172. SABTANG

 

SABTANG

Dr. Troy Alexander G. Miano

19 March 2023

During my younger days, the Province of Batanes was a priority in my bucket list and when I was able to reach Basco in Batan Island, I levelled up my goals and that is to set foot on the island-municipalities of Sabtang and Itbayat - the two other main inhabited islands of the country’s northernmost province. I got this rare chance when I had to officially visit Sabtang to deliver an inspirational message on the DOT Filipino Brand of Service Excellence (FBSE) Training this week.

The DOT-PLGU Team boarded the M/B Thomas at San Vicente Port in Ivana town at past five in the morning and crossed the strait for about 20 minutes and disembarked at the Port of Sabtang. We checked-in at the Pananayan Pension House where we had our breakfast. Together with the staff of the Provincial Tourism Office and the niece of the mayor, we proceeded to Barangay Nakamuan where Mayor Prescila A. Babalo was waiting. I had an instant treat from the local chief executive (LCE) when she asked us to circumnavigate Ivuhos Island, one of the two smaller uninhabited islands surrounding Sabtang. The other island is Dequey. Two Philippine Coast Guard personnel joined us as we cruised near the island and after an hour, we landed at its fossilized coral beach. The surface of Ibujos is gently rolling. I learned that the island, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), classified Ivujos (listed as Ibahos Island) as an inactive volcano of the Philippines. An unnamed submarine volcano is also located five kilometers west of Ivujos, which last erupted in 1854. This seamount rises to just 24 meters below the water surface.

The group returned to Sabtang and visited the Mayahaw Arch or "Ahaw Arch" Rock Formation of Morong Beach at Barangay Malakdang. I strongly recommend this natural wonder as an instagramable tourism destination.

The mayor personally cooked dibang (flying fish) for lunch at the house of her sister who is a barangay captain of Sumnanga. After the sumptuous meal, we rode south to the most popular tourist attraction of Batanes province – the Vernacular Houses or Ivatan Traditional Houses of Chavayan Village. I made sure that I had photos and videos on all angles and got the chance to meet the old lady who was featured in many travel magazines wearing the vakul, the traditional women headdress of the Ivatans. I said a prayer at the Santa Rosa de Lima Chapel with the inscription: “This Chapel was constructed through bayanihan called "YARU" sponsored by the late Hon. Ireneo Hornedo in June 1951 with meter thick lime walls and roofed with cogon. Wooden materials were donated by Bishop Pelegrine de la Fuente. Construction was completed on April 23, 1959 and was finally inaugurated on May 1959. This ten-meters away from the beach Chapel is the only remaining church in Batanes with cogon roof.”

As we left the barangay, we passed by the Sabtang Weavers Association hut where kanayi and vakul products are woven and displayed for tourists to purchase. We also bought bukayo, sweetened coconut strip-balls. The team had dinner at the Figura Café owned by an incumbent municipal councilor and retired for the night at the pension house.

Our second day started with my visit at the famous Sabtang Lighthouse and had photos and video of the picturesque terrain where one can stoop down facing a small cove by the sea.

I had a walking tour starting with the Spanish-era San Vicente Ferrer Church at the población in Barangay Sinakan. A National Historical Commission marker dated 2014 reads: SIMBAHAN NG SABTANG. ITINAYO BILANG KAPILYA NG MGA DOMINIKANO 1785, NAPABAYAAN NANG SAPILITANG PINALIPAT AND MGA MAMAMAYAN SA IVANA MATAPOS ANG PAG-AAKLAS NI AMAN DANGAT 1791. GINAWA SA APOG AT BATO SA ILALIM NI P. ANTONIO VICENTE O.P. 1844. IPINAAYOS NI P. GUMERSINDO HERNANDEZ O.P. ANG KAMPANARYO MATAPOS MASIRA ANG BAGYO 1956. ISINAAYOS ANG LOOB NG SIMBAHAN AT PINALITAN NG BUBONG NA YERO NI P. RAFAEL CARPINTERO O.P 1983-1984.

