This beautiful church is now listed, by the National Museum, as one of 26 National Cultural Treasures.

The Casa Communidad de Tayabas

Nearby is the Casa de Communidad, the biggest stone house ever restored by the National Historical Institute. It was first built in 1776 as a tribunal  by gobernadorcillo Francisco Lopez and made into a lavish edifice from 1831 to 1837 by then gobernadorcillo Don Diego Enriquez.  Apolinario dela Cruz (a.k.a. Hermano Pule) was hastily tried and sentenced to death here in 1841 by a Spanish court for leading a revolt. It was later used as a Spanish Armed Forces headquarters (May 29, 1898), as the Central High School Building (March 12, 1901), as the Tayabas Provincial Hospital (1941) and the Japanese Army headquarters until it was burned by American bombing on March 15, 1945.  In 1950, it was used as the Central School Building No. 2.  The building was renovated in 1973 (Exec. Order No. 2601) and 1974 (Exec. Order No. 3750) and was declared a National Historical Landmark on June 1, 1978. It now houses a museum, municipal library, art and culture center, and tourism office.   The building was in a sorry state of disrepair when we arrived and is currently being restored again. 

The Spanish-era Malagunlong Bridge

Back on the road to Mauban (now just 14 kms. away), we gain made a short photo op, 2.4 kms. outside of Tayabas City, at a modern, girder-type concrete bridge along the highway to view, at the upstream side, the Malagunlong Bridge, the oldest in the province and one of the few remaining Spanish colonial, arch-type bridges in the country.  The bridge, now unused, was built of adobe stone, limestone and molasses and started  by Spanish Franciscan parish priest Fr. Antonio Mateus in 1840 and completed 10 years later.  It is 445 ft. long and has five spans.  About 230 m. after this bridge, we arrived at the junction going to Mauban.

Gruppo i4i: Suite 609, Angelica Manor, San Antonio Village, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. Tel: (632) 775-6017.  Mobile number: (0919) 427-0754.  Website: www.gruppoi4i.com
City Mayor’s Office:  City Hall,J.P. Rizal St., Tayabas City, Quezon.  Website: http://tayabas.ph.

Stopovers at Sariaya (Quezon) and San Pablo City (Laguna)

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After 4 days in Marinduque where we attended the Moriones Festival and did a lot of sightseeing, it was now time to return to Manila.  It being Easter Sunday, we wanted to avoid   the huge afternoon rush for tickets going home so we went to Balanacan Pier very early in the morning.  I was able to secure tickets for the 8:30 AM trip back to Dalahican Pier in Lucena City (Quezon) on board the Roll-On Roll-Off (RORO) ship MV Maria Rebecca of Montenegro Shipping Lines.

Disembarking the MV Maria Rebecca

The 2.5-hr. boat trip was uneventful and we arrived at Dalahican Port by 11:15 AM.  We promptly boarded my parked Toyota Revo and left the harbor for the return trip to Manila.  Upon reaching Sariaya, we stopped over at a local eatery for a much needed lunch.  As the others were still eating, I decided to burn some calories by making a quick tour of the town, especially the Rodriguez Ancestral House where Jandy and I once stayed in 8 years ago.

The Rodriguez Ancestral House

Together with the others, we dropped by the town’s Church of St. Francis of Assisi. At the back of the church, we visited the devotional park where life-size statues  re-enacting the Last Supper were set up.

We just had lunch but now we’re joining the Last Supper

We again boarded the Revo and continued on our way, exiting Quezon Province and entering Laguna Province at San Pablo City where we made a short stopover at the stone balustrade across the street where we had a panoramic view of the 105-hectare Sampaloc Lake, the largest, nearest and most accessible of the city’s 7 iconic lakes and, from afar, the hazy silhouette of Mt. Cristobal.

Lake Sampaloc

 

Trek to Sto. Kalbaryo (Dolores, Quezon)

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Pointing to heaven

Finally, we were cleansed enough to climb up Sto. Kalbaryo (Durungawan II to mountaineers), a bare, lava rock-filled mountain located just below Mt. Cristobal.  The highest mountain in Complex 1, it is so called because, during Holy Week, hundreds of pilgrims trace Christ’s supposed ascent from Dolores to the summit, re-enacting Christ’s passion and death.    We were to do ours two weeks early. The hot afternoon sun was still shining brightly up in the sky as we clambered our way, thirsty and sweating profusely, through a well-marked trail, up the treeless and rocky mountain.

The author with Rob and Ely

Throughout my trek, I also felt the mystique and magic of Mt. Banahaw and Mt. Cristobal around me, more so when we reached the top where 3 wooden crosses were strategically planted to recreate the actual crucifixion scene. By tradition, on Good Friday, the summit is deserted, as mystics believe that only God the Father may bear witness to His Son’s death.  It is also said that on that same day, an enkanto (spirit) opens a hidden cave near the crosses which acts as a pathway to the netherworld.  Anyone at the summit, at this time, will be forced to enter it and never return.  Reaching the summit of a mountain was a first for many of my companions. For me, it brought me 2,400 ft. nearer to Heaven and my Creator.    Thus, it was with deep regret and a heavy heart that I had to make the shorter but more difficult descent down the mountain and back to earth.  For me, my climb up that mountain has been well worth it as this most jaded of travelers has left it purer in heart.

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.

Sto. Lucia Complex (Dolores, Quezon)

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Lakbay Kalikasan, Southeast Asia’s first and premier outbound education outfitter, embarked on a series of outbound education demonstration tours for teachers from other schools willing to try out their outbound education programs and they invited me to cover one of these tours that promote appreciation of the living remnants of a pre-Hispanic tradition which is still being practiced today in Mt. Banahaw, that of worshiping nature (rivers, mountains, old trees and fields) in the belief that such natural objects were the habitats of spirits. Jesu-Mariae School, my son Jandy’s school, joined the tour and they were represented by Robert “Rob” V. Castañeda and Eleser “Ely” Borero.  

Hiking up Calvario

Our destination was Mt. Banahaw’s Brgy. Sta. Lucia Complex 1 in Dolores (Quezon), one of Banahaw’s 4 complexes – the others being Kinabuhayan (Resurrection), Durungawan (Window) and Ilalim (Crater), which lies at the foot of the 1,470-m. high Mt. Cristobal.  We left the EDSA Shrine (our assembly place) by 5:30 AM, April 9 (Bataan Day), on board one of two vans. Joining us were 16 other teachers from 6 Metro Manila schools (Augustinian Abbey School, Madre Pia, Miriam College, Olivarez College, St. Benedict and Santa Catalina High School).  Our Lakbay Kalikasan hosts were Mr. Ramon Jocson (Corps Director), Mr. Ronaldo Dalofin (Team Leader/Lecturer 2), Mr. Roger Quizol (Team Leader 2), Mr. Oscar Orbe (Team Leader 3) and Ms. Billy de la Cruz (Facilitator 3).   The trip to Dolores was to take all of 3 hours.

Upon arrival at Sta. Lucia, we visited the compound of the Suprema Iglesia del Ciudad Mystica del Dios, Inc.  (Supreme Church of the Mystic City of God), the largest of Banahaw’s 66 to 88 registered colorums, entering it via a huge 20-foot high stainless steel gate.   The word colorum is derived from the Latin Mass invocation in saecula saeculorum.  These esoteric folk Christian religious communities, varying in size from several thousand members to a few adherents, believed that Mt. Banahaw is the site of the Holy Land and that Christ walked in the area.  They also share an intense nationalism and reverence for National Hero Jose Rizal who is considered a demigod or the Tagalog Jesus Christ.  Many sects also believe in the ascendancy of the female (Ciudad Mystica included) and women, rather than men, perform the priestly functions. These religious sects around Dolores resent the kulto (cult) connotation insinuated by non-believers. 

Piedra Mental

Mt. Banahaw is full of sacred natural shrines locally called puwestos (places), all said to have been discovered by Katipunero Agripino Lontok, and one of our objectives was to undergo and relive the pre-Hispanic tradition of pamumuwesto (spiritual pilgrimage) by hiking, crossing rivers and entering caves, all sacred destinations with deep historical and symbolical meanings, communing with the spirits for paglilinaw (discernment) and paglilinis ng loob (inner cleansing) so that we may take the challenges ahead.  Along the way, lectures and meditations are intermittently given and, in all puwestos, candles are always lit.

My baptism

We descended, down a gorge, to Sta. Lucia Falls, fed by the cool Lagnas (or Kinabuhayan) River, and Piedra Mental, a stone altar where pilgrims pray for mental discernment as they go through the pamumuwesto. At the stream which courses down Banahaw (also called Ilog ng Jordan, alluding to John the Baptist’s baptism of Christ), we “cleansed” or “purified” (water is a universal archetype for cleansing) ourselves and drank the sulfuric waters of the falls 3 times (symbolic of the Triune God – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit) prior to our entering the sacred caves (kuweba), the pilgrim’s church.  After our ritual baptism, we we then climbed up the steep gorge. 

One of many caves in Sta. Lucia Complex

At the huge boulder of Kaban ni San Isidro, the gate to the entire complex of Sto. Kalbaryo, we lighted candles and said a short prayer for safety and guidance, while at the book-shaped boulder called Aklat ng Buhay (the Book of Life said to contain our names, date of birth and even date of death) at Prisintahan , we imaginatively “register” our names and those of our loved ones. A real hurdle was the 40-m. long Santong Husgado (Holy Judge), one of the caves at Ina ng Awa revered by the religious sects and given Biblical names.  Said to test the purity of those who enter, it is believed that when you get out of this cave, 7 years of your sins will be forgiven but, if you are not completely malinis (cleansed), you will be trapped inside. 

Santong Husgado

We had to hike, barefoot, from Ina ng Awa to the cave opening (with lit candles strategically placed along the cave), carrying just the clothes on our back.  The ladies,  with their small frames, decided to go in first.  I was the last to enter this “cave” which was more of a rabbit hole.  All the while, I was figuring out how to get my 5’-10,” 188-pound frame inside that hole. Ready and willing for this test of faith (pagsubok), I kept remembering the familiar Biblical proverb “I can do anything through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).  Crawling through it entailed a lot of body contorting as well as decision-making. “Should I enter head or feet first?”  “Should I do it on my stomach or on my back?” Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of struggle, I finally made it out to Ina ng Awa. Now I know how a worm feels.   I, together with the others, were all mud-splattered yet, surprisingly, our habit-cladded sister colleague from Madre Pia was still spotlessly clean.  Could it be divine intervention?  I wonder.   

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.

Rodriguez/Gala Residence (Sariaya, Quezon)

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Saturday was a rest day, so we decided to go swimming at the  private swimming pool of the Rodriguez/Gala Residence.  Designed by Arch. Juan Nakpil, this American-era residence was built in the 1930s by Dr. Isidro Rodriguez (a relative of Jun) and Dona Gregoria Gala and its furniture was designed by Gonzalo Puyat.

Rodriguez/Gala Residence

In the 1940s, during the war, its second floor was occupied by Japanese Army officers (the family stayed at the ground floor) and was bombed during the liberation.  The first bomb exploded in the front gate, the second blasted a huge, 20-ft. deep hole (from where the big swimming pool was built) and the third, a dud, went through the roof and got stuck in the stair banisters.

Swimming at the Rodriguez/Gala Residence

Before leaving Sariaya, we decided to take home some of the  towns famous mazapan sweets for pasalubong. Sariaya’s other pasalubong options include pinagong apas (turtle-shaped bread), espasol, broas, ube halaya and agit-it and woven buntal and buri products.  We also visited the Sina-Una Arts and Antique Shop along the national highway (in front of the public market).  Antiques sold here include wood carvings, period furniture, cherubs, aparadors, ceramics, angelitos and santos.  

Rodriguez/Gala Residence: 44 Rizal St., Sariaya, Quezon

Good Friday Parade of Carrozas (Sariaya, Quezon)

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The Sto. Entierro
After our visita iglesia in Tayabas and Lucban, we drove back to Sariaya, in time for the traditional Good Friday parade of carrozas (carriage) at 5 P.M..  This parade, a tableaux from the ministry, passion and death of Christ, was accompanied by a huge crowd of devotees.
 
