Pangasinan: Marine research in Bolinao

What a day! I'm about to leave the Bolinao Marine Lab of the UP MSI for my trip back to Pampanga. It seems my laptop crashed so I'm using Sasa's for the meantime. Just my luck! Anyway, I helped Sasa in the field this morning. At the moment, he is a research assistant for a sea cucumber breeding projet of the DA-Bureau of Agricultural Research. They are developing culture of a certain species of sea cucumber - Holothuria scabra, not only for commercial purposes but for re-seeding depleted stocks as well.

One thing the Philippines fails to realize is its potential competitive advantage in aquaculture. The said sea cucumbers we were working on are among the most expensive, if not the most expensive in the market. The photo on the right are young H. scabra sea cucumbers that were bred at the lab which we were going to plant in the research pens near Santiago Island. If only the goverment spent more on research and development, not just in aquaculture, but in various fields since we have so much raw talent and natural resources available here in the country.

We took a pump boat from the lab to waters near Santiago Island where research is ongoing on various projects. Another project which they are working on is the breeding of sea urchins for re-seeding as well. Stocks have been depleted (see comment below) since fishermen overcollected them in the 80s and the 90s for the Japanese uni market. While Sasa and his assistants were putting the young sea cucumbers in their pens, I went snorkelling amongst the sea grass to check out the wildlife and saw quite a number. In my hand are a sea urchin - Tripneustes gratilla, and a starfish - Protoreaster nodosus. The urchin in my hand is the one they breed for uni.

After that, we went to check out the pens of the older sea cucumbers to dig out for them. These were brought back to the lab for monitoring and weighing, then thrown back into the pens. Yikes! I didn't realize digging for sea cucumbers would be hard since they burrow themselves under the sand. It took us quite a while to find them. Hehe!

When we finally got all of them, we went to another side of Bolinao to harvest Sargassum. There was none on the side we were on since most of it was already consumed by the sea urchins. The sea weeds are processed in a blender and is used to feed the sea cucumbers in the hatchery.

We're now back at the lab. Now that Sasa and his assistant are weighing the sea cucumbers, I'm typing my blog entry. Hehe!

How to get to Bolinao, Pangasinan
Victory Liner and Five Star have several bus trips from Manila to Bolinao daily. Trips begin at about 7 a.m. and leave at intervals of 2 to 3 hours.

Pangasinan: Driving to the edge of Pangasinan

Another road trip today. It's so difficult when you don't have a digital camera so I had to rely on my mobile phone. I was in Rosales, Pangasinan this morning to do some research. And I decided to finish my work here in Bolinao right by the beach. At least the atmosphere is more relaxed. And I was able to check mail thanks to my brod Sasa Miralao who is a marine biologist at the Bolinao Laboratory of the UP Marine Science Institute (UP MSI) which has WiFi access. Hehe!

It was quite a long but leisurely drive from Rosales to Bolinao. It takes you from the southeast to northwestern tip of Pangasinan. I made a stop at San Carlos City since I was attracted by its old church (above). Lo and behold! It was very much intact but there was evidence of ongoing renovation which could be potentially destructive. Will someone please tell these priests and parish pastoral councils to stop touching all these heritage churches. In fact, they were painting the old floor tiles white. Duh! That is not the way to clean tiles!

After San Carlos was Calasiao. The old church and convento, and even the lot around it was very well- preserved. But for crying out loud, they plastered the walls of both buildings with cement! Strike two for the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan. It was then off to Binmaley (both photos on the right). Really nice church! Red brick like San Carlos and Calasiao. But when you enter, another horror renovation... modernized to look like some European church. Please, please... we have our own church heritage to be proud of here in the Philippines. Let's keep these old folksy Filipino churches Filipino! Strike three!

It was off to Lingayen, the provincial capital, which I featured in an earlier entry. Hats off to Gov. Victor Agbayani for restoring the provincial capitol. But thumbs down to the Lingayen parish priest who demolished a charming brick convento, replacing it with a new shopping arcade right beside the church! Strike four for the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan! I'm surprised Archbishop Oscar Cruz is allowing this to happen under his watch, especially since during the time he was Archbishop of San Fernando, Pampanga, he moved heaven and earth to create the Archdiocesan Archives and Museum. I hope he puts his foot down and stops this destruction from continuing in his jurisdiction. More than the jueteng, I think he should keep his eyes on the whims and caprices of these construction-frenzied priests. Again, stop touching heritage churches! And if you plan to restore them, get technical support from the Heritage Conservation Society, NCCA, NHI or National Museum.

