It's a sad day for Bohol where in addition to lost lives, limbs, and damage to property, several heritage churches and structures including churches were destroyed by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake. Herewith are the before and after pictures of old stone churches made from coral stones in the beautiful island of Bohol.

Restoring these architectural gems take time and millions of pesos as well as look into alternative materials that look like coral stones, different from old stone churches of Luzon made from adobe bricks and egg whites.

Old Bohol Churches of Coral Stones before the Earthquake of October 15, 2013:

Baclayon Church



Loboc Church

Loboc Church facade. nearby is the belltower that crumbled during the earthquake

Loay Church

Santisima Trinidad Church of Loay Bohol facade with the belltower

Dauis Church



These gems of heritage were badly damaged by the magnitude 7.2 earthquake of October 15, 2013

(credit to the original photographer/s who posted these online)

The National Commission of Culture and the Arts (NCCA) has an unenviable task of trying to restore these heritage gems made of coral stones that you can no longer harvest from the sea as it's not environment friendly.

related Bohol Posts:
Dimiao Church

Labels: Bohol, Central Visayas, Churches, National Cultural Treasures

It is a common knowledge of Filipinos that the barangay, the smallest unit of government in the Philippines was named after the balangay (or balanghai), the ancient boat their forefathers used to travel across the seas and got in touch with other Asian civilizations.

It's the thrill of actually seeing the sites where the ancient balangay specimens were excavated, rather than being a part of the exhibit of archeology at the National Museum in Manila.

True to his being a history buff, right after checking in at Dottie's Place Hotel, hurried for quick lunch of chicken inato at Lutong Bahay ni Aling Cora, finished his work errand for the day and hied off, via a jeepney, to Butuan Regional Museum near the Butuan City Hall where he saw with his own eyes the things that he's been reading all these years.

picture of balangay on the Butuan tourism brochure. Picture taking is not allowed inside the museum that Tutubi followed even if others blatantly disregarded the rule-- Tutubi is not pasaway!

The balangay is a plank-built, edge-pegged wooden boats of yore that used to sail across the seas of the Philippines that enabled Butuanons (how people living in Butuan call themselves) to reach China where official historical accounts tell of Butuan Trade Mission in the year 1001.

bas relief outside the regional museum showing the balanghai paddled by ancient mariners.

Inside Butuan Regional Museum are two sections, Archeology that showcases Butuan's archeological finds unique and rare in the Philippines including the Golden Tara of Butuan and Butuan Paleograph. There are also skulls of aristocratic people recognized by the deformities in skull shape introduced during infancy to signify aristocracy as mentioned by the museum curator.



Sample items on display are tribal costumes of the Manobo people, a replica of a laksoy (nipa palm wine) distillery and various farming and hunting implements.

photo of the golden tara on the brochure. note the wrong information printed on the brochure regarding the year of Sailendra. Sailenda (or Sailandra/Cailandra) period was also the time when the Buddhist temples of Borobudur in Indonesia were built. The golden tara is thus proof of Butuan's link with the Sri Vijaya and other Asian people. The original golden tara, sadly, is now kept at Chicago Field Museum, USA

Besides the Golden Tara, other notable exhibits in the museum are the 14-15th century Butuan silver strip (or Butuan Paleograph), and the 10th century Butuan ivory seal, boring ancient writing/scripts still undeciphered up to this day.

Two other artifacts that give clues to pre-hispanic Philippines include the 15th century Calatagan jar that's still undeciphered and the Laguna copperplate (now known as LCI for Laguna Copperplate inscription), found in Lumban, Laguna, now displayed at the National Museum in Manila, has been deciphered in 1994 by a Dutch named Antoon Postma. The LCI is a debt pardon executed in 900 AD and is the oldest surviving document in the Philippines using an ancient script (Kavi).

The following day when Tutubi's peers arrived, he again visited the Regional Museum (where the curator recognized him) and shortly after went to the Balangay Shrine in Brgy. Libertad, which is the site of the excavations of ancient balangays the oldest dated in 320 AD according to carbon dating. Some of the balangay are still in their original excavation pit drenched in water years after their found due to the perennial lack of funds.