 
At the parade were about 15 tastefully-designed, silver-plated and antique carrozas (or andas) of different sizes, some grand and ostentatious beyond comprehension, and festooned with floral arrangements.  All are pulled by devotees as they navigated the streets of Sariaya in a long and winding procession after attending the late afternoon holy mass.  
 
 
Each carroza carried different images including colorfully decorated statues of heirloom santos (saints), the town’s patron saint Francis of Assisi among them, all resplendently attired with expensive finery, and the Sto. Entierro (meaning “holy burial”), glass case of the dead Jesus Christ in state.  According to Jun, one of the carrozaswas donated by his family.  The parade ended at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi.  After the procession, eager Sariayahins try their best to get the decorations and flowers (which they place in the altars of their homes) from the carrozas, especially those from the Sto. Entierro.

Visita Iglesia (Tayabas and Lucban, Quezon)

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Today being Good Friday, Jandy and I also joined Jun and Jane’s relatives for the visita iglesia, the traditional visit to 7 churches.  We motored to the nearby town of Tayabas, just  23 kms. from Sariaya, and dropped by the St. Michael the Archangel Minor Basilica were we recited the 14 Stations of the Cross.  The longest Spanish colonial church in the country and also one of the oldest, this 103-m. long church was first built by the Franciscans in 1585, repaired in 1590 by Pedro Bautista, changed into brick in 1600, destroyed by an earthquake in 1743 and later rebuilt and enlarged in 1856 by building a transept and cupola. The church’s roof was changed to galvanized sheets in 1894 and its belfry contains an 18th century clock, the only one of its kind in the country, that chimes every 30 minutes.  It was made into a minor basilica on October 18, 1988 and has an antique organ, a balcony over the altar and a now unused tunnel from the altar. 

St. Michael the Archangel Minor Basilica
Our second and final stop of the visita iglesia was the town of Lucban, a quiet old Franciscan town of 35,128  people whose name was derived from a delicious fruit of the same name which looks like a small pomelo or suha. The “poor man’s Baguio,” Lucban lies 1,500 feet above sea level at the cool, damp shadow of Mt. Banahaw de Lucban whose clear, ice-cold waters flow through the little canals of the town.  It is almost as cool as  Baguio City in December.  There are also has numerous old and stately Spanish colonial houses.
 
Church of San Luis Obispo de Tolosa
Here, in front of the town’s shady plaza, is the moss and vine-covered Church of San Luis Obispo de Tolosa.  It was first built in 1593, ruined in 1629, reconstructed between 1630-1640, seriously damaged by fire in 1733 and reconstructed in 1738. Its convent was built in 1743.  It was partially destroyed in 1945 during World War II and finally reconstructed by the Philippine Historical Commission in 1966. However, it’s somewhat modern interior, which enshrines the venerated image of San Isidro Labrador, doesn’t blend in with its centuries-old exterior (my opinion).   The church is surrounded by gardens and grottos and fenced in by old stone walls called quince-quince.

 

Church of St. Francis of Assisi (Sariaya, Quezon)

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We next walked towards the town’s church and plaza.  A typical Spanish town, the town’s church (St. Francis of Assisi) and the municipal hall all face the plaza.  The plaza has a circular patio flanked by a row of 8 torch-bearing statues of the Muses of Liberty as well as a statue of our National Hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal, inaugurated on December 30, 1924.

Church of St. Francis of Assisi
The present St. Francis of Assisi Church was first built in 1599, the second in  1632 and the third in 1641.   The structure, on its new site after the earthquake of 1743, was built in 1748.  Ruins of the original church still remain in Brgy. Tumbaga.   Inside the church are some fine old santos and the venerable image of the famous Crucified Christ of Burgos (Sto. Cristo de Burgos).  An object of pilgrimage every Friday, the image was sent from Spain by galleon and installed in the old church at Tumbaga.  The church and the village was burned after a Moro attack but the image was found intact amid the ashes.  When the settlement was transferred to its new location, the image was wrapped in white cloth and carried by four men.  After resting under a great tree, the four men found the image  to be extremely heavy and could not lift it even with help from the other townspeople.  Taken as a sign from God, they built the new church on the site.