Near the municipal hall is memorial of local heroes – the Batanes Bisumi Fighters Monument with a marker issued by the National Historical Commission in 2014 which reads: BATANES BISUMI FIGHTERS (1944). ITINATAG BILANG SANGAY NG HUNTERS-ROTC SA LALAWIGAN NG BATANES UPANG LABANAN ANG MGA HAPON, ENERO 1944. PINANGALANANG BISUMI FIGHTERS NA KUMAKATAWAN SA ANIM NA BAYAN SA BATANES: BASCO, IVANA, SABTANG, UYUGAN, MAHATAO AT ITBAYAT NAPASAKAMAY NG MGA GERILYA ANG GARISON NG MGA HAPON SA LABANAN SA BAYAN NG SABTANG, 25 ABRIL 1945. NILUSOB AT NABAWI ANG SABTANG NG MAS MALAKING PUWERSA NG HAPON, 17 MAYO 1945. NAHULI AT PINASLANG ANG KARAMIHAN SIMULA 12 HUNYO 1945.

The out-going tourism officer, Mr. Joey Russel C. Gecha (to be appointed as caretaker of the National Museum in Uyugan), who is well versed in the island’s history, culture and tradition, together with the DOT Team arranged an FBSE Training for tourism frontliners at the Sabtang National School of Fisheries at the poblasyon. Mayor Babalo not only delivered a welcome message but gave an impressive lecture on tourism hospitality and development. I also delivered a message commending the LGU, the LCE and the 69 participants. I assured the people in attendance including a number of Sangguniang Bayan Members that this is not the last but the first of series of technical support the DOT will conduct in this island-municipality.

Sabtang history from the LGU files narrates that the Dominican Spanish missionary Father Artiquez first visited the Island of Sabtang in 1785. The success of the first visit led to two more evangelical trips resulting in the baptism of 181 children and the study of the catechism among the adult natives. The evangelization of Sabtang was cut short due to the failing health of the Spanish missionaries.

In 1791, non-Ivatan Filipinos working under the Spanish colonial government took from the people of Sabtang supplies and timber without just compensation. Aman Dangat also known as Kenan, the mangpus (chieftain) of Malakdang (now one of the six barangays of Sabtang and one of the two barangays of the town center) who has been dissenting the Spanish intrusion since 1785, protested to Governor (1789-1794) Joaquin del Castillo but instead, his men were chained igniting Aman Dangat to organize an uprising. Over a hundred men from Sabtang joined him. The Spanish authorities; however, overpowered Aman Dangat's forces and most of his men were killed and those who were spared were convicted while seven died on the side of the colonizers. Aman Dangat was hanged in public on September 1791 in the town of Basco in Batan Island and before his execution, he agreed to be baptized and was christened Buenaventura. The people of Sabtang was immediately ordered to resettle in the villages of San Vicente and San Felix in the town of Ivana in Batan Island. The heroism of Aman Dangat is immortalized with two monuments: one in front of the capitol compound in Basco, Batanes installed by the National Historical Commission in 2014 and the second at the Gallery of Heroes in Rizal Park (Luneta) in Manila.

Four decades after the resettlement, the natives of Sabtang were allowed to go in their erstwhile land with the condition that houses should be constructed in the lowlands. To sustain the spiritual care for the people of Sabtang, a new mission was opened in Sabtang in 1845 under the patronage of Saint Vincent Ferrer with Father Antonio Vicente as its first vicar. The cura parocco is credited to have built the Sabtang Church, together with a convent, a school, and a courthouse.

My over twenty-four hours sojourn in the old pueblo of Sabtang made me saw the rich natural wonders and heritage of the Isabtangs. My short stay was extra memorable because of the amazing hospitality of the jolly, energetic and smart Mayor Prescila who accompanied me to the port and made sure I left Sabtang happy and smiling. Maraming Salamat po!