The Chronicles of the Forgotten Land: An Epitome of Liloan's History

 "To know nothing of what happened before you were born is to remain forever a child."  

- Cicero 

  

The Philippine Heritage in Overview

                                                                   

       The Philippines is an archipelago composed of clusters of islands, and islets totaled to 7,107 islands and islets. Each island is organized into regions (changed into Super Regions by former President Gloria M. Arroyo) pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 1 on 24 September 1972 as part of then President Ferdinand E. Marcos' Integrated Reorganization Plan. In that year there were only 11 regions comprising the three major islands of the Philippine archipelago, the Luzon, the Visayas, and the Mindanao. At present, there are 17 regions and the 3 of those regions are defunct regions. Each island of a region has its own history, like the famous, and acclaimed by most Filipinos as the 8th Wonder of the World, the Rice Terraces in Banaue, Mountain Province in Cordillera regions, or the CAR (Cordillera Administrative Region), which believed to be 2000 years old carved by indigenous Ifugao people, or, also the one in Andona Creek, in San Joaquin, in the province of Ilo-Ilo, in the island Panay, western part of Visayas. The government of Panay preserved the spot where it is believed as the landing site of the Ten Datus from Borneo ministered by Datu Puti. These are few of many historic sites covering within the Philippine archipelago.     

Rediscover Liloan Heritage

      In light of the worth of the Philippine heritage of the Filipino people, equally valuable is the heritage of Liloan to the Liloanons. Liloan is a municipality north of Panaon Island, it was first institutionalized being a "Rancheria", or, a "Sitio" in 1596 under the territorial division (both ecclesiastical and secular matters) of Cebu, or, of the Archbishopric of Cebu, and ceased being a sitio of the latter when Samar and Leyte separated from the Cebu's realm led by the Jesuits mission, to form into a single province in 1735 with "Pueblo", literally means, "people", or, "town", of Carigara as the capital of the province, and later Leyte separated in 1768, where the capital of the province was still in Carigara until in 1860 to Tacloban. But the province of Samar still with Catbalogan as the capital and covering the territory in Panaon island, however ecclesiastical jurisdiction was later on transferred to the Diocese of Calbayog, but the temporal aspects remains in Catbalogan because of the administration of the estates belonged to the "encomoienda". And while Liloan then was a "visita", or, a small village, headed by the "teniente del barrio", or, "cabeza de barangay", appointed by the encomiendero in Catbalogan to implement the order of the Spanish' royal government, a small chapel also of Sta. Agata was erected in sitio Agata, today's location is the Maharlika Highway, a sitio of barrio Anilao, the stool of “Cabecera” by the Augustinian Missionaries because in 1767 the Jesuits were expelled in the Philippines by the order of King Charles III, thus the "Visita Missions" were run by the Augustinians to continue the missionary works, besides the Augustinians, and, the Jesuits were assigned to the province of Samar and Leyte. From being a visita, Liloan was raised to be a pueblo in 1786 by the recommendation of the Franciscan Mission, to include to what the Spaniards called, "Pueblos De La Playa" with the gobernadorcillo, and, the religious missionary assigned by the Diocese shall stood side by side as he possesses co-ordinate authority, in charge of the pueblo's well-being. At the advent of its flourishing years when the whole island was completely under Spanish rule with Catholicism spread all throughout, on July 30, 1820, Liloan becomes "Matriz" with Leyte being the capital of province as it shifted from Catbalogan by virtue of the decree published by the Royal Spanish Government, through the then Governor-general Don Mariano Fernández De Folgueras. Since the year 1787, in sitio Kan-Iking, the seat of today’s Poblacion, the first “Casa Parroquial”, a residence of the “Cura Parroco” was erected alongside of the “Casa Tribunal”, similar to "Town Hall", and not in far-distant from those edifices located the position along Calle Real the office of the Tabacalera,  typical exhibition of a progressing community of this Island by the Spanish rule endeavored primarily by the bishopric missions. Yet in January of 1895, a devastating typhoon struck the Philippine Islands which delivers severe damage to the archipelago, particularly in Panaon Island. The Casa Parroquial of Liloan was being wiped-out engendered by its compromised location in lowland terrain, much more it being adjoined by a tract of swamp area. The Church then was relocated to its new location where it is presently standing at the top of the hill, and this re-position project was led by then gobernadorcillo, Don Francisco Marqueda since the Franciscans withdrawn, and, abandoned their religious missions into this island because of the outbreak of the revolution against Spanish colonist in 1896, the very reason also why the relocation, and, the reconstruction of the Casa Parroquial stayed for quite a while. Only after the declaration of the Philippine Independence in 1898, a momentary 1st Philippine Republic does the project staggeringly run on due to lack of funds. 

