March 30, 2024
1. ST. JAMES PARISH (1607) - SUBIC
2. SAN NICOLAS DE TOLENTINO PARISH (1865) - CASTILLEJOS
3. PARISH OF ST. WILLIAM (1863) - SAN MARCELINO
4. SAN SEBASTIAN PARISH (1849) -SAN NARCISO
5. INA POON BATO SHRINE - BOTOLAN
6. ST. AUGUSTINE CATHEDRAL PARISH (1681) - IBA
7. DIOCESAN SHRINE AND PARISH OF SAN ANDRES (1607) - MASINLOC
8. ST. VINCENT FERRER PARISH (1895) - CANDELARIA
9. ST. MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL PARISH (1812) - STA. CRUZ
April 7, 2023
We had done our family Visita Iglesia in Bulacan for two different years already, 2015 (MY ARTICLE) and 2019 (MY ARTICLE). This year, we went to seven more towns of Bulacan province which we have not been to before, and here are the churches we were able to visit today, Good Friday 2023:
1. SAN ISIDRO LABRADOR PARISH CHURCH - PULILAN
The first church constructed by the Augustinians in this present location in 1793 was of light materials at first, only to be replaced by a stone building starting November 1798. The present facade is simple, predominantly neo-classical, with only an Augustinian emblem above the main door as ornamentation. On December 13, 2020, the parish church was elevated to the status of a diocesan shrine.
2. ST. JAMES THE APOSTLE PARISH CHURCH - PLARIDEL
The church of Plaridel (originally Quingua) was in 1581 administered by the Augustinians. The previous churches had been razed by fires or damaged by earthquakes, but were duly rebuilt promptly each time. The present stone and brick church is mainly Baroque, with a pediment of Moorish design shaped like a minaret. The church served as a military hospital for American soldiers in 1899.
3. ST. AUGUSTINE PARISH CHURCH - BALIUAG
The parish of Baliwag was founded on May 26, 1733. The architectural style of the church is Baroque, and had undergone several rehabilitation for various damages sustained over the years. In 1979, the marble Moses holding the tablets of the Ten Commandments was added to the base of its very tall bell tower in 1983. The Good Friday procession of the church is said to be one of the largest in the country, with more than 100 religious floats participating.
4. STO. NINO PARISH CHURCH - BUSTOS
In 1862, babies from Bustos drowned in the Angat River en route to their baptism in St. Augustine in Baliuag. This led to Bustos having a church of their own, the building of which started in 1872. It was dedicated to the Santo Niño, in honor of those infants that died in the river. The facade had statues of saints adorning the top of each pillar, with Christ the Redeemer topping the cupola at its highest point.
5. STA. MONICA PARISH CHURCH - ANGAT
Angat became a parish in 1683, the sixth oldest parish in Bulacan. Established in 1758 by the Augustinian fathers, the Santa Monica Parish Church is one of the oldest churches in Bulacan. It had a Baroque architectural style. A notable feature were the elaborate paintings on its ceiling completed in 2002. The images were inspired by those in the Sistine Chapel, along with scenes depicting the history of the Church in the country and religious activities in Angat.
6. MINOR BASILICA AND PARISH OF LA PURISIMA CONCEPCION - STA. MARIA
Santa Maria Church, home to a reportedly miraculous image of the Virgin Mary, was founded by Franciscan Friars as a visita under the parish of Saint Martin of Tours in Bocaue. On March 28, 2019, Pope Francis granted the canonical coronation of the image of La Purisima Concepcion. On November 27, 2021, the church was formally declared as a Minor Basilica, the 18th of such in the country.
7. ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI PARISH CHURCH - MEYCAUAYAN
The parish was founded in 1578 by the first batch of Franciscan priests who arrived in the Philippines. It is the largest parish in Bulacan. with more than 80,000 parishioners. A remarkable architectural feature of this church was the bell tower (built in 1800) which was connected to the main church by a large arch bridge. Too bad the church and tower were covered with scaffolding when we visited today.
May 30, 2022
After two years of virtual conventions during the pandemic, our professional organization had decided that the coast was clear enough to hold our midyear convention 2022 in General Santos City in a hybrid format. Only the fellows from Mindanao can attend the meeting in person at the Greenleaf Hotel, while everyone else can only attend via the online platform.
I am from NCR, but I was invited to attend in person because of a position I held in the organization. Since I have not been to GenSan before, I decided to go. It was my first airplane ride since January 2020. This was only the fourth city in Mindanao which I had visited, after Zamboanga, Davao and Cagayan de Oro previously.
