170. BATAN
BATAN
Dr. Troy Alexander G. Miano
21 March 2023
I posted in Facebook a five-pages experience of my first trip in Batanes
province focusing on the capital-town of Basco in northern Batan Island. The
remaining three other three municipalities of the island: Mahatao, Uyugan and
Ivana also gave me a marvellous tourism experience in just a whole day of
travelling the circumferential road of southern Batan Island which prompted me
to scribble a separate article.
Our first stop was Chawa View Deck in Barangay Hañib, South Batan Island's top parts in Batanes where I made my 360⁰ human drone video. The view deck was designed overlooking the West Philippine Sea on a mountainside between the towns of Basco and Mahatao. The viewing platform has rolling green hills, rock formations and a panorama of the seascape. The Virgin Mary's Grotto and some cement seats are also open for tourists on the top of the deck. The steep stairs that lead to the rocky shore facing the ocean are another main feature of this attraction. It has roughly about 150 steps that one can descend to fish and take pictures or even just frolic in the water.
My team then proceeded to the municipal hall of Mahatao in Barangay Uvoy where the municipal tourism officer, Architect Diana Cynthia Fagar welcomed us and escorted me to the office of the mayor. Mayor Pedro Fainza Poncio arrived minutes later and we exchanged our public service experiences and I thanked him for appointing a full-fledged municipal tourism officer. Mayor Poncio also served as vice mayor (2001‐2007) before becoming mayor from 2007-2016 and 2019 to present.
The famous Mahatao Spanish-era Catholic Church was my next stop. We were very fortunate to be received by the parish priest Father Danilo "Danee" T. Cruz who was very accommodating and was well versed in the history of the locality and flexed to us his numerous projects and plans not only for the church but also for the community in general.
As usual, everytime I see old structures I right away look for historical plates and the Mahatao Church has one The National Historical Commission in 2014 installed a historical marker on the façade of the San Carlos Borromeo Church which reads: SIMBAHAN NG MAHATAO. ITINAYO SA ILALIM NG PATRONAHE NI SAN CARLOS BORROMEO, 1787. NASIRA NG BAGYO, 1872. MULING ITINAYO NI P. CRESENCIO POLO, O.P 1873. ITINAAS NG MGA KATIPUNERO ANG BANDILA NG KATIPUNAN SA KAMPANARYO, 19 SETYEMBRE 1898. PINALITAN NG BUBONG NA YERO, IKA-20 SIGLO. TINANGGAL ANG KORO, NOONG MGA TAONG 1990. IPINAHAYAG NG PAMBANSANG MUSEO BILANG YAMANG PANGKALINANGAN, 31 HULYO 2001.
The Mahatao Catholic Church is the home of a very unique collection of books; the Maywang A Libro Du Vatan. This art, the "Batanes Blank Book Archive" is a grant from Asian Public Intellectuals Fellowship the Nippon Foundation by Jay F. Ticar containing shelves of hardbound books with blank pages. It’s open to the public, and anyone with a pen is free to write one’s thoughts on the blank pages of any book. Before I penned my message, I browsed at random the pages of the different numbered books and read the notes that includes: prayers, wishes, rants, letters, drawings and other witty thoughts in different dialects and languages. I wrote my note at Book 48, my current age commending Father Danee for being the best “tour guide” in the locality.
Located on the left side of the facade is a beacon used for navigational guide during the Spanish period. The Batanes Heritage Conservation Corps Inc. (BHCCI) installed a marker which reads: SPANISH ERA LIGHTHOUSES OF MAHATAO. San Carlos Borromeo, Batanes. Constructed around 1879 during the term of Fr. Crecencio Polo, a Dominican Priest assigned to Batanes circa 1867-1887. This pair of free-standing structures erected a few meters apart and precisely located to be easily visible from the sea served as lighthouses or navigational aid to passing vessels and shore bound small crafts and rowboats. Each of the two light receptacles houses a lighted oil lamp producing two separate lights that when merged in alignment it indicates a straight and clears unobstructed entry and passage toward shore through the coral reefs that abound the bay area. These lighthouses were reliable guiding instruments in the past that always lead local fishermen and seafarers to safety during night time.
LGU records shows: “The town of Mahatao was first mentioned in history in 1720 with Fr. Juan Bel's report of villages in Batan Island. When Batanes became a part of the Philippines and as a consequence, a Spanish colony, Mahatao was founded as an ecclesiastical mission by the Dominicans in 1783. It was first a dependency of Basco, and placed under the advocacy of St. Bartholomew the Apostle but its patron saint and protector became St. Charles Borromeo later on, as stated in a report by Lieutenant Governor Joaquin del Castillo on May 6, 1792.”
We had lunch at Racuh a Payaman or Japarao, commonly known as Marlboro Hills, a communal pasture at Barangau Uvoy on the eastern portion of this town. There you can literally be pushed by the winds on a windy day. This iconic hills and ocean view is the most well-known tourist destination in Batanes. Tourists christened the place as “Marlboro” referring to the picturesque landscape in the 1968 Marlboro cigarette commercial. We had our lunch here capped with sweet and sour lapu-lapu and uved balls (grated corn, from the base of banana plant trunk).
As we went closer to the town, we saw a small but beautiful shelter port on the right. The port serves as natural protection to the native boats known as falowas and tatayas during stormy weather. Oral tradition states that the name “Mahatao” derived its name from the term “mahatahatao” which means “to float”. According to the book entitled “Blending of Cultures: The Batanes 1668-1888 (p. 114), Mahatao was founded in 1783 but was formally established in 1787 after it had enough families and a gobernadorcillo.
Our next town visit was Uyugan and the "I Love Uyugan" landmark at Mutchong Viewpoint at Barangay Kayvaluganan greeted us. After my routinary picture-taking spree, we hopped to the next destination, the historic Ivatan Deep Well or "Vitu" at Sitio Songsong in Barangay Itbud. The provincial road of Batan Island is famous for its "BLOW UR HORN" signage and I had a photo souvenir of the sign at the Alapad Rock Formations also in Barangay Itbud.
Continuing our journey, we stopped at the Otop.ph and Milagrosa Multi-Purpose Cooperative headed by Ms. Emily Arca-Balderas also in Barangay Itbud where we bought dibang sardines. The president gave me a miniature vakul and basket as a remembrance. Our next stop was the National Museum of the Philippines - Batanes Area Museum & Satellite Office, also in the same barangay, where archeological finds, old photographs and Ivatan related items are showcased.
Our last destination was at the municipal hall in Barangay Uyoy where we paid courtesy to Mayor Jonathan Enrique Valiente Nanud, Jr. We were also accommodated by the local tourism officer, former Liga ng mga Barangay President, Juan V. Cobico. Hon. Nanud served as Sangguniang Bayan Member (2013-2016), Municipal Vice Mayor (2016-2019) and eventually Municipal Mayor (since 2019).
Historical records shows that Uyugan was the last town to be established in Batanes. Founded as a settlement in 1783 along with the towns in Batan, it was only in March 1, 1909 when Barrio Uyugan became an independent town separated from Ivana town. The name “Uyugan” means “where the water flows” referring to the streams that flows in the town.
The teams’ last municipal visit was Ivana. Our first destination is included in my Batanes bucket list - the Honesty Coffee Shop in Barangay Radiwan, owned by the Gabilo family, where one can buy souvenirs and other merchandise with no one to receive the payments and the customers simply leave the cash in the money box. After the honesty store, we climbed the newly erected Radiwan Ligthouse at Radiwan Port and saw the beauty of Ivana and the island of Sabtang across the channel. The Port of Radiwan was our exit when we visited Sabtang Island the following day.
Across the lighthouse facing the hills is the Spanish Era Saint Joseph the Worker Parish Church. This place of worship has a 2014 historical marker mounted by the National Historical Commission which reads: SIMBAHAN NG IVANA. ITINAYO BILANG KAPILYA, 1787. IPINAGAWA ANG SIMBAHANG BATO NI P. FRANCISCO DE PAULA ESTEBAN, O.P. FAUSTO DE CUEVAS, O.P. 1814-1817. PINALIIT ANG SIMBAHAN MATAPOS LUMISAN ANG MGA MAMAMAYAN NG SIMBAHAN NI P. FABIAN MARTIN O.P. 1866-1869. ITINAAS NG MGA KATIPUNERO ANG BANDILA NG KATIPUNAN SA KAMPANARYO NG SIMBAHAN, 18 SETYEMBRE 1898. NASIRA NG LINDOL, 2000. ISINAAYOS NI P. GUMERSINDO HERNANDEZ, O.P. 2001.
The group then paid courtesy to Mayor Celso Barcelona Batallones together with the Provincial Tourism Officer, Ms. Hegel Ceballos Ruiz-Valones, who hails from Ivana; Sangguniang Bayan Chairman on Committee on Tourism, Frederick Zenon Esdicul Catalaña; and Vice Mayor Jerry Adalla Agana. Mayor Batallones was a former Municipal Agriculturist.
Before we headed back to the kapitolyo, I had my last photo at the Bonifacio Statue and other Historical Monuments of Ivana: former Governor Juan Enego and BISUMI Fighters (Hunters ROTC Guerillas) in Barangay Salagao.
Ivana, formerly known as Basay, was the landing site of the missionaries and government officials when the Spaniards annexed the islands in 1783. It was founded as a settlement in 1785 together with the capital town of Basco. But prior to the official landings, Spanish missionary Mateo Gonzales landed in the island in 1686 but stayed only for over a month.
Batan island is the gateway of the country’s northernmost province. It is a dumbbell-shaped volcanic island which is part of the Luzon Volcanic Arc. Two volcanoes abound the island: the active heavily forested stratovolcano Mount Iraya (1,009 meters) in the north which last erupted in 1454 and the dormant Mount Matarem in the south. The four municipalities of the island give a one-third picture of the history and heritage of the Ivatan people. The rich culture of the Ivatans continuously energizes our tourism as we chant our local tourism mantra - “Breathtaking Batanes”.
Our first stop was Chawa View Deck in Barangay Hañib, South Batan Island's top parts in Batanes where I made my 360⁰ human drone video. The view deck was designed overlooking the West Philippine Sea on a mountainside between the towns of Basco and Mahatao. The viewing platform has rolling green hills, rock formations and a panorama of the seascape. The Virgin Mary's Grotto and some cement seats are also open for tourists on the top of the deck. The steep stairs that lead to the rocky shore facing the ocean are another main feature of this attraction. It has roughly about 150 steps that one can descend to fish and take pictures or even just frolic in the water.
My team then proceeded to the municipal hall of Mahatao in Barangay Uvoy where the municipal tourism officer, Architect Diana Cynthia Fagar welcomed us and escorted me to the office of the mayor. Mayor Pedro Fainza Poncio arrived minutes later and we exchanged our public service experiences and I thanked him for appointing a full-fledged municipal tourism officer. Mayor Poncio also served as vice mayor (2001‐2007) before becoming mayor from 2007-2016 and 2019 to present.
The famous Mahatao Spanish-era Catholic Church was my next stop. We were very fortunate to be received by the parish priest Father Danilo "Danee" T. Cruz who was very accommodating and was well versed in the history of the locality and flexed to us his numerous projects and plans not only for the church but also for the community in general.
As usual, everytime I see old structures I right away look for historical plates and the Mahatao Church has one The National Historical Commission in 2014 installed a historical marker on the façade of the San Carlos Borromeo Church which reads: SIMBAHAN NG MAHATAO. ITINAYO SA ILALIM NG PATRONAHE NI SAN CARLOS BORROMEO, 1787. NASIRA NG BAGYO, 1872. MULING ITINAYO NI P. CRESENCIO POLO, O.P 1873. ITINAAS NG MGA KATIPUNERO ANG BANDILA NG KATIPUNAN SA KAMPANARYO, 19 SETYEMBRE 1898. PINALITAN NG BUBONG NA YERO, IKA-20 SIGLO. TINANGGAL ANG KORO, NOONG MGA TAONG 1990. IPINAHAYAG NG PAMBANSANG MUSEO BILANG YAMANG PANGKALINANGAN, 31 HULYO 2001.
The Mahatao Catholic Church is the home of a very unique collection of books; the Maywang A Libro Du Vatan. This art, the "Batanes Blank Book Archive" is a grant from Asian Public Intellectuals Fellowship the Nippon Foundation by Jay F. Ticar containing shelves of hardbound books with blank pages. It’s open to the public, and anyone with a pen is free to write one’s thoughts on the blank pages of any book. Before I penned my message, I browsed at random the pages of the different numbered books and read the notes that includes: prayers, wishes, rants, letters, drawings and other witty thoughts in different dialects and languages. I wrote my note at Book 48, my current age commending Father Danee for being the best “tour guide” in the locality.
Located on the left side of the facade is a beacon used for navigational guide during the Spanish period. The Batanes Heritage Conservation Corps Inc. (BHCCI) installed a marker which reads: SPANISH ERA LIGHTHOUSES OF MAHATAO. San Carlos Borromeo, Batanes. Constructed around 1879 during the term of Fr. Crecencio Polo, a Dominican Priest assigned to Batanes circa 1867-1887. This pair of free-standing structures erected a few meters apart and precisely located to be easily visible from the sea served as lighthouses or navigational aid to passing vessels and shore bound small crafts and rowboats. Each of the two light receptacles houses a lighted oil lamp producing two separate lights that when merged in alignment it indicates a straight and clears unobstructed entry and passage toward shore through the coral reefs that abound the bay area. These lighthouses were reliable guiding instruments in the past that always lead local fishermen and seafarers to safety during night time.
LGU records shows: “The town of Mahatao was first mentioned in history in 1720 with Fr. Juan Bel's report of villages in Batan Island. When Batanes became a part of the Philippines and as a consequence, a Spanish colony, Mahatao was founded as an ecclesiastical mission by the Dominicans in 1783. It was first a dependency of Basco, and placed under the advocacy of St. Bartholomew the Apostle but its patron saint and protector became St. Charles Borromeo later on, as stated in a report by Lieutenant Governor Joaquin del Castillo on May 6, 1792.”
We had lunch at Racuh a Payaman or Japarao, commonly known as Marlboro Hills, a communal pasture at Barangau Uvoy on the eastern portion of this town. There you can literally be pushed by the winds on a windy day. This iconic hills and ocean view is the most well-known tourist destination in Batanes. Tourists christened the place as “Marlboro” referring to the picturesque landscape in the 1968 Marlboro cigarette commercial. We had our lunch here capped with sweet and sour lapu-lapu and uved balls (grated corn, from the base of banana plant trunk).
As we went closer to the town, we saw a small but beautiful shelter port on the right. The port serves as natural protection to the native boats known as falowas and tatayas during stormy weather. Oral tradition states that the name “Mahatao” derived its name from the term “mahatahatao” which means “to float”. According to the book entitled “Blending of Cultures: The Batanes 1668-1888 (p. 114), Mahatao was founded in 1783 but was formally established in 1787 after it had enough families and a gobernadorcillo.
Our next town visit was Uyugan and the "I Love Uyugan" landmark at Mutchong Viewpoint at Barangay Kayvaluganan greeted us. After my routinary picture-taking spree, we hopped to the next destination, the historic Ivatan Deep Well or "Vitu" at Sitio Songsong in Barangay Itbud. The provincial road of Batan Island is famous for its "BLOW UR HORN" signage and I had a photo souvenir of the sign at the Alapad Rock Formations also in Barangay Itbud.