St. Ignatius de Loyola Parish Church
Rebuilding was completed in 1910
The affirmation of its Founding as a Parish was in 1911
Photo Source:
www.tripadvisor.com

     But with the coming of theJesuits back in the Philippine Islands in 1852 by Royal Decree, the then Archbishop of Cebu commissioned the Society of Jesus to resume to their old Visayas, and, Maguindanao (proper pronunciation of Mindanao) mission. Until in 1907, Rev. Fr. Segundo Espiritu, of the Jesuits' Order, whilom after being ousted in 1768, once again landed on the soil of their congregation's headmost mission more than a century have passed, but the situations were not the same as it was then, for albeit the island, and, its towns were under the American Colonial rule at the outset of the 20th Century, owing to this new colonial rule, the various religious Orders of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines have drawn an agreement with William Howard Taft, the head of the Second Philippine Commission (1901-1941), and, first American Governor-general of the Philippine Islands, prior to his election being the 27th U.S. President in 1908, especially, with the Jesuits, for fear that they will claim dominion of the so-called Friar Lands. Whereas, when the Jesuits returned in Liloan they reorganized the Church, and, rebuild the structure, much more to the restoration of the Catholic faith among the Liloanons. And finally, the formal foundation of the Parish Church then affirmed in 1911, chose St. Ignatius de Loyola, founder of the religious congregation of the Jesuits, to be the revered Patron Saint of the Great People of Liloan.

 

Saint Ignatius De Loyola
founder of the Jesuits
Patron Saint of Liloan, Southern Leyte
Photo Source:
www.galleryhistoricalfigures.com

MATRIZ?

      To illustrate the duties, and, the authority covered under the system Matriz, the role of the Church is to head over all ecclesiastical matters, but it holds few subject to consider in the administration of the town, while the gobernadorcillo, is no longer appointed, but, elected through official nomination by the principalia, will serve the entire residential district under the jurisdiction of the Matriz of which he is serving, that is to say, including the pueblos, the visitas, and the sitios, to administer justice and peace, the chief officer of the town's carcel, and, the port captain; Moreover, he will host during Fiesta Oficial, and also the coming of the visita missionaries, or, higher officials from the provinces. To infer the meaning of "matriz", it denotes a peculiar system of administration, it is more of a present-day municipal government, and, less like that in a provincial government, if we compare it of today's "Local Government Unit", perhaps, a stereotype of it. To have clear description of the word "matriz", consider the basis of the creation of Liloan to become a matriz. The civil government of Liloan was a prelate type of civil administration, it possess definitive, yet superior, authority over its coequal governing entity in the island of Panaon, the reason is that those coequal civil government originates from the former, for reason was the basis of its ordination as a "Matriz" due to the fact when barrio Ynolinan, today's San Ricardo, ceded some of its jurisdiction to barrio Pintuyan in 1865, it has relegated due to the decrements of the number of the visitas being transferred to Pintuyan, as matter of fact, both were "visitas" of Liloan. They being extracted from the cabecera of Liloan, it is well to say that pueblo Pintuyan, and, San Ricardo (Ynolinan) must itself place under the penumbra of Liloan Matriz, or, its gobernardorcillo should extend a certain measure of respect to the Capitan-Municipal, in this case, the gobernadorcillo of Liloan. In simplifying it, take literal meaning from its Latin word "Matrix", it is, nonetheless, a "mother", or, "womb". 

     This remarkable progress of Catholic expansion in Panaon Island records as one of the landmark accomplishment of the various Orders of Catholic Missionaries since its first attempt around in 16th to 17th centuries, notably pioneered by the Augustinians and the Jesuits, then of the Franciscans. In a nutshell, we can say that Liloan was one among the significant place in the view of the Catholic Missionaries, thus became a prospect political subdivision of the Royal Audiencia of Manila of the Spanish Crown in the island of Panaon as a sidestep road to Christianize the people of the big island of Maguindanao (Mindanao). It is also worthy to note that Liloan's well-serving economic resources, and, the strategic location of the island does make her known being Panaon’s first commercial center for trade, a significant attribute of the town which features the island's notable trading port dates back even the pre-Hispanic period.

      Today, though many of the Filipