Lifted from muog.wordpress.com
In 1622, Palawan (Paragua) and the neighboring northern islands collectively known as Calamianes were entrusted to the spiritual care of the Augustinian Recollects by the Bishop of Cebu, Pedro de Arce OAR. Friars Francisco de San Nicolas, Diego de Santa Ana, Juan de Santo Tomas and lay brother Francisco de la Madre de Dios were assigned to this mission area. By 1623, the friars had crossed to the Palawan mainland but failed to succeed in conversion because of the strong influence of Muslim communities. Quite a contrast to the easy acceptance of Catholicism by the people of Cuyo and neighboring Agutaya. These fledgling Christian outstations were subject to attack by slave raider: 1632 Cuyo; 1636 Cuyo and Calamines; and in 1646 the raiders planned a concerted and massive attack on this frontier. In 1638, while serving as parish priest of Cuyo, Juan de Severo, OAR conceived of the idea to fortify the churches of Cuyo, Agutaya and Culion. While the friars built churches and residences and were advancing in their work, continued slave-raiding and lack of resources forced them to abandon Palawan briefly, except for Cuyo and Agutaya. This retrenchment set back the growth of the missions. In 1659, they returned determined to stay and so begun the construction of more durable defensive fortifications at Cuyo, Agutaya, and Culion, and also at Linapacan, Taytay and Dumaran, Malampaya, Calatan and Paragua (Puerto Princesa). In 1692, the mission at Agutaya was raised to the status of parish under the advocacy of San Juan Bautista. This is the same name given to the fort at Agutaya.
The fort built in 1683 was remodelled in the 18th century. It is not certain if the 17th-century fortification was a palisade or a stone fort. The plan for Agutaya appears in the Valdes Tamon report of 1738. Whether the fortification was built immediately is uncertain. A date given for the completion of the fort is 1784 and is attributed to the encomendero Antonio de Rojas who delineated the plan of the fort. Apparently, the earlier fort of Fray Juan was greatly modified.
Landor (1904: 65) describes Agutaya “a fort with four battlements was the principal structure, and inside its quadrangle was to be found a simple and modest church, the windows of which were cut into the east wall of the fort. This house of God possessed a choir-balcony and the usual cheap images of the altar. On the northeast battlements, which was crumbling away were the remains of a high tower.”
The degradation of the Agutaya fort continues to this day.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Fuerte de Santa Isabel • Taytay, Palawan
lifted from muog.wordpress.com
The beginning of this fortification is attributed to “El padre capitan” Fray Agustin de San Pedro, OAR who is reported to have built a fort in 1626; this was three years after the Recollects had established a mission in the area. However, the friar’s fortification was apparently a palisade. If there were a more permanent structure built is uncertain, but whatever be the case by the first quarter of the 18th century Fray Agustin’s fort was in bad state and had been abandoned. Because of Taytay’s close proximity to Borneo and in the track of merchant ships under other Europeans and the vessels of the seafaring pirates Gov. Gen. Fernando Manuel de Bustillo was prompted to rebuild the fort. He appointed Fernando Vélez de Arce as the castle chief because of his expertise in building fortifications learned at the public academy of Barcelona.
The successor of Bustillo in 1725, the Marques de Torrecampo reported that Taytay was fortified by a palisade and moved that stone structure be built in response to the request of the alcalde mayor of Calamianes who had called together a council of war. In October 1726, work had progressed such that the wall facing the town was completed. The castle master Juan Antonio de la Torre opined that it was necessary to demolish the redoubt called “la retirada” and suggested that a small structure or garita be built at the shore as a guide and protection for ships.
Five years later, the new alcalde mayor Benito Llanes y Cienfuegos reported that the fortification was on a rock but was indefensible as it was of poor quality material. Furthermore, he suggested that the fortification be built elsewhere rather than waste resources on repairs. He also suggested rebuilding the demolished redoubt “la reitrada.” In response, the central government sent the engineer Tomás de Castro to survey the area and submit his recommendations. De Castro replied that building a new fort of a much better and more adequate design was the preferred option. However, he was instructed that before such an undertaking to do some repairs on the fort (DT 1959:375-78).
This was apparently done, because in the fort’s plan as it appears in the 1738 Valdes Tamon report, parts are already indicated as being made of stone, some parts were still made of timber and others were planned. It seems that de Castro’s recommendation to build a completely new structure was not followed or rather that he was ordered to continue the reconstruction because a memorial stone on the inner side of the curtain wall indicates that de Castro was responsible for rebuilding the Taytay fort.
Described as a fuerza, Santa Isabel is built over a rock beside the sea. Planned as an irregular quadrilateral, whose perimeter followed the contour of the rock on which it is built, the fort has a seaward side curtain wall is arched rather than straight. Bastions are found at each corner of the irregular plan. Garitas are strategically located. A ruined chapel is in the center of the plan. Some below ground structures are visible but whose functions are uncertain. They may be the structures described in the 1738 report as storehouses. Despite being well-built the structure was vulnerable from attack, mounted on a nearby hill which opened to an unobstructed view of the fort.
Landor (1904: 111-112) describes Taytay and identifies the bellow ground structures as “dungeons,” he may be mistaken. Landor writes:
“The fort, which could accommodate six or seven hundred soldiers, was constructed on a high rock projecting into the sea and connected with the land by an artificial causeway. There was a passage with steps, and an incline by which the summit of the church could be reached some thirty-five or forty feet above the sea-level. By the side of this incline were two dungeons, now roofless. In former times these dungeons had only one small aperture to give light and air to both chambers. On the opposite (east) side of the entrance-gate was a large cistern with a fountain at the lower portion.The fort was one of the finest on Palawan Island, and had four bastions, those overlooking the sea to the north being semicircular, whereas the other two were angular. For its day it possessed some powerful iron artillery, such as one long five-inch piece dated 1812, and two four-inch (1823) cannon. A great number of one-pound bullets were used as mitraille in the big guns; possibly smaller guns were (page 112) in those times mounted upon the wall; or maybe it was ammunition fired at the fort by the Moro lantacas (brass cannon) in some attacks.The inside of the fort was at a slope, the north part being filled up to within five feet of the top of the wall. The two east turrets were reached by an incline, and a path was built all around the top of the castellated wall. The actual stone outer wall was no more than thirty inches wide, but it was filled with earth and thus made of great strength. The only building inside, which was formerly a chapel with two bamboo annexes, is now used as barracks for the constabulary force of seventeen men. The fort measures some forty paces square, and its walls was about forty-two feet high and vertical, except corner bastions at a slant, with a cornichon twenty feet above the ground all round.”
The beginning of this fortification is attributed to “El padre capitan” Fray Agustin de San Pedro, OAR who is reported to have built a fort in 1626; this was three years after the Recollects had established a mission in the area. However, the friar’s fortification was apparently a palisade. If there were a more permanent structure built is uncertain, but whatever be the case by the first quarter of the 18th century Fray Agustin’s fort was in bad state and had been abandoned. Because of Taytay’s close proximity to Borneo and in the track of merchant ships under other Europeans and the vessels of the seafaring pirates Gov. Gen. Fernando Manuel de Bustillo was prompted to rebuild the fort. He appointed Fernando Vélez de Arce as the castle chief because of his expertise in building fortifications learned at the public academy of Barcelona.
The successor of Bustillo in 1725, the Marques de Torrecampo reported that Taytay was fortified by a palisade and moved that stone structure be built in response to the request of the alcalde mayor of Calamianes who had called together a council of war. In October 1726, work had progressed such that the wall facing the town was completed. The castle master Juan Antonio de la Torre opined that it was necessary to demolish the redoubt called “la retirada” and suggested that a small structure or garita be built at the shore as a guide and protection for ships.
Five years later, the new alcalde mayor Benito Llanes y Cienfuegos reported that the fortification was on a rock but was indefensible as it was of poor quality material. Furthermore, he suggested that the fortification be built elsewhere rather than waste resources on repairs. He also suggested rebuilding the demolished redoubt “la reitrada.” In response, the central government sent the engineer Tomás de Castro to survey the area and submit his recommendations. De Castro replied that building a new fort of a much better and more adequate design was the preferred option. However, he was instructed that before such an undertaking to do some repairs on the fort (DT 1959:375-78).
This was apparently done, because in the fort’s plan as it appears in the 1738 Valdes Tamon report, parts are already indicated as being made of stone, some parts were still made of timber and others were planned. It seems that de Castro’s recommendation to build a completely new structure was not followed or rather that he was ordered to continue the reconstruction because a memorial stone on the inner side of the curtain wall indicates that de Castro was responsible for rebuilding the Taytay fort.
Described as a fuerza, Santa Isabel is built over a rock beside the sea. Planned as an irregular quadrilateral, whose perimeter followed the contour of the rock on which it is built, the fort has a seaward side curtain wall is arched rather than straight. Bastions are found at each corner of the irregular plan. Garitas are strategically located. A ruined chapel is in the center of the plan. Some below ground structures are visible but whose functions are uncertain. They may be the structures described in the 1738 report as storehouses. Despite being well-built the structure was vulnerable from attack, mounted on a nearby hill which opened to an unobstructed view of the fort.
Landor (1904: 111-112) describes Taytay and identifies the bellow ground structures as “dungeons,” he may be mistaken. Landor writes:
“The fort, which could accommodate six or seven hundred soldiers, was constructed on a high rock projecting into the sea and connected with the land by an artificial causeway. There was a passage with steps, and an incline by which the summit of the church could be reached some thirty-five or forty feet above the sea-level. By the side of this incline were two dungeons, now roofless. In former times these dungeons had only one small aperture to give light and air to both chambers. On the opposite (east) side of the entrance-gate was a large cistern with a fountain at the lower portion.The fort was one of the finest on Palawan Island, and had four bastions, those overlooking the sea to the north being semicircular, whereas the other two were angular. For its day it possessed some powerful iron artillery, such as one long five-inch piece dated 1812, and two four-inch (1823) cannon. A great number of one-pound bullets were used as mitraille in the big guns; possibly smaller guns were (page 112) in those times mounted upon the wall; or maybe it was ammunition fired at the fort by the Moro lantacas (brass cannon) in some attacks.The inside of the fort was at a slope, the north part being filled up to within five feet of the top of the wall. The two east turrets were reached by an incline, and a path was built all around the top of the castellated wall. The actual stone outer wall was no more than thirty inches wide, but it was filled with earth and thus made of great strength. The only building inside, which was formerly a chapel with two bamboo annexes, is now used as barracks for the constabulary force of seventeen men. The fort measures some forty paces square, and its walls was about forty-two feet high and vertical, except corner bastions at a slant, with a cornichon twenty feet above the ground all round.”
Cagayancillo Fort • Cagayancillo, Palawan
lifted from muog.wordpress.com
The construction of this fort took a long time. In the1580s it is reported that Nicolas Melo, OSA built a fortification described as baluarte-castillo de defensa.
Work continued under his successor Fray Alonso Calosa, parish priest from 1590-1602. Unable to provide manpower, Cagayancillo was placed under the secular clergy from 1602 to 1626. It was returned to the Augustinians who administered the place by annexing it as a visita first to Antique, Bugason, Dao and finally Ani-niy in Panay Island. As visita, this meant that Cagayancillo did not have a resident priest; rather a priest from the mother parish would visit it on a regular basis. What a trip it was! It took all of four days to reach Cagayancillo from Ani-niy on board a sailing vessel like the paraw or the batel, a cargo ship that once linked Palawan with the Visayas.
Under Fray Hipolito Casiano (parish priest 1690 – 1714) the fort was completed. Fr. Pedro Galende, OSA says that the fort’s construction “took almost 130 years.” Galende writes: “When completed, the diamond shaped fort, with ten firing mouths crowning its walls, occupied an area of 162 square meters, with its 3 meter thick walls rising 12 meters from their base.” Then, he adds,” At the time of its completion, Cagayancillo had barely 180 inhabitants on record.”
Why did it take almost 130 years to finish the fort? First answer: the island was not under the Augustinians for a long unbroken time during the 17th century. When it reverted to them, it took more than fifty years to finally have a resident priest, apparently Fray Casiano. A friar’s continuous physical presence was needed if an ambitious building project was to prosper. Second answer: morphologically, Cagayancillo’s present fort is a bastioned fort type, which does not fit Galende’s description of baluarte-castillo. Baluarte refers a detached, free-standing tower but Cagayancillo’s fort is also called castillo, which may mean either that it was of larger proportion that the usual, or may have had an additional wall to it, much like the San Diego de Alcala fortification at Gumaca, Quezon. Or probably, there was more than one fort; Fray Melo’s 16th-century structure being rudimentary tower, whose stones were then incorporated into the present fort. Third reason: there were very few people in Cagayancillo, if the population was placed as 180 in the early 18th century, that means there was little manpower to work on the fort, as it was customary for males alone to work on public construction, women and children were exempt. That cut available manpower by at least half.
But then again the slaving raids may have reduced population. But which raids? There were many eras in the history of slave-raiding in the Philippines. There were the 16th century raids, provoked in part by Spanish attempt to cut off the influence of Brunei on trade in the Sulu-Borneo area. There were the 17th century raids during the ascendancy of the Cotabato sultanates and the raids of the second half of the 18th century, catalyzed by the rise of the Sulu Sultanate and the expansion of British trading interest in the Sulu zone. Cagayancillo’s fortification falls neatly into the first two periods of slave-raiding.
The construction of this fort took a long time. In the1580s it is reported that Nicolas Melo, OSA built a fortification described as baluarte-castillo de defensa.
Work continued under his successor Fray Alonso Calosa, parish priest from 1590-1602. Unable to provide manpower, Cagayancillo was placed under the secular clergy from 1602 to 1626. It was returned to the Augustinians who administered the place by annexing it as a visita first to Antique, Bugason, Dao and finally Ani-niy in Panay Island. As visita, this meant that Cagayancillo did not have a resident priest; rather a priest from the mother parish would visit it on a regular basis. What a trip it was! It took all of four days to reach Cagayancillo from Ani-niy on board a sailing vessel like the paraw or the batel, a cargo ship that once linked Palawan with the Visayas.
Under Fray Hipolito Casiano (parish priest 1690 – 1714) the fort was completed. Fr. Pedro Galende, OSA says that the fort’s construction “took almost 130 years.” Galende writes: “When completed, the diamond shaped fort, with ten firing mouths crowning its walls, occupied an area of 162 square meters, with its 3 meter thick walls rising 12 meters from their base.” Then, he adds,” At the time of its completion, Cagayancillo had barely 180 inhabitants on record.”
Why did it take almost 130 years to finish the fort? First answer: the island was not under the Augustinians for a long unbroken time during the 17th century. When it reverted to them, it took more than fifty years to finally have a resident priest, apparently Fray Casiano. A friar’s continuous physical presence was needed if an ambitious building project was to prosper. Second answer: morphologically, Cagayancillo’s present fort is a bastioned fort type, which does not fit Galende’s description of baluarte-castillo. Baluarte refers a detached, free-standing tower but Cagayancillo’s fort is also called castillo, which may mean either that it was of larger proportion that the usual, or may have had an additional wall to it, much like the San Diego de Alcala fortification at Gumaca, Quezon. Or probably, there was more than one fort; Fray Melo’s 16th-century structure being rudimentary tower, whose stones were then incorporated into the present fort. Third reason: there were very few people in Cagayancillo, if the population was placed as 180 in the early 18th century, that means there was little manpower to work on the fort, as it was customary for males alone to work on public construction, women and children were exempt. That cut available manpower by at least half.
But then again the slaving raids may have reduced population. But which raids? There were many eras in the history of slave-raiding in the Philippines. There were the 16th century raids, provoked in part by Spanish attempt to cut off the influence of Brunei on trade in the Sulu-Borneo area. There were the 17th century raids during the ascendancy of the Cotabato sultanates and the raids of the second half of the 18th century, catalyzed by the rise of the Sulu Sultanate and the expansion of British trading interest in the Sulu zone. Cagayancillo’s fortification falls neatly into the first two periods of slave-raiding.
Culion Fort • Culion, Palawan
lifted from muog.wordpress.com
In the 1750s, Delgado describes the fort at Culion as “fortaleza.” Although the Culion fort is attributed to Fray Severo the 17th century fortification may have been a palisade because the 1738 Valdes Tamon report says that Culion’s fort was in the process of completion. This quadrilateral fort enclosed a small chapel, whose facade served as the entrance to the fort. Built on promontory overlooking the sea, the fort made of coral stone was still standing up to 1936, when it was partially demolished to make way for a larger church. The present church of Culion, built on the site of the fort uses stones from the fort as foundation and lower storey. The original facade of the fort, bearing the arms of Spain has been incorporated into the entrance of the church. Behind the church a circular bastion and part of the wall remains. Canons are mounted on the bastion.
Landor (1904: 74-76) describes Culion, but did not think too highly of the aesthetics of the church or chapel inside the fort: “Let us go to Culion town on the northeast coast of the same island, in a sheltered inlet of what is called Coron Bay. The anchorage is small and rather narrow, in fourteen fathoms of water, in front of the picturesque Spanish fort occupying a prominent rock that protrudes into a spur on the east side at the entrance of the harbor. The town itself consists of a number of buildings stuck against the hillside and astride of it; the doors of one tier of houses being on a level with the roofs of the houses below. An ugly, corrugated roof, rising from within the centre of the fort, within the walls of which it is enclosed, covers the white painted building.
From the fort—a quadrangle of forty paces square, with a stone wall thirty-two inches thick and some twenty-five feet height—one gets a fine view of the town with its three parallel streets upon the hill-side. Six handsome modern church-bells and some bronze cannon on one bastion seem a strange contrast of peace and war as all these forts do. Nearly half the fort is occupied by a spacious church, the lower part of stone, the upper of wood, the door ornamented with graceful fluted columns and most elaborately artistic capitols. The inside is, as usual, plastered white, and has no peculiarity except a wheel with several bells to announce the beginning of mass.…
The fort was approached by an imposing flight of semi-circular steps, at the bottom of which stood a big wooden cross.”
In the 1750s, Delgado describes the fort at Culion as “fortaleza.” Although the Culion fort is attributed to Fray Severo the 17th century fortification may have been a palisade because the 1738 Valdes Tamon report says that Culion’s fort was in the process of completion. This quadrilateral fort enclosed a small chapel, whose facade served as the entrance to the fort. Built on promontory overlooking the sea, the fort made of coral stone was still standing up to 1936, when it was partially demolished to make way for a larger church. The present church of Culion, built on the site of the fort uses stones from the fort as foundation and lower storey. The original facade of the fort, bearing the arms of Spain has been incorporated into the entrance of the church. Behind the church a circular bastion and part of the wall remains. Canons are mounted on the bastion.
Landor (1904: 74-76) describes Culion, but did not think too highly of the aesthetics of the church or chapel inside the fort: “Let us go to Culion town on the northeast coast of the same island, in a sheltered inlet of what is called Coron Bay. The anchorage is small and rather narrow, in fourteen fathoms of water, in front of the picturesque Spanish fort occupying a prominent rock that protrudes into a spur on the east side at the entrance of the harbor. The town itself consists of a number of buildings stuck against the hillside and astride of it; the doors of one tier of houses being on a level with the roofs of the houses below. An ugly, corrugated roof, rising from within the centre of the fort, within the walls of which it is enclosed, covers the white painted building.
From the fort—a quadrangle of forty paces square, with a stone wall thirty-two inches thick and some twenty-five feet height—one gets a fine view of the town with its three parallel streets upon the hill-side. Six handsome modern church-bells and some bronze cannon on one bastion seem a strange contrast of peace and war as all these forts do. Nearly half the fort is occupied by a spacious church, the lower part of stone, the upper of wood, the door ornamented with graceful fluted columns and most elaborately artistic capitols. The inside is, as usual, plastered white, and has no peculiarity except a wheel with several bells to announce the beginning of mass.…
The fort was approached by an imposing flight of semi-circular steps, at the bottom of which stood a big wooden cross.”
Cuyo Fort • Cuyo, Palawan
lifted from muog.wordpress.com
Cuyo was strategically located between the islands of Panay and the Palawan main land. The island served as a stepping stone that linked Palawan with the Visayas and Luzon. Cuyo’s strategic position within a transportation and trade route made it imperative that it be fortified.
Built in 1683, the fortified church of San Agustin is attributed to Juan de Severo, OAR. The NHI historical marker at Cuyo gives as construction date as “about 1680.” The next major renovation to the fortification was in 1827 when a belltower was built on top of one of the fort’s bastions.
Cuyo’s main municipal defense the complex housed both the church and convento. Cuyo fort provided a safe haven not just for the ecclesiastical but also for civil authority as Cuyo served as the first capital of the district known as Paragua (Palawan). Cuyo also function a convenient waypoint between the Visayan islands and the Palawan mainland. Hence, the town’s importance.
The Cuyo fort has been described variously quadrilateral with bastions at the corner (Delgado), a stone church with stone fort and baluarte, a fortaleza. In fact, the fort is an irregular pentagon with the church forming one side and the convento originally located parallel to the church (but now at the rear and running perpendicular to the church) another. Curtain walls connect these two structures. However, the front curtain wall does not describe a straight line but is comes to an apex, where there is secondary entrance to the fort. This entrance does not lead directly into the fort but into a blind enclosure, apparently a type of blind opening to catch invaders off guard.
Bastions are found at four corners of the pentagon. The landward bastion and at the gospel side of the church forms the base of a bell tower built in 1827. The remaining three bastions have garitas. The fort’s main entrance is through the church door, placed slightly off center of the nave’s centerline.
Old photographs show that the convento was built parallel to the nave, however that is not the present position of the convento. Records have it that the convento was renovated in 1922. Most likely this was a new construction. The 1922 convento was repaired and renovated in 1995. At Lucbuan there is another quadrilateral fortification. Details about its construction are unknown, it might be a 19th century structure. The fort is greatly degraded and its walls are much reduced in height.
Cuyo was strategically located between the islands of Panay and the Palawan main land. The island served as a stepping stone that linked Palawan with the Visayas and Luzon. Cuyo’s strategic position within a transportation and trade route made it imperative that it be fortified.
Built in 1683, the fortified church of San Agustin is attributed to Juan de Severo, OAR. The NHI historical marker at Cuyo gives as construction date as “about 1680.” The next major renovation to the fortification was in 1827 when a belltower was built on top of one of the fort’s bastions.
Cuyo’s main municipal defense the complex housed both the church and convento. Cuyo fort provided a safe haven not just for the ecclesiastical but also for civil authority as Cuyo served as the first capital of the district known as Paragua (Palawan). Cuyo also function a convenient waypoint between the Visayan islands and the Palawan mainland. Hence, the town’s importance.
The Cuyo fort has been described variously quadrilateral with bastions at the corner (Delgado), a stone church with stone fort and baluarte, a fortaleza. In fact, the fort is an irregular pentagon with the church forming one side and the convento originally located parallel to the church (but now at the rear and running perpendicular to the church) another. Curtain walls connect these two structures. However, the front curtain wall does not describe a straight line but is comes to an apex, where there is secondary entrance to the fort. This entrance does not lead directly into the fort but into a blind enclosure, apparently a type of blind opening to catch invaders off guard.
Bastions are found at four corners of the pentagon. The landward bastion and at the gospel side of the church forms the base of a bell tower built in 1827. The remaining three bastions have garitas. The fort’s main entrance is through the church door, placed slightly off center of the nave’s centerline.
Old photographs show that the convento was built parallel to the nave, however that is not the present position of the convento. Records have it that the convento was renovated in 1922. Most likely this was a new construction. The 1922 convento was repaired and renovated in 1995. At Lucbuan there is another quadrilateral fortification. Details about its construction are unknown, it might be a 19th century structure. The fort is greatly degraded and its walls are much reduced in height.
Linapacan Fortification II • Barangay Caseladan, Linapacan, Palawan
lifted from muog.wordpress.com
Part of defense system built in Palawan by the Recollects from the 1620s to 1738, the mysterious ruins of a bastioned fort were recently discovered (November 2004) on Linapacan Island at Barangay Caseladan, said to be the original site of the town of San Miguel. Another set of ruins were found near San Miguel. It is uncertain if this or the fortification at San Miguel is the one referred to by the 1738/39 Report of Valdes Tamon as “muralla de piedra de figura irregular” or the one described in 1754 by Delgado a fortaleza. There are marked discrepancies between the Valdes Tamon description and the actual remains at Caseladan. The Valdes Tamon report shows a natural fortification strengthened by walls and other built structures. The Caseladan fortification may have been built after the Valdes Tamon report or may been a remodelling of the fortification reported in 1738.
The history of San Miguel, the principal settlement of Linapacan is unclear. Did it transfer sites more than once? If it did then Caseladan maybe one of many sites for San Miguel.
Part of defense system built in Palawan by the Recollects from the 1620s to 1738, the mysterious ruins of a bastioned fort were recently discovered (November 2004) on Linapacan Island at Barangay Caseladan, said to be the original site of the town of San Miguel. Another set of ruins were found near San Miguel. It is uncertain if this or the fortification at San Miguel is the one referred to by the 1738/39 Report of Valdes Tamon as “muralla de piedra de figura irregular” or the one described in 1754 by Delgado a fortaleza. There are marked discrepancies between the Valdes Tamon description and the actual remains at Caseladan. The Valdes Tamon report shows a natural fortification strengthened by walls and other built structures. The Caseladan fortification may have been built after the Valdes Tamon report or may been a remodelling of the fortification reported in 1738.
The history of San Miguel, the principal settlement of Linapacan is unclear. Did it transfer sites more than once? If it did then Caseladan maybe one of many sites for San Miguel.
Linapacan Fortification • Barangay San Miguel, Linapacan, Palawan
lifted from muog.wordpress.com
This is one of two fortifications recently discovered by Cheyenne Morrison on the island of Linapacan. There are two structures, a lower and an higher fortification or bastion built unto the limestone hill beside the town of San Miguel, the principal town of Linapacan. The structure is overgrown by vegetation and straggler figs. Further study is needed to determine if this or the other fort at Caseladan is the one that is described in the 1738 Valdes Tamon report, where the fortification is drawn as a cluster of buildings surrounded by a perimeter wall that hugs the crest of a hill.
If this the structures at San Miguel are the ones cited by Valdes Tamon, then this gives an indication when the fortification was constructed, otherwise there is very little data on its history.
Landor (1904: 100-101) adds to our conundrum when he describes Linapacan because it does not correspond to any of the ruins discovered recently
“A mile or so farther we arrived at the town—about half a dozen huts among cocoa-nuts palms, scattered on the side of the hill, upon which an ancient Spanish stone fort overlooked the western bay.It was pentagonal in shape, with two angular bastions and three semicircular ones, with an inner area of 600 square feet containing a humble nipa church in a dilapidated condition, a shelter with three bronze bells, a rickety iron cannon on wheels—and some iron bullets for ammunition. There was all there was to the fort. The only noticeable portion of this of this structure was a vaulted door with a Spanish coat-of-arms elaborately and most artistically carved in stone, with graceful leaf ornamentations all around it. Seen from the outside, the wall of the fort looked much stronger than it really was, but where crumbling down from age—especially on its south and east sides—its flimsiness was apparent.” (Compare this description with the details on the other fortification discovered at Barangay Caseladan, Linapacan)
This is one of two fortifications recently discovered by Cheyenne Morrison on the island of Linapacan. There are two structures, a lower and an higher fortification or bastion built unto the limestone hill beside the town of San Miguel, the principal town of Linapacan. The structure is overgrown by vegetation and straggler figs. Further study is needed to determine if this or the other fort at Caseladan is the one that is described in the 1738 Valdes Tamon report, where the fortification is drawn as a cluster of buildings surrounded by a perimeter wall that hugs the crest of a hill.
If this the structures at San Miguel are the ones cited by Valdes Tamon, then this gives an indication when the fortification was constructed, otherwise there is very little data on its history.
Landor (1904: 100-101) adds to our conundrum when he describes Linapacan because it does not correspond to any of the ruins discovered recently
“A mile or so farther we arrived at the town—about half a dozen huts among cocoa-nuts palms, scattered on the side of the hill, upon which an ancient Spanish stone fort overlooked the western bay.It was pentagonal in shape, with two angular bastions and three semicircular ones, with an inner area of 600 square feet containing a humble nipa church in a dilapidated condition, a shelter with three bronze bells, a rickety iron cannon on wheels—and some iron bullets for ammunition. There was all there was to the fort. The only noticeable portion of this of this structure was a vaulted door with a Spanish coat-of-arms elaborately and most artistically carved in stone, with graceful leaf ornamentations all around it. Seen from the outside, the wall of the fort looked much stronger than it really was, but where crumbling down from age—especially on its south and east sides—its flimsiness was apparent.” (Compare this description with the details on the other fortification discovered at Barangay Caseladan, Linapacan)
Dumaran Fort • Dumaran, Palawan
lifted from muog.wordpress.com
Warren lists a wooden baluarte or watchtower at Dumaran based on late 18th century reports by the diocese of Cebu on the defenses of the Visayas, which was under its ecclesiastical jurisdiction. If the fortification at Dumaran were made of stone and mortar conceivably the report would list it down as such. This might indicate that the ruined fort at Dumaran was built during the last decade of the 18th century or the early 19th.
The walls that remain at Dumaran consist of a bastion and short stretch of curtain wall, breached off center with an entrance. It is uncertain if the fortification was ever finished or that it had been ruined over time. Oral tradition claims that the fort was never finished and inspection of the evidence seem to corroborate the tradition.
The bastion is of an unusual shape consisting of a rounded projection at the center flanked by two short wall walls. The bastion does not conform to any typical shape. It is quite probable that the rounded projection is an older construction, possibly a circular tower of stone and mortar, which was then remodeled as a bastion.
Warren lists a wooden baluarte or watchtower at Dumaran based on late 18th century reports by the diocese of Cebu on the defenses of the Visayas, which was under its ecclesiastical jurisdiction. If the fortification at Dumaran were made of stone and mortar conceivably the report would list it down as such. This might indicate that the ruined fort at Dumaran was built during the last decade of the 18th century or the early 19th.
The walls that remain at Dumaran consist of a bastion and short stretch of curtain wall, breached off center with an entrance. It is uncertain if the fortification was ever finished or that it had been ruined over time. Oral tradition claims that the fort was never finished and inspection of the evidence seem to corroborate the tradition.
The bastion is of an unusual shape consisting of a rounded projection at the center flanked by two short wall walls. The bastion does not conform to any typical shape. It is quite probable that the rounded projection is an older construction, possibly a circular tower of stone and mortar, which was then remodeled as a bastion.
Fuerza de San Juan Bautista de La Lutaya • Agutaya, Palawan
lifted from muog.wordpress.com
In 1622, Palawan (Paragua) and the neighboring northern islands collectively known as Calamianes were entrusted to the spiritual care of the Augustinian Recollects by the Bishop of Cebu, Pedro de Arce OAR. Friars Francisco de San Nicolas, Diego de Santa Ana, Juan de Santo Tomas and lay brother Francisco de la Madre de Dios were assigned to this mission area. By 1623, the friars had crossed to the Palawan mainland but failed to succeed in conversion because of the strong influence of Muslim communities. Quite a contrast to the easy acceptance of Catholicism by the people of Cuyo and neighboring Agutaya. These fledgling Christian outstations were subject to attack by slave raider: 1632 Cuyo; 1636 Cuyo and Calamines; and in 1646 the raiders planned a concerted and massive attack on this frontier. In 1638, while serving as parish priest of Cuyo, Juan de Severo, OAR conceived of the idea to fortify the churches of Cuyo, Agutaya and Culion. While the friars built churches and residences and were advancing in their work, continued slave-raiding and lack of resources forced them to abandon Palawan briefly, except for Cuyo and Agutaya. This retrenchment set back the growth of the missions. In 1659, they returned determined to stay and so begun the construction of more durable defensive fortifications at Cuyo, Agutaya, and Culion, and also at Linapacan, Taytay and Dumaran, Malampaya, Calatan and Paragua (Puerto Princesa). In 1692, the mission at Agutaya was raised to the status of parish under the advocacy of San Juan Bautista. This is the same name given to the fort at Agutaya.
The fort built in 1683 was remodelled in the 18th century. It is not certain if the 17th-century fortification was a palisade or a stone fort. The plan for Agutaya appears in the Valdes Tamon report of 1738. Whether the fortification was built immediately is uncertain. A date given for the completion of the fort is 1784 and is attributed to the encomendero Antonio de Rojas who delineated the plan of the fort. Apparently, the earlier fort of Fray Juan was greatly modified.
Landor (1904: 65) describes Agutaya “a fort with four battlements was the principal structure, and inside its quadrangle was to be found a simple and modest church, the windows of which were cut into the east wall of the fort. This house of God possessed a choir-balcony and the usual cheap images of the altar. On the northeast battlements, which was crumbling away were the remains of a high tower.”
The degradation of the Agutaya fort continues to this day.
In 1622, Palawan (Paragua) and the neighboring northern islands collectively known as Calamianes were entrusted to the spiritual care of the Augustinian Recollects by the Bishop of Cebu, Pedro de Arce OAR. Friars Francisco de San Nicolas, Diego de Santa Ana, Juan de Santo Tomas and lay brother Francisco de la Madre de Dios were assigned to this mission area. By 1623, the friars had crossed to the Palawan mainland but failed to succeed in conversion because of the strong influence of Muslim communities. Quite a contrast to the easy acceptance of Catholicism by the people of Cuyo and neighboring Agutaya. These fledgling Christian outstations were subject to attack by slave raider: 1632 Cuyo; 1636 Cuyo and Calamines; and in 1646 the raiders planned a concerted and massive attack on this frontier. In 1638, while serving as parish priest of Cuyo, Juan de Severo, OAR conceived of the idea to fortify the churches of Cuyo, Agutaya and Culion. While the friars built churches and residences and were advancing in their work, continued slave-raiding and lack of resources forced them to abandon Palawan briefly, except for Cuyo and Agutaya. This retrenchment set back the growth of the missions. In 1659, they returned determined to stay and so begun the construction of more durable defensive fortifications at Cuyo, Agutaya, and Culion, and also at Linapacan, Taytay and Dumaran, Malampaya, Calatan and Paragua (Puerto Princesa). In 1692, the mission at Agutaya was raised to the status of parish under the advocacy of San Juan Bautista. This is the same name given to the fort at Agutaya.
The fort built in 1683 was remodelled in the 18th century. It is not certain if the 17th-century fortification was a palisade or a stone fort. The plan for Agutaya appears in the Valdes Tamon report of 1738. Whether the fortification was built immediately is uncertain. A date given for the completion of the fort is 1784 and is attributed to the encomendero Antonio de Rojas who delineated the plan of the fort. Apparently, the earlier fort of Fray Juan was greatly modified.
Landor (1904: 65) describes Agutaya “a fort with four battlements was the principal structure, and inside its quadrangle was to be found a simple and modest church, the windows of which were cut into the east wall of the fort. This house of God possessed a choir-balcony and the usual cheap images of the altar. On the northeast battlements, which was crumbling away were the remains of a high tower.”
The degradation of the Agutaya fort continues to this day.
Brief History of the Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay
Three of its parishes are over 300 years old: the Parish of Sta. Monica (Taytay) having been founded in 1622, the Parish of St. Augustine (Cuyo) also in 1622, and the Parish of San Juan Bautista in 1692. Four parishes are over 100 years old: the Parish of St. Augustine (Coron) having been founded in 1901, the Parish of St. Francis of Assisi (El Nid) also in 1901, the Parish of Nuestra Senora de Araceli (Araceli) in 1902 and the Parish of the Immaculate Conception of Mary in 1906. Yet, the Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay is only a little over five (5) years old, having been established on May 26, 2002 from what was then the Apostolic Vicariate of Palawan.
Three of its parishes have beautiful centuries-old stone forts: the Parish of Sta. Monica (Taytay), the Parish of St. Augustine (Cuyo) and the Parish of San Juan Bautista (Agutaya). Three other parishes have remnants of what were then mighty forts: the Parish of St. Michael the Archangel (Linapacan), the Parish of the Immaculate Conception of Mary (Culion), and the Parish of St. John the Baptist (Dumaran). Yet, the Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay is still gathering stones to build its own Cathedral in Taytay. At present, in the words of its Vicar Apostolic, the Most Reverend Edgardo S. Juanich, D.D., Taytay has the biggest cathedral in the world with the stars as its roof at night and the clouds as its shade during the day.
The territory is known for its world class resorts, foremost of which are the Amanpulo (Agutaya), Club Noah Isabelle (Taytay), Club Paradise (Coron) and Miniloc Island Resort (El Nido). It is also the source of the much sought-after but expensive bird’s nest of the balinsasayaw which is supposedly extremely good for one’s health (a kilo sells for around P150,000) and of live fish or buhay-buhay, in particular, of the red lapulapu fish a good size of which sells for P1500 a kilo. Yet, the communities in the Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay are among the most poor in Palawan. Except for the towns of Roxas and Coron, the rest of Northern Palawan do not enjoy a 24-hour supply of electricity nor a good water system that provides water in respective households. Except for Culion which has a general hospital, there are no good hospitals in the area. The local government units, though, have money to spent for the improvement of their airport facilities meant to lure more tourists.
This is the Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay.
The vicariate has twenty (20) parishes, ten (10) of which are found in Northern Mainland Palawan and another ten (10) are situated in the islands, in particular, in the Calamianes Group of Islands and the Cuyo Group of Islands. Travel from one parish to another, even in the mainland, is too weather-dependent because a day’s rain often transforms the roads into soft cakes of clay and makes some stretches in the national highway impassable. Travel from one island parish to another is just as difficult and dangerous because the Amihan and the Habagat winds spawn big waves that can sink small pumpboats and can unnerve bangkeros of lesser mettle.
Its Principal Patron is St. Joseph the Worker (May 1). The vicariate, moreover, venerates the Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, St. John of God, and St. Benedict Menni as its Secondary Patrons.
The Most Reverend Edgardo S. Juanich is Taytay’s first Vicar Apostolic and the first Palawano Priest, Taytay’s very own, to be raised to the ranks of the episcopacy. He was appointed as Vicar Apostolic by the late Pope John Paul II on May 13, 2002, ordained Bishop by His Excellency Antonio Franco, former Papal Nuncio to the Philippines, on July 11, 2002 and installed as the first Vicar Apostolic of Taytay on July 12, 2002.
Working hand-in-hand with the Bishop and the Diocesan Clergy in pursuing the aims of the vicariate are the Fathers of the Society of Jesus (Parish Work and Educational Apostolate in Culion) and the Mill Hill Fathers (Parish Work in Turda, Coron) as well as the Mensa Domini Sisters of the Lord’s Table (Catechetical and BEC Work in Taytay), the St. Paul of Chartres Sisters (Catechetical and Hospital Work in Culion), the Augustinian Recollect Sisters (Educational Apostolate in Liminangcong, Taytay) and the Daughters of Charity Sisters (Parish Work and Educational Apostolate in Coron).
In its First Vicarial Pastoral Consultation and Planning held at the Parish of St. Isidore the Farmer (Roxas) on October 7-11, 2002, the delegates articulated the Vision of the Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay with these words: Led by the Spirit in discerning the signs of the times, We, envision the local church of the Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay, Palawan as a community of Christ’s disciples, with Mary as our model, journeying together in proclaiming the Father’s reign.
At present, the priests of the Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay run and man the Seminario de San Jose in Puerto Princesa City, with the Very Reverend Monsignor Jose D. Delfin, Ph.D. as Rector and Principal. Seminario de San Jose is a high school and college seminary program of both the Apostolic Vicariates of Puerto Princesa and Taytay.
In the whole vicariate, the promotion and development of Basic Ecclesial Communities has been relentlessly pursued. Its Ministry on Worship and Liturgy has been conducting updating seminars and workshops for the Special Ministers of the Eucharist as well as for the parishes’ Lectors and Commentators. Its Ministry on Mass Media and Communications has ventured into radio broadcasting with its regular Sunday radio broadcast on the air for over a year. The vicariate’s Ministry on Clergy Formation has already sent most of its Senior Clergy to the Integrated Renewal Program organized by the Archdiocese of Manila in San Carlos Seminary. Its Ministry on Catechetics has finished its drafts on two (2) catechisms and intends to publish them this 2008: Checkbook to Heaven (A Basic Catechism for Elementary School Pupils) and I, Sick (A Catechism for the Sick). Its Ministry on Youth has been conducting Youth Camps with the hope of making the Youth more participative and active in church activities and of promoting vocations to the priesthood and the religious life.
On his own, the Vicar Apostolic has been visiting communities of Indigenous People in Northern Palawan.
One of the many landmark projects the vicariate has achieved in its five-year history is the 2006 Memorandum of Agreement it has forged with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources regarding Forest Protection and Development Program covering an area of 1077 hectares. Seizing this opportunity of “adopting a mountain,” the vicariate has developed a demonstration farm in Sitio Quilala for vermicompost, herbal garden, vegetable garden, a fishpond, among other things. It has also initiated tree planting programs at Sitio Quilala for its diocesan priests and other sectors in Northern Palawan even as it has pursued the spiritual and pastoral care of the settlers in the mountain entrusted to the vicariate. Very recently, a Mass Wedding for some of these settlers has been successfully concluded. Three monks with roots from the Trappist Monastery in Guimaras, Iloilo, live as hermits in three separate stations in the mountain.
Indeed, given its short history -- with the first five (5) years spent in strengthening old parishes. establishing new mission territories/parishes, as well as in making the different ministries become more responsive to the spiritual and pastoral needs of the Faithful -- the Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay now looks forward to erecting the first pillars of its cathedral. Given another five (5) years, through God’s grace and the generosity of friends – that is, stone after stone after stone, peso after peso after peso, prayer after prayer after prayer – the vicariate hopes that the spires of the St. Joseph the Worker Cathedral shall be ready to reach out to the heavens.
Three of its parishes have beautiful centuries-old stone forts: the Parish of Sta. Monica (Taytay), the Parish of St. Augustine (Cuyo) and the Parish of San Juan Bautista (Agutaya). Three other parishes have remnants of what were then mighty forts: the Parish of St. Michael the Archangel (Linapacan), the Parish of the Immaculate Conception of Mary (Culion), and the Parish of St. John the Baptist (Dumaran). Yet, the Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay is still gathering stones to build its own Cathedral in Taytay. At present, in the words of its Vicar Apostolic, the Most Reverend Edgardo S. Juanich, D.D., Taytay has the biggest cathedral in the world with the stars as its roof at night and the clouds as its shade during the day.
The territory is known for its world class resorts, foremost of which are the Amanpulo (Agutaya), Club Noah Isabelle (Taytay), Club Paradise (Coron) and Miniloc Island Resort (El Nido). It is also the source of the much sought-after but expensive bird’s nest of the balinsasayaw which is supposedly extremely good for one’s health (a kilo sells for around P150,000) and of live fish or buhay-buhay, in particular, of the red lapulapu fish a good size of which sells for P1500 a kilo. Yet, the communities in the Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay are among the most poor in Palawan. Except for the towns of Roxas and Coron, the rest of Northern Palawan do not enjoy a 24-hour supply of electricity nor a good water system that provides water in respective households. Except for Culion which has a general hospital, there are no good hospitals in the area. The local government units, though, have money to spent for the improvement of their airport facilities meant to lure more tourists.
This is the Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay.
The vicariate has twenty (20) parishes, ten (10) of which are found in Northern Mainland Palawan and another ten (10) are situated in the islands, in particular, in the Calamianes Group of Islands and the Cuyo Group of Islands. Travel from one parish to another, even in the mainland, is too weather-dependent because a day’s rain often transforms the roads into soft cakes of clay and makes some stretches in the national highway impassable. Travel from one island parish to another is just as difficult and dangerous because the Amihan and the Habagat winds spawn big waves that can sink small pumpboats and can unnerve bangkeros of lesser mettle.
Its Principal Patron is St. Joseph the Worker (May 1). The vicariate, moreover, venerates the Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, St. John of God, and St. Benedict Menni as its Secondary Patrons.
The Most Reverend Edgardo S. Juanich is Taytay’s first Vicar Apostolic and the first Palawano Priest, Taytay’s very own, to be raised to the ranks of the episcopacy. He was appointed as Vicar Apostolic by the late Pope John Paul II on May 13, 2002, ordained Bishop by His Excellency Antonio Franco, former Papal Nuncio to the Philippines, on July 11, 2002 and installed as the first Vicar Apostolic of Taytay on July 12, 2002.
Working hand-in-hand with the Bishop and the Diocesan Clergy in pursuing the aims of the vicariate are the Fathers of the Society of Jesus (Parish Work and Educational Apostolate in Culion) and the Mill Hill Fathers (Parish Work in Turda, Coron) as well as the Mensa Domini Sisters of the Lord’s Table (Catechetical and BEC Work in Taytay), the St. Paul of Chartres Sisters (Catechetical and Hospital Work in Culion), the Augustinian Recollect Sisters (Educational Apostolate in Liminangcong, Taytay) and the Daughters of Charity Sisters (Parish Work and Educational Apostolate in Coron).
In its First Vicarial Pastoral Consultation and Planning held at the Parish of St. Isidore the Farmer (Roxas) on October 7-11, 2002, the delegates articulated the Vision of the Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay with these words: Led by the Spirit in discerning the signs of the times, We, envision the local church of the Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay, Palawan as a community of Christ’s disciples, with Mary as our model, journeying together in proclaiming the Father’s reign.
At present, the priests of the Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay run and man the Seminario de San Jose in Puerto Princesa City, with the Very Reverend Monsignor Jose D. Delfin, Ph.D. as Rector and Principal. Seminario de San Jose is a high school and college seminary program of both the Apostolic Vicariates of Puerto Princesa and Taytay.
In the whole vicariate, the promotion and development of Basic Ecclesial Communities has been relentlessly pursued. Its Ministry on Worship and Liturgy has been conducting updating seminars and workshops for the Special Ministers of the Eucharist as well as for the parishes’ Lectors and Commentators. Its Ministry on Mass Media and Communications has ventured into radio broadcasting with its regular Sunday radio broadcast on the air for over a year. The vicariate’s Ministry on Clergy Formation has already sent most of its Senior Clergy to the Integrated Renewal Program organized by the Archdiocese of Manila in San Carlos Seminary. Its Ministry on Catechetics has finished its drafts on two (2) catechisms and intends to publish them this 2008: Checkbook to Heaven (A Basic Catechism for Elementary School Pupils) and I, Sick (A Catechism for the Sick). Its Ministry on Youth has been conducting Youth Camps with the hope of making the Youth more participative and active in church activities and of promoting vocations to the priesthood and the religious life.
On his own, the Vicar Apostolic has been visiting communities of Indigenous People in Northern Palawan.
One of the many landmark projects the vicariate has achieved in its five-year history is the 2006 Memorandum of Agreement it has forged with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources regarding Forest Protection and Development Program covering an area of 1077 hectares. Seizing this opportunity of “adopting a mountain,” the vicariate has developed a demonstration farm in Sitio Quilala for vermicompost, herbal garden, vegetable garden, a fishpond, among other things. It has also initiated tree planting programs at Sitio Quilala for its diocesan priests and other sectors in Northern Palawan even as it has pursued the spiritual and pastoral care of the settlers in the mountain entrusted to the vicariate. Very recently, a Mass Wedding for some of these settlers has been successfully concluded. Three monks with roots from the Trappist Monastery in Guimaras, Iloilo, live as hermits in three separate stations in the mountain.
Indeed, given its short history -- with the first five (5) years spent in strengthening old parishes. establishing new mission territories/parishes, as well as in making the different ministries become more responsive to the spiritual and pastoral needs of the Faithful -- the Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay now looks forward to erecting the first pillars of its cathedral. Given another five (5) years, through God’s grace and the generosity of friends – that is, stone after stone after stone, peso after peso after peso, prayer after prayer after prayer – the vicariate hopes that the spires of the St. Joseph the Worker Cathedral shall be ready to reach out to the heavens.
Pope John Paul II Erects the Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay
Pope John Paul II has erected a new Apostolic Vicariate in the Province of Palawan and appointed its first Apostolic Administrator.
The announcements were made in the Vatican at noon of May 13 by the Holy Father, and simultaneously in Manila by Msgr. Robinson Wijesinghe, charge d'affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature.
The newly-created Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay has been separated from the Apostolic Vicariate of Palawan. The new ecclesiastical jurisdicion extends over an estimated land area of 769,110 hectares and covers the towns of Roxas, San Vicente, Busuanga, Agutaya, Magsaysay, and Dumaran. It has a population of 310,383, of whom 265,000 (85 percent) are Catholics, living in 16 parishes.
Msgr. Edgardo S. Juanich, who is presently the administrator of the Mainland Palawan Northernmost Mission in Sibaltan, El Nido, Palawan and director of the Commission on Clergy of the northern district parishes, has been named as its first Aposotolic Administrator and assigned the Titular See of Ausuaga.
The remaining territory of the Apostolic Vicariate of Palawan, with an estimated land area of 894,502 hectares, extends over the central and southern districts of Palawan province, remains under the pastoral governance of Bishop Pedro D. Arigo. It has 21 parishes, with a population of 443,208, 376,726 (86 percent) of whom are Catholics.
Bishop-elect Juanich was born on April 29, 1952 in Poblacion, Taytay, Palawan. He entered the Seminario de San Jose-Minor in Puerto Princesa City after his elementary graduation, and proceeded with his college, philosophy and theology studies at the St. Vincent Ferrer Major Seminary in Jaro, Iloilo City.He was ordained to the priesthood on July 11, 1976 at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Puerto Princesa City by the late Bishop Gregorio I. Espiga, O.A.R.
His early ministry in the Apostolic Vicariate of Palawan included having served as pastor or parochial vicar of the parishes of Nuestra Señora de Salvacion, Busuanga; St. Joseph, Narra; St. Joseph, Brooke's Point, St. Francis of Assisi, El Nido. While pursuing masteral studies in Oriental Philosophy at the University of Santo Tomas Graduate School from 1989 to 1992, he served as a guest priest in the Archdiocese of Manila, ministering in the parishes of San Roque in Sampaloc and St. Pius X in Paco and resident chaplain of the Hospitaller Brothers of St. John of the Cross in Manila.
He was spiritual director of the Seminario de San Jose in Puerto Princesa City from 1992-1994, parish priest of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral and episcopal vicar of the central district parishes of Palawan (1994-1999) and pastor of the St. Francis of St. Francis of Assisi parish in El Nido (1999-2000).
The announcements were made in the Vatican at noon of May 13 by the Holy Father, and simultaneously in Manila by Msgr. Robinson Wijesinghe, charge d'affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature.
The newly-created Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay has been separated from the Apostolic Vicariate of Palawan. The new ecclesiastical jurisdicion extends over an estimated land area of 769,110 hectares and covers the towns of Roxas, San Vicente, Busuanga, Agutaya, Magsaysay, and Dumaran. It has a population of 310,383, of whom 265,000 (85 percent) are Catholics, living in 16 parishes.
Msgr. Edgardo S. Juanich, who is presently the administrator of the Mainland Palawan Northernmost Mission in Sibaltan, El Nido, Palawan and director of the Commission on Clergy of the northern district parishes, has been named as its first Aposotolic Administrator and assigned the Titular See of Ausuaga.
The remaining territory of the Apostolic Vicariate of Palawan, with an estimated land area of 894,502 hectares, extends over the central and southern districts of Palawan province, remains under the pastoral governance of Bishop Pedro D. Arigo. It has 21 parishes, with a population of 443,208, 376,726 (86 percent) of whom are Catholics.
Bishop-elect Juanich was born on April 29, 1952 in Poblacion, Taytay, Palawan. He entered the Seminario de San Jose-Minor in Puerto Princesa City after his elementary graduation, and proceeded with his college, philosophy and theology studies at the St. Vincent Ferrer Major Seminary in Jaro, Iloilo City.He was ordained to the priesthood on July 11, 1976 at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Puerto Princesa City by the late Bishop Gregorio I. Espiga, O.A.R.
His early ministry in the Apostolic Vicariate of Palawan included having served as pastor or parochial vicar of the parishes of Nuestra Señora de Salvacion, Busuanga; St. Joseph, Narra; St. Joseph, Brooke's Point, St. Francis of Assisi, El Nido. While pursuing masteral studies in Oriental Philosophy at the University of Santo Tomas Graduate School from 1989 to 1992, he served as a guest priest in the Archdiocese of Manila, ministering in the parishes of San Roque in Sampaloc and St. Pius X in Paco and resident chaplain of the Hospitaller Brothers of St. John of the Cross in Manila.
He was spiritual director of the Seminario de San Jose in Puerto Princesa City from 1992-1994, parish priest of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral and episcopal vicar of the central district parishes of Palawan (1994-1999) and pastor of the St. Francis of St. Francis of Assisi parish in El Nido (1999-2000).
Palawan City and Towns
The Province of Palawan has only one city: the Highly Urbanized City of Puerto Princesa.
Towns of the First District of Palawan (15 towns)
Agutaya -- an island municipality
Araceli -- an island municipality
Busuanga -- an island municipality
Cagayancillo -- an island municipality
Coron -- an island municipality
Culion -- an island municipality
Cuyo -- an island municipality
Dumaran -- part mainland / part island
El Nido -- mainland
Kalayaan -- an island municipality
Linapacan -- an island municipality
Magsaysay -- an island municipality
Roxas -- mainland
San Vicente -- mainland
Taytay -- mainland
Towns of the Second District of Palawan (8 towns)
Aborlan -- mainland
Balabac -- an island municipality
Bataraza -- mainland
Brooke's Point -- mainland
Española -- mainland
Narra -- mainland
Quezon -- mainland
Rizal -- mainland
Towns of the First District of Palawan (15 towns)
Agutaya -- an island municipality
Araceli -- an island municipality
Busuanga -- an island municipality
Cagayancillo -- an island municipality
Coron -- an island municipality
Culion -- an island municipality
Cuyo -- an island municipality
Dumaran -- part mainland / part island
El Nido -- mainland
Kalayaan -- an island municipality
Linapacan -- an island municipality
Magsaysay -- an island municipality
Roxas -- mainland
San Vicente -- mainland
Taytay -- mainland
Towns of the Second District of Palawan (8 towns)
Aborlan -- mainland
Balabac -- an island municipality
Bataraza -- mainland
Brooke's Point -- mainland
Española -- mainland
Narra -- mainland
Quezon -- mainland
Rizal -- mainland
Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay
The Roman Catholic Church in the islands of Palawan is divided into two (2) apostolic vicariates: the Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay (Palawan) and the Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Princesa.His Excellency, Most Reverend Edgardo Sarabia Juanich, D.D., a native of Taytay, Palawan, is the Apostolic Vicar of Taytay while His Excellency, Most Reverend Pedro Dulay Arigo, D.D., a native of Cavite, is the Apostolic Vicar of Puerto Princesa.
Territorially, the Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay covers the northern municipalities/parishes of Palawan while the Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Princesa covers the city of Puerto Princesa and the municipalities central and south of Puerto Princesa.
The parishes in the Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay are the following:
District 1
St. Isidore the Farmer Parish -- Poblacion, Roxas
San Lorenzo Ruiz Parish -- Caramay, Roxas
The Resurrection Parish -- Tumarbong, Roxas
San Vicente Ferrer Parish -- San Vicente
District 2
Sta. Monica Parish -- Poblacion, Taytay
Sto. Niño Parish -- Abongan, Taytay
St. Michael the Archangel Parish -- Liminangcong, Taytay
St. Francis of Assisi Parish -- Poblacion, El Nido
Sta. Potenciana Parish -- Sibaltan, El Nido
District 3
Sta. Teresita del Niño Jesus Parish -- Legit, Dumaran
St. John the Baptist Parish -- Poblacion, Dumaran
Nuestra Señora de Araceli -- Poblacion, Araceli
District 4St. Augustine Parish -- Poblacion, Cuyo
St. Michael the Archangel Parish -- Poblacion, Magsaysay
St. John the Baptist -- Poblacion, Agutaya
District 5
St. Augustine Parish -- Poblacion, Coron
St. Joseph de Freinademitz Parish -- Turda, Coron
Nuestra Señora de Salvacion Parish -- Salvacion, Busuanga
St. Michael the Archangel Parish -- Poblacion, Linapacan
Immaculate Conception of Mary Parish -- Poblacion, Culion
Territorially, the Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay covers the northern municipalities/parishes of Palawan while the Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Princesa covers the city of Puerto Princesa and the municipalities central and south of Puerto Princesa.
The parishes in the Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay are the following:
District 1
St. Isidore the Farmer Parish -- Poblacion, Roxas
San Lorenzo Ruiz Parish -- Caramay, Roxas
The Resurrection Parish -- Tumarbong, Roxas
San Vicente Ferrer Parish -- San Vicente
District 2
Sta. Monica Parish -- Poblacion, Taytay
Sto. Niño Parish -- Abongan, Taytay
St. Michael the Archangel Parish -- Liminangcong, Taytay
St. Francis of Assisi Parish -- Poblacion, El Nido
Sta. Potenciana Parish -- Sibaltan, El Nido
District 3
Sta. Teresita del Niño Jesus Parish -- Legit, Dumaran
St. John the Baptist Parish -- Poblacion, Dumaran
Nuestra Señora de Araceli -- Poblacion, Araceli
District 4St. Augustine Parish -- Poblacion, Cuyo
St. Michael the Archangel Parish -- Poblacion, Magsaysay
St. John the Baptist -- Poblacion, Agutaya
District 5
St. Augustine Parish -- Poblacion, Coron
St. Joseph de Freinademitz Parish -- Turda, Coron
Nuestra Señora de Salvacion Parish -- Salvacion, Busuanga
St. Michael the Archangel Parish -- Poblacion, Linapacan
Immaculate Conception of Mary Parish -- Poblacion, Culion
Palawan Studies: An Introduction
palawanstudies.blogspot.com is the research, studies and publication arm of the Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay (Palawan).
The Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay (Palawan) covers the northern district of the province of Palawan.
The Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay (Palawan) covers the northern district of the province of Palawan.
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