Continuing our journey, we stopped at the Otop.ph and Milagrosa Multi-Purpose Cooperative headed by Ms. Emily Arca-Balderas also in Barangay Itbud where we bought dibang sardines. The president gave me a miniature vakul and basket as a remembrance. Our next stop was the National Museum of the Philippines - Batanes Area Museum & Satellite Office, also in the same barangay, where archeological finds, old photographs and Ivatan related items are showcased.
Our last destination was at the municipal hall in Barangay Uyoy where we paid courtesy to Mayor Jonathan Enrique Valiente Nanud, Jr. We were also accommodated by the local tourism officer, former Liga ng mga Barangay President, Juan V. Cobico. Hon. Nanud served as Sangguniang Bayan Member (2013-2016), Municipal Vice Mayor (2016-2019) and eventually Municipal Mayor (since 2019).
Historical records shows that Uyugan was the last town to be established in Batanes. Founded as a settlement in 1783 along with the towns in Batan, it was only in March 1, 1909 when Barrio Uyugan became an independent town separated from Ivana town. The name “Uyugan” means “where the water flows” referring to the streams that flows in the town.
The teams’ last municipal visit was Ivana. Our first destination is included in my Batanes bucket list - the Honesty Coffee Shop in Barangay Radiwan, owned by the Gabilo family, where one can buy souvenirs and other merchandise with no one to receive the payments and the customers simply leave the cash in the money box. After the honesty store, we climbed the newly erected Radiwan Ligthouse at Radiwan Port and saw the beauty of Ivana and the island of Sabtang across the channel. The Port of Radiwan was our exit when we visited Sabtang Island the following day.
Across the lighthouse facing the hills is the Spanish Era Saint Joseph the Worker Parish Church. This place of worship has a 2014 historical marker mounted by the National Historical Commission which reads: SIMBAHAN NG IVANA. ITINAYO BILANG KAPILYA, 1787. IPINAGAWA ANG SIMBAHANG BATO NI P. FRANCISCO DE PAULA ESTEBAN, O.P. FAUSTO DE CUEVAS, O.P. 1814-1817. PINALIIT ANG SIMBAHAN MATAPOS LUMISAN ANG MGA MAMAMAYAN NG SIMBAHAN NI P. FABIAN MARTIN O.P. 1866-1869. ITINAAS NG MGA KATIPUNERO ANG BANDILA NG KATIPUNAN SA KAMPANARYO NG SIMBAHAN, 18 SETYEMBRE 1898. NASIRA NG LINDOL, 2000. ISINAAYOS NI P. GUMERSINDO HERNANDEZ, O.P. 2001.
The group then paid courtesy to Mayor Celso Barcelona Batallones together with the Provincial Tourism Officer, Ms. Hegel Ceballos Ruiz-Valones, who hails from Ivana; Sangguniang Bayan Chairman on Committee on Tourism, Frederick Zenon Esdicul Catalaña; and Vice Mayor Jerry Adalla Agana. Mayor Batallones was a former Municipal Agriculturist.
Before we headed back to the kapitolyo, I had my last photo at the Bonifacio Statue and other Historical Monuments of Ivana: former Governor Juan Enego and BISUMI Fighters (Hunters ROTC Guerillas) in Barangay Salagao.
Ivana, formerly known as Basay, was the landing site of the missionaries and government officials when the Spaniards annexed the islands in 1783. It was founded as a settlement in 1785 together with the capital town of Basco. But prior to the official landings, Spanish missionary Mateo Gonzales landed in the island in 1686 but stayed only for over a month.
Batan island is the gateway of the country’s northernmost province. It is a dumbbell-shaped volcanic island which is part of the Luzon Volcanic Arc. Two volcanoes abound the island: the active heavily forested stratovolcano Mount Iraya (1,009 meters) in the north which last erupted in 1454 and the dormant Mount Matarem in the south. The four municipalities of the island give a one-third picture of the history and heritage of the Ivatan people. The rich culture of the Ivatans continuously energizes our tourism as we chant our local tourism mantra - “Breathtaking Batanes”.
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