Ligayen still has a lot of government buildings intact, as well as charming houses along the streets of the poblacion. One of these is the old casa municipal of the town (above). Beside it is the the provincial jail which is a heritage building itself (right). I hope Gov. Agbayani is able to convince LGUs in his jurisdiction to follow his lead.

It was off to Alaminos City, home of the Hundred Islands National Park. And just like the rest of the churches I passed by, the interior of Alaminos has been modernized beyond recognition. But there are still a number of well-preserved houses which have been put into good use. At least these owners are doing adaptive reuse without knowing they are!

Since it was already late, I decided to forego the Hundred Islands visit for another day. Bolinao was still quite a distance away. But the trip was most worth it. I was greeted by an old limestone church in the poblacion which looked like a fortress (left). Sasa met me there and we both went to the Bolinao Lighthouse in Patar which was about thirty minutes away (below).

The view from the foot of the 1905 lighthouse was spledid. It would be nice to watch the sun set on the South China Sea from there but we didn't want to drive in the dark so we went back to town after taking some photos.

On the way back, we stopped along a bridge to take photos of the mouth of the Balingasay River, which the Municipal Government of Bolinao declared a marine protected area in 1999. The initiative to protect this marine sanctuary came from the local government unit (LGU) for which they won the Philippine Wetlands Conservation Award in 2004. Had the LGU not stepped in, Balingasay's mangrove area could have been a part of the quarry area of a cement plant complex proposed by an international consortium of companies or damaged by environment-destructive fish pens and fish cages.

For dinner, we had street food at the plaza. I bought their native kakanin (rice cake) which they call binungay. It's suman (glutinuous rice cake) roasted in bamboo. They sell it in various sizes depending on the diameter of the bamboo stalk. And they have a funny way of opening it. According to the tindera (hawker) you had to smash the bamboo container by either pounding it on a rock or slicing it open with a bolo in order to eat the rice cake. So smash it we did. Hehe! Like most suman, it is best eaten with ripe mangoes or coco jam. I also had isaw baboy and manok (roasted pork and chicken intestines), mami (noodle soup) and fried chicken as well.

After I checked-in, we went straight to the UP MSI so that I could check mail and type my blog entry for today. Tonight, I work on the project I need to finish. Tomorrow, I join Sasa to nearby Santiago Island to help him out with his sea cucumber experiment. Then its back to Pampanga after lunch via Zambales.

How to get to Bolinao, Pangasinan
Victory Liner and Five Star have several bus trips from Manila to Bolinao daily. Trips begin at about 7 a.m. and leave at intervals of 2 to 3 hours.

Batangas, Laguna & Quezon: Yet another serving of BLT

I'm not talking about bacon, lettuce and tomato. If you've heard about that bus company with the acronym BLTB Co. and know what it stands for, then you know where I was this time around. Hehe! Yup, it was another round of Batangas, Laguna and Quezon Province (Tayabas). The main destination was another heritage town which I've been wanting to visit since my trip to Sariaya, Quezon last year.

It was just a few kilometers away, separated only by the town of Candelaria. Had I known during last year's Pahiyas trip what was waiting to be seen there, we would have stopped by. That town is San Juan, Batangas, another community that prospered early in the 20th Century as a result of the coconut boom. It is more known for its popular beach resorts such as La Luz. But few people realize that just like Sariaya, the town is littered with elegant pre-WWII mansions.

We left Manila after rush hour for what was to be a quick leisurely drive to Batangas. We were quite surprised we were in Sto. Tomas, Batangas in no time, which is the entry point of the STAR Tollway to Lipa City. I hope they make more of these roads in the provinces since passing by town poblacions is just too frustrating no thanks to the tricycles.

Before proceeding to San Juan, we decided to make a stopover at the San Sebastian Cathedral, the seat of the Archdiocese of Lipa. The Romanesque church was completed in 1865 but just like much, if not most of our architectural heritage, it was devastated during the war with the current cathedral a result of massive reconstruction and restoration. What attracted me to the cathedral were photos of its wall and ceiling murals. But upon entering, I was quite disappointed.

At the back were paintings of the twelve apostles. But the images and poses were so Hollywood, most probably taken from Franco Zeffirelli's 1977 movie Jesus of Nazareth! Talk about taste in a heritage church! The rest of the murals were ok and thankfully not as bad as those at the back. I guess Betis, Pampanga still tops the list for the best church murals, living up to its moniker of Sistine Chapel of the Philippines.