The way the scientific program was designed, there was still ample time for delegates to visit various tourist sites of General Santos City and its surrounding towns while still being able to attend the lecture sessions at the convention site. Here were the places I was able to visit during the five days I was there:
1. Strawberry Guyabano Farm in Tupi, South Cotabato
Aside from their strawberry and guyabano plants it was named for, there were plenty of activities for tourists in there. There was a giant swing overlooking a high cliff. There are a few colorful cottages available for overnight stays, or "glamping." There was a scenic red barn near a small waterfall. There were plenty of ethnically-designed eating areas where meals are served. There was also a light and music show at 6 pm and 8 pm nightly.
2. Isla Grande del Mar Beach Resort in Glan, Sarangani
The drive from GenSan going to this remote beach resort, practically at the southern tip of Sarangani province (and the whole country), was about 75 km. When we reached the town of Glan, there was a viewpoint on the side of the road called "Tour Town Glan" where there was a colorful statue of its Gong Dugong mascot and a view of the peak of Mt. Matutum from the other side of Sarangani Bay.
When we reached the beach, we saw that it was at low tide, and people had to walk a long distance out from the beach before they can swim. They report that there was a lot of coral out there so it was hard to walk or swim. Some even came back to shore with wounds. Our driver told us that the beach further up from where our activity was set up (near the main clubhouse) had much smoother sand.
The highlight of our activity there was when two newly-caught tuna fish were brought in to be carved for all the participants and served as sashimi. Being freshly cut directly from the fish, this sashimi was so fresh and sweet. My first serving was cut from from the pectoral area of the fish, and then a second serving cut from the belly section. I don't think I had ever eaten that much sashimi ever before.
3. Lake Sebu in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato
To reach Lake Sebu from GenSan, we had to take a roadtrip of about 100 km that went through the whole city of Koronadal.
The first stop we took was to see the Seven Falls. I was told that to be able to see all seven waterfalls there, you need to ride a zipline that gave you a bird's eye view of the entire valley. There are two ziplines, one 740 m long for a good view of Falls #2, and a second one 400 m long to see the other waterfalls. A friend who took the zipline told me that the ride, with video and photos, only cost him P500. He received the video and photos by email.
Because of time constraints, we decided not to take the zipline to be able to have more time to do more activities. We just decided to visit the first two waterfalls which can be reached by car -- namely Hikong Alu (the broad and strong Falls #1 which you can see up close) and Hikong Bente (the tall and majestic Falls #2 which you see from afar). I certainly did not expect to see these two beautiful yet powerful natural wonders one after the other.
Next, we went to Punta Isla Lake Resort on the shore of serene Lake Sebu itself. The grounds were awash with colorful flowers and native T'boli motifs for some Instagrammable photo backgrounds. We decided to eat an early lunch at their floating restaurant well ahead of the noontime rush. Even if we were the only ones there at that time, it still took them 30-40 minutes because they still had to catch the tilapia straight from the lake.
Notable in their menu was their tilapia section which enumerated the 15 different ways they served their staple catch. My personal favorite was their chicharon tilapia, which was so tasty and crunchy that I could not get enough of it. Their kinilaw and their sinigang recipes were also very good. Some T'boli tribes people came on board to entertain and educate us (their elderly leader spoke very clear English) about their musical instruments and dances.
We left Lake Sebu just when the bulk of tourists were arriving for their lunch. Our next destintation was the workshop of the late Lang Dulay, a traditional weaver of t'nalak (the delicately-designed abaca cloth of the T'boli tribe which told stories using its patterns). You can see how the fine abaca fibers were stripped, what plants the color dyes came from and of course, some weaving in progress. They have a small gift shop for souvenirs to buy.
On the way back to GenSan, we passed by a couple of famous food places along the highway. First stop was at Apareja in Koronadal City, noted for pioneering the buko halohalo. One generous serving of halohalo with ube ice cream served in a half-coconut shell cost P100. It is said that they use up to 1000 coconuts a day. Our next stop was Melts in Polomolok. One of their delicious premium cassava cakes cost only P160.
Before going back to the hotel, we asked the driver to bring us to see Plaza General Santos, which was located right in front of the City Hall of General Santos. There we saw the memorial statue of the general, while the plaque told the story of this military man who gave his name to this city previously called Dadiangas (after a local tree). It is always refreshing to see a green park with plenty of trees in the middle of a bustling city.
