Bohol: Visita iglesia, heritage churches & watchtowers

Loboc Church (San Pedro Apostol) was built in 1734. If was founded as a Jesuit mission in 1596.

Bohol is a province of rich heritage. It has the largest number of well-preserved heritage churches in the country if I may say. Yes, the history of the churches in Bohol has been respected by most of the local clergy, especially in the Diocese of Tagbilaran (the other Bohol diocese is the Diocese of Tubigon). And visits to these exquisite churches are enriching experiences, as they give us a glimpse of our colorful folk art, Philippine Baroque as many call it.

Here are three routes with interesting churches. The first two, 1a and 1b can be combined into one grand route. It can be accomplished in a day if you rent a car or van (but you have to start early). You may also opt to enjoy the beaches in Anda and stay overnight or start from Anda and make your way back:

Route 1a: Tagbilaran, Dauis, Panglao, Baclayon, Alburquerque, Loay, Loboc (enjoy the Loboc River Cruise or proceed to Chocolate Hills from here)
Route 1b: (from Loay) Lila, Dimiao, Valencia, Garcia Hernandez, Jagna, Duero, Anda
Route 2: Tagbilaran, Cortes, Maribijoc, Loon, Calape, Tubigon (proceed to Talibon if you have time)

Tagbilaran Cathedral (St. Joseph the Worker)

Dauis Church (Assumption of Our Lady) is a National Cultural Treasure and National Historical Landmark. The present church dates back to 1863.

The interior of the Dauis Church features the illusion of a Renaissance artesonado or coffered ceiling. The paintings inside the church are attributed to Ray Francia and Canuto Avila (and his children). Notice the small well on the floor in front of the main altar

The Dauis Watchtower is a National Cultural Treasure. It was built in 1774 as a lookout for Moro pirates

Panglao Church (San Agustin) is a National Cultural Treasure. The present church was built between 1894 to 1897. Notice the ruins of the old church nearby

Ceiling murals inside the Panglao Church

The Panglao Watchtower built close to the sea in 1851 is also a National Cultural Treasure

Baclayon Church (La Purisima Concepcion de la Virgen Maria) is a National Cultural Treasure. The present church dates back to 1727. The interior of the church, particularly the retablo mayor, is one of the best examples of Philippine Baroque.

Alburquerque Church (Santa Monica) dates back to 1885

Loay Church (La Santisima Trinidad) is a National Historical Landmark. The church, built on top of a hill,  dates back to 1822. Other historic structures in the church complex include the belltower, convento and two schoolhouses. Across the plaza is the old tribunal or municipal hall.

The ceiling murals of Loay Church are attributed to Ray Francia. The sanctuary is unique in the country for its lace-like design.

The ceiling murals of the Loboc Church are attributed to Canuto Avila, Ricardo Avila and Rey Francia.

Dimiao Church (San Nicolas de Tolentino) is a National Cultural Treasure. The present church was built from 1800 to 1815. Beside the church is an old walled cemetery which the locals call ermita

The interior of Dimiao Church

While there is nothing remarkable about the facade of the Valencia Church (Sto. Nino), the interior features ornate wooden floor patterns

The facade of the Jagna Church (San Miguel Arcangel) is heavily renovated. But the interior is fortunately intact.  The ceiling features paintings of Rey Francia

Duero Church (Immaculate Conception) is considered one of the gems of Philippine architecture in wood. Yes, the church is made of wood and dates back to 1874

Anda Church (Sto. Nino) may look unimpressive outside, but is richly decorated inside. Splendid ceiling murals by Rey Francia adorn the ceiling

The Anda Church ceiling murals were painted on tin sheets

Cortes Church (Santisimo Nombre de Jesus) dates back to 1892. The painted ceilings inside are by Rey Francia.

Maribojoc Church (La Santa Cruz) is a National Cultural Treasure. The present church was built in 1852

Inside Maribojoc Church are five magnificently carved Gothic retablos decorated with Mudejar stars. The ceiling murals were painted by Rey Francia.

Punta Cruz Watchtower in Maribojoc is a National Cultural Treasure. The fort, known as Castillo de San Vicente, was completed in 1796.