With that done, it was off to San Juan. We arrived just in time for lunch. So after a short familiarization drive around, we looked for a place to eat. And since the summer heat was getting to be unbearable, we looked for the first air-conditioned restaurant we could find. I think the place we ate at was the only one in the poblacion... hehehe!

After lunch, it was time for photos. My Canon camera is still under repair (they recalled certain models due to manufacturing defects), so I'm relying on Karlo de Leon's photos for this entry. If documenting heritage were a crime, then I guess partners in crime would be an apt description since we're both heritage addicts. Hehe!

The houses are scattered around the town. But it was obvious that the San Juan mark was fast disappearing due to modernization, possibly evolving into another nondescript Filipino town. Unlike Sariaya which has its town character quite intact, modern structures sprout like mushrooms in between heritage houses, obviously out of place. If San Juan is indeed serious in maximizing its heritage potential, it should enact a local ordinance that would regulate the scale and facades of new structures, similar to what we've done in the City of San Fernando. If we only had that much heritage in San Fernando intact! But we lost a lot in the Philippine-American War, WWII and the floods that hit Pampanga after the Mt. Pinatubo eruption. In fact, the chalets in our American quarter are half-buried after the roads were raised by at least a meter.

We didn't want to go back via Lipa since traffic management there was bad. So we decided to go home via Tiaong and San Pablo City, Laguna. And since we were in the City of Seven Lakes, we decided to check out some of them.

Of course, the most prominent of the lakes is Sampalok. At 104 hectares, it is the biggest of the seven lakes and located in the city proper. It was the first lake we visited. The view of Mount Banahaw as a backdrop to the lake was just awesome. But we were in the mood for adventure so we asked around how to get to the others. Since we didn't have time to visit all, we asked for the best one, regardless of distance. And according to those we asked, it was Calibato Lake in Barangay Sto. Angel, which was at the boundary with the town of Rizal, Laguna.

On the way they, we passed by Palakpakin Lake in Barangay San Buenaventura. It has an area of 43 hectares, and looks similar to Sampalok. This time, there were lesser signs of progress and thus, a better view of Banahaw. We took shots from a bridge and moved on to our final destination, Calibato.

It was difficult looking for Calibato since it was not along the road and you had to hike a bit to get there. After asking around, we finally found the point from where to start the hike down to the 42-hectare crater lake. We didn't know what to expect or how far the lake was from where we parked. Just looking at the downward steps made us imagine the effort it would entail to get back up. Pant! Pant! Hehe! But as we neared the lake, the narrow canyon carved by the small stream increased the level of excitement. I hope we are able to preserve what is left of nature here in the county.

The effort was most worth it as we were rewarded with a spectacular view surrounded by the charm of a traditional fishing community. What a way to cap another day of pleasant surprises.

Pampanga: Rio Grande de Pampanga

The rivers in Metro Manila are so polluted, river cruises are no longer enjoyable no thanks to the stench. I envy other countries which have river cruises showcasing the skylines, heritage and culture of their capital cities. I guess for now, while government tries to clean up the Pasig and other major rivers in Manila, the second best option is visiting nearby rivers. And few people know that just a few minutes drive north of Manila is one of the country's most important rivers before the arrival of the Spaniards.

The Rio Grande de Pampanga or Pampanga River for short, was a major thoroughfare before roads were constructed and host to major prehistoric settlements along its pampangs. Hence the name Pampanga. It's source is somewhere in the mountains of Nueva Ecija, flowing down to the Pampanga towns of Arayat, Candaba, San Luis, San Simon, Apalit, Macabebe and Masantol at the mouth of Manila Bay.

In the genteel and once elegant barrio of Sulipan in Apalit, there is a boat yard which rents out boats of different sizes from kayaks to two-story air-conditioned house boats for various purposes such as rest and recreation, sight-seeing and birdwatching or sports such as angling and kayaking.

I've personally taken their boats twice. The first was during an exploration and research cruise with the Center for Kapampangan Studies. The second was with my brod Mark Jomalesa and members of the UP Maroons who were looking for an out-of-town nature trip close to Manila. Although I've cruised along the Pampanga River before that during the Apo Iro Fluvial Processions every June.

The usual starting point is from their boat yard in Sulipan. But you could make arrangements for them to pick you up in Manila. Heritage stops along the river include the churches of San Luis and Apalit. I really do suggest you stop over since both churches have ceiling murals worth visiting and are very much intact. I hope the parish priests keep them that way.

You could also take a detour in Candaba and visit the Candaba Bird Sanctuary which is host to migratory birds. The cruise itself is quite relaxing, perfect for an afternoon nap especially if you are taking a house boat which has lounge chairs on the second floor.

One of the secrets of Pampanga are found along the shores of Manila Bay. These are the mangroves of Masantol where the water is quite shallow, perfect for kayaking and birdwatching. The photos here are from a February 2004 cruise with Mark Jomalesa, Marvin Cruz and Kenneth Robin. As I've said, I have a lot of archived photos which are worth featuring in this blog.

The best part of the cruise is watching the renowned Manila Bay sunset from a different place, far from the hustle and bustle of Metro Manila. As the boat speeds back to Apalit and civilization, the Philippine sun colors the sky with a dappled palette, a perfect close to a relaxing day with nature.

For more information about this cruise and other destinations in Pampanga, you can contact the Center for Kapampangan Studies at (045) 888-8691 loc. 1311 which could link you to the said boat yard.

Manila: Basilica Minore de San Sebastian

When we say Quiapo, the first things that come to mind are images of the Black Nazarene, the multitude of people that makes an annual walk of fate with the image during the 9th of January processions, and the Basilica Minore of the Black Nazarene (Quiapo Church) with the myriad of hawkers and stalls, herbal medicine and anting-anting vendors and fortune tellers abundant in adjacent Plaza Miranda. But unknown to many, Quiapo is home to an even rarer gem, another basilica minore in fact in Plaza del Carmen. This is the Basilica Minore de San Sebastian, the first all-steel church in the Philippines and in Asia, and the second in the world.

I was looking through my archive of photos which I took long before I started to blog. In fact, several were taken even before I enjoyed internet access. And among them were photos of the San Sebastian Church which I shot way back in high school during an alternative class day exposure trip to old Manila. I realized that my photo archive was a wealth of untapped material and not featuring these places I've been to and documented would be a waste.

It was sometime in 1995 or 1996, my third year in the Ateneo and we were the beneficiaries of the first-ever alternative class day called KLIK... Klaseng Ibang Klase. We had a choice of selecting three talks throughout the day or pick a day trip for a fee. And I chose this trip to old Manila, with social studies teacher Estela Banasihan and Fr. Mac Reyes, S.J. as tour guides. I consider this trip my introduction to Philippine architectural heritage. The trip tickled my fancy in fact that the next year, I chose another heritage tour during KLIK, a church tour in Rizal and Laguna.

One of our stops was the San Sebastian Church. And to tell you honestly, I was not ready for what I was going to see. Upon entering, this young high school student never realized that such a treasure existed in the country. And I remember distinctly Fr. Mac knocking on the walls of the church to prove to us that the structure was indeed made of steel!

I would later find out that the Philippines used to have much more than that. But the very structures which made us the Pearl of the Orient, architectural treasures that spanned hundreds of years, were flattened by the American Army in a few days during the liberation of Manila.

The structure was prefabricated in Belgium, dismantled and shipped back to the Philippines. It was said that after three earthquakes that leveled the earlier San Sebastian churches, the Recollects decided to use an unconventional material to build an earthquake proof church. Which explains why the structure is entirely made of steel. But nothing is decay-free and we all know that the biggest enemy of steel is iron oxide, more commonly known as rust!

This is why the World Monuments Fund (WMF) included the structure in the List of 100 Most Endangered Sites in 1998. Inclusion in the World Monuments Watch entitles the structure to grants for restoration. And I find it stupid that the custodians of the church rejected the $25,000 grant given by the WMF simply because of jurisdiction issues with the Philippine government. As a result, the Philippines had to do the embarrassing act of returning the $25,000 to the WMF!

It reminds me of the lack of appreciation for heritage rampant in the Catholic Church. In fact, priests are the number one destroyers of Philippine church heritage. They sell off antiques to raise money, lured by heavenly sums offered by sneaky antique collectors. A big number renovate their heritage churches according to their whims and caprices simply to leave their mark, damaging or even eradicating centuries of work in a few months. Right at this very moment, the hard-headed parish priest in Paoay, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is plastering the walls of the church with cement! When will this carnage to heritage churches end? Will the CBCP please put its foot down and end this wanton disregard for Philippine architectural heritage. In Mexico, after their own revolution against Spain, all church property became state property which is why all their churches are untouched and well-preserved. Sometimes, I wished that happened in the Philippines as well.

Back to San Sebastian, rumor has it that the metal structure of the San Sebastian Church was designed by Alexander Gustave Eiffel himself. But I have yet to hear the official word from the NHI or NCCA.

Metro Manila is host to more heritage churches or what's left of them. You can check out the Visita Iglesia Manila Project for a complete listing.