Tutubi will again visit Butuan this year to complete his unfinished business and also slated to visit the alleged true anchorage of Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 plus the place where the first mass in the Philippines was held, reported by chronicler Pigafetta as Mazaua, long claimed to be Limasawa in Leyte, but alleged by Butuanons to be their Masao.

If you still think Philippine History began with the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in 1521, better read again about Butuan and other documents that pushed the frontiers of history to earlier times. It is sad, however, that when civilization was blooming in these islands, the white men came and changed the course of history, a process that bore both good and bad fruits.

Butuan is a historic City that claims “In the beginning, there was no Philippines but there was BUTUAN.”

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How to get to Butuan Regional Museum:

from Montilla Avenue or Gaisano Mall, board a jeepney with signboard R-4 to take you there or flag a tricycle (minimum fare only)

The Balangay Shrine can be reached by public jeepneys with signboard Libertad followed by a tricycle ride. Taxis, though present, are rare in the city of Butuan. There's also minimal entrance fee at Butuan museum

Related Post:
List of Museums in the Philippines

Labels: Agusan Del Norte, Butuan City, Caraga, Museums, National Cultural Treasures

A few weeks ago, Tutubi was asked by a friend, while holding a crisp 1000 peso bill, if he's been to the famous Banaue Rice Terraces. Tutubi replied affirmatively, reached for the P1000 bill, not to pocket it but to explain the other pictures on the reverse side of the Philippine bank note.

He went on to explain the meaning and significance of the Banaue Rice Terraces, the langgal and manunggul jar in Philippine culture and national pride.

photos of the three national treasures of the Philippines on the P1000 bank note: the rice terraces on the left, manunggul jar at the upper right and the langgal on the lower right.

Hagdan-Hagdang Palayan ng Banawe (Rice Terraces of Banaue) is estimated to have been in existence for two thousand years. Tutubi was able to see this "wonderful staircase to the heavens" in 2004 after his tour of breathtaking Sagada and Bontoc Museum with Ferdz as guide. It was raining that time that hindered picture taking. The rice terraces, together with local customs and traditions tied to it, is enlisted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and made it to the list of "1000 places to see before you die."

Manunggul Jar, excavated in Manunggul Cave near the famous Tabon Caves in Lipuun Point, Quezon, Palawan by US Peace Corps volunteers, is a burial jar with a cover portraying a boat-of-the-dead with souls sailing into the next world (quite similar to, but not copied from, Charon in Greek Mythology ferrying dead across the river Acheron or Styx). Now exhibited at the National Museum of the Filipino People in Manila, it dates back to the Neolithic period of Philippine history. Note the boat even has a face that denotes the makers belief in the anito of yore where inanimate objects possess spirits and therefore should be respected. The manunggul jar is one of those exhibits displayed at the National Museum that Tutubi never fails to miss every time he goes there.

The langgal, sometimes called ranggar by the Maranao people of Mindanao, is a Muslim place of worship in the Sulu Archipelago (particularly the Yakans) headed by an imam, and assisted by two helpers, the habib and the bilal, as prescribed by Islam.

These three vignettes project a new cultural image of the greatness of the Filipino people here and abroad but, sadly, only the rice terraces seem to be well-known and won't even show up for list of common Filipiniana list of most Filipinos.

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How to go to National Museum, Manila:

Commuting there is easy with jeepneys from Quezon City with signboards Kalaw, Mabini, Harrison Plaza, Taft, Herran, PGH all pass by Rizal Park (Luneta) where the museum is located. It's also within walking distance from LRT UN Avenue station. Driving there is no problem also as it's fairly popular. Parking space, however, is a problem.

How to get to Banaue Rice Terraces:

Commute to Banaue by bus: Autobus, with terminal at Espana corner Cataluna St in Manila, has the Manila to Banaue daily trip that takes about 8 hours. Its terminal is mere walking distance from the rice terraces view deck and Banaue Hotel and Youth Hostel for cheap accommodations.

Travel Tip: In Banaue, you may also visit Sagada and Bontoc Museum to complete your itinerary.

Further Reading:
Artes Filipinas on Manunggul Jar

BSP: Know Your Currency

NOTES: The only other place in the Philippines that made it to the "1000 Places to See Before You Die" list is the über-exclusive and pricey Amanpulo Resort in Palawan (though Tutubi sort of looks at the book as trivializing travel to just a mere shopping list)

Jose Abad Santos, Vicente Lim, and Josefa Llanes Escoda featured on the obverse side of the bill are three heroes/martyrs during the second world war.

If you're interested in Paleolithic Pre-history of the Philippines, go to the museum in Tuguegarao where excavations in Cagayan Valley proved the presence of paleolithic life in these islands.

If you're a treasure hunter hunting for treasures in the Philippines, just follow directions on how to "discover" the treasures discussed above. No details and maps will lead you to the lost treasure of Yamashita or the golden buddha.


Related Post:
How to Get to Banaue

Labels: 1000 Places To See Before You Die, Bank Notes, Cordillera Administrative Region, Ifugao, National Cultural Treasures

The most important place visited by Tutubi and friends in Angono really is the 3000 year old Angono Petroglyphs inside a sprawling playground of the rich and infamous-- the Fiesta Resort and Casino.

The Fiesta Resort and Casino, now Thuderbird Resorts, said to be owned by a former president and retired generals. The refugee truck will "deliver" its "cargo" there.

Going there wasn't easy as there's no public transportation available. The gang literally looked like refugees inside a truck they boarded in front of Maricor Bakery used by employees of Thunderbird Resort (formerly Fiesta Resort and Casino).

Alighting at the marker (picture above) and walked about a hundred meters to the guard station and registered there.

The guards led the gang to a man-made tunnel about 30 meters long



at the end of the tunnel is a marker that said Angono Petroglyphs in Binangonan, and a trail that points to a museum managed by the National Museum plus a viewdeck of the Petroglyphs.



The pre-historic drawings, officially called Angono Petroglyphs in Binangonan due to its within the territory of Binangonan town, consists of 127 drawings of human, frogs, lizards and other animal figures inscribed on the rock wall estimated to date back to 3000 B.C.

Discovered in 1965 by National Artist Carlos "Botong" Francisco on the mountain at the boundary of Angono and Binangonan, Province of Rizal, Philippines




Signs of vandals on the loose. People that desecrate important cultural places like this should be hanged or crucified with the head down!

The Angono Petroglyphs is a National Cultural treasure that should be preserved for generations to come.

Related Site:

Angono: Art Capital of the Philippines

How to get to Angono Petroglyphs in Binangonan, Rizal:

Commute to Angono: Board the Angono-bound jeepney/vans at EDSA Central terminal on Shaw Blvd or alternatively the Angono-bound jeeps in Cubao, Quezon City. Alight at Angono market. Board a tricycle to take you to Maricor Bakery. At Maricor bakery, wait for the truck used by employees of Fiesta Resort and Casino (you need to pay a small amount for this). Ask the driver to drop you off at the junction of the road going to the Petroglyphs then walk about 100 meters to the guard station. Register at the guards and look for the man-made tunnel about 30, turn right on seeing a golf course. There is a building and small museum maintained by the National Museum. There's also a guard stationed at the site. No video allowed, only photographs.

Driving directions to Angono, Rizal: take the Manila Road East (not the one leading to the town proper), turn left on the street where Maricor Bakery is (ask tricycle drivers since there were no street signs in that part of the world when we visited). That road leads straight to Fiesta Resort and Casino (now Thunderbird Resorts Rizal) where the Petroglyphs site is located.

If you want to get to Angono, Rizal from abroad, book a flight to Manila then take a taxi to EDSA Crossing, board a jeepney/shuttle to Angono. Taxi Fare to EDSA Crossing is about P300.00 plus the approximately PhP30.00 shuttle fare to Angono.

Updated: April 2014

Labels: Art, Calabarzon, National Cultural Treasures, Rizal