Loon Church (Nuestra Senora de la Luz), among the grandest churches in the Visayas, is a National Cultural Treasure and National Historical Landmark. The current church was constructed from 1855 to 1864.

Now for visita iglesia near Metro Manila, you could visit churches in Cavite, Batangas, Laguna, Rizal, Quezon, Pampanga, Bulacan, Bataan and Pangasinan. Click on the links for detailed itineraries.

For detailed information on Bohol churches, I highly recommend that you get a copy of Visita Iglesia Bohol: A Guide to Historic Churches by Regalado Trota Jose.

Negros Oriental: Food & cultural heritage in Dumaguete

Dumaguete, Negros Oriental is such a charming city! Its tree-lined seaside boulevard is the centerpiece of its historic core. The locals fought hard to preserve the character of Rizal Boulevard, vigorously opposing a reclamation by the Philippine Ports Authority that would have forever damaged its charm.

On one end of Rizal Boulevard is historic Silliman University, established by Presbyterian missionaries in 1901, the first American private university in the Philippines. Silliman Hall is the iconic structure of this heritage campus, built using materials taken from and old theater in New York. One of the oldest American colonial buildings in the country, it now houses an anthropology museum.

Along the boulevard are centuries-old trees, old lampposts and heritage houses brilliantly reused as restaurants and hotels. It was a beautiful example of how adaptive reuse can breathe life into heritage structures and that one need not demolish old buildings to make them economically-viable today.

Around town are reminders of the city's colonial past. The Dumaguete Bell Tower and Cathedral, in front of Quezon Park, the city's main plaza, are major landmarks found in downtown Dumaguete. A house where Jose Rizal stayed en route to Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte still stands. We also visited Sidlakang Negros Village, an expo park that features the different municipalities and cities of Negros Oriental, their arts and crafts, delicacies and souvenir items, a one-stop shop for everything Negros Oriental.

Where to eat in Dumaguete
Food options are also interesting. From the traditional delicacies to new restaurants, there's always something different to try.

We trooped to the Dumaguete City Public Market to try out the famous Budbud Kabog, a suman made of millet instead of the regular glutinous rice, which is actually from the town of Tanjay. Make sure to have it with a hot cup of tsokolate! We also had the Chocolate Budbud which is the regular glutinous rice suman with chocolate.

Another pride of Dumaguete are the Silvanas of Sans Rival, which come in the regular butter and chocolate flavors. We actually had dinner at Sans Rival Bistro, their branch along Rizal Boulevard, one of the beautiful old mansions by the sea, adaptively-reused as dining space. Of course, we had to try their cakes for dessert. We ordered Date and Walnut Dacquoise and Salted Caramel Cheesecake.

Speaking of dessert, Fried Ice Cream of Panda is also a popular snack. We also dropped by to enjoy this popular Dumaguete treat.

One of our dinners was at Hayahay Treehouse. We got to try out Dumaguete Express, Hayahay's version of the famous Bicol Express topped with Lechon Kawali. Baked Talaba was also on the menu.

Where to stay in Dumaguete
We were hosted by GoHotels.ph Dumaguete during our stay in Dumaguete, Negros Occidental. You could actually get a decent room for Php388++ a night if on sale. Airport transfers are also available for Php98 per person. You can book your stay via the GoHotels.ph website.

Negros Oriental: Lake Balanan, Dauin Church & Bacong Church, road trip south of Dumaguete

Late last year, I got to fly twice to Dumaguete, Negros Oriental. The first trip was a familiarization tour with GoHotels.ph Dumaguete and Cebu Pacific. The group got to experience Dumaguete and areas nearby. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate and it was raining every now and then. So our trip to Apo Island did not push through due to rough seas. We instead drove south all the way to Lake Balanan in Siaton, the southernmost municipality of Negros Island, and passed by heritage churches on the way back to Dumaguete.

As we neared the lake, we were met by a road blocked by a river that overflowed. Some of the locals were saying that there was no other way to the lake. And it was a bummer if we didn't get to see it. But just as we were about to leave, someone pointed to us a trail to the lake. So we walked for a few minutes and finally made it to Lake Balanan.

Lake Balanan is actually a success story. It used to be full of informal settlers. And like in most informal communities, it was riddled with garbage. The local government organized the informal settlers, gave them a community away from the lake, and set-up a cooperative for them to manage the tourism facilities around the lake. It was a win-win-win solution since Lake Balanan looks very clean now, you don't see any informal settlers by the lake, the former informal settlers now have a place to stay plus they have livelihood from tourism.

We had lunch at one of the function halls built by the lake. Among the dishes we had was the Negros Oriental version of halang-halang which to me tasted like chicken tinola with pepper and gata (coconut milk).

From Sioton, we motored back to Dumaguete. We stopped along the National Highway at Barangay Maluay, Zamboanguita to try out the town's famous torta. Note that torta has striking differences depending on where you are. In the Visayas, it's usually bread. And various places have different recipes. In Zamboanguita, torta looks like dinner rolls, but sweeter, denser and more filling.

In Dauin, we stopped by the centuries-old Dauin Church. The exterior is well-preserved and has character but the inside seemed to be renovated. We also stopped by the Bacong Church which is a National Cultural Treasure.

GoHotels.ph Dumaguete
We were hosted by GoHotels.ph Dumaguete during our stay in Dumaguete, Negros Oriental. You could actually get a decent room for Php388++ a night if on sale. Airport transfers are also available for Php98 per person. You can book your stay via the GoHotels.ph website.

Bohol: Rare Pride Campaign launched for Inabanga's Hambongan Island Marine Sanctuary

Lasting change must be community led. That is the rationale behind the environmental conservation programs of Rare, a US-based conservation organization that works globally to equip people in the world's most threatened areas with the tools and motivation they need to care for their natural resources.

Last week, we were invited to join the team from Rare on Hambongan Island as they launched the Inabanga Rare Pride Campaign together with the people of Inabanga, Bohol.


What is a Pride Campaign?
At the cornerstone of Rare's work is a unique tool called the Pride Campaign. Its mix of capacity building and social marketing equips Conservation Fellows in their development of a community led conservation plan.

The goal is to create long-term change in local behavior by inspiring pride in the threatened species and habitats that make their community unique. This begins the transformative process that has led to the growth of marine protected areas and the effective protection of threatened species all over the Philippines.

Rare currently has twelve campaign sites in the Philippines where they have launched programs for sustainable fishing.


Inabanga Rare Pride Campaign
From Tagbilaran City, we motored to Inabanga which was about an hour and 45 minutes away. The first order of business was a parade around town with Meloy, the campaign mascot. He represents a Panther Grouper, a vulnerable species that is sold for food or in the aquarium trade. All Pride Campaigns have their own mascots.



After unveiling the campaign billboard, a program was held to launch the Inabanga Rare Pride Campaign led by Mayor Jose Jono Jumamoy and Rare President and CEO Brett Jenks. Do watch the video about the Inabanga Rare Pride Campaign and the issues they are trying to resolve.



Before noon, participants took two large boats to Hambongan Island for the second part of the launch, this time with the target community of the Rare Pride Campaign. Hambongan Island was really pretty. After a sumptuous lunch, we went around the island to explore.




We were taken to one side of the island where the Hambongan Elementary School is located. The buildings of the school have large cracks due to the strong explosions from dynamite fishing that was rampant before.




To address this, the local government created the Hambongan Island Fish Sanctuary in 2000 out of 14.1 hectares of waters between Hambongan and Bugatusan Islands. A community education campaign was initiated while locals were introduced to other sources of livelihood such as seaweed harvesting and processing, and the sustainable collection of marine wildlife for the aquarium trade. We actually got to tour their small processing facility for aquarium fish.



While dynamite fishing is now less of a threat, the campaign also created a hotline for people to report illegal activities direct to the local government so violators are immediately apprehended.


What makes Rare different from many other international conservation organizations is that their approach is to work directly with the community, preparing them to care for their natural resources on their own. Once the program is completed, locals will be equipped with the necessary knowledge, skill and drive to protect the resources of their community.

If conservation does not happen now, there will be nothing left to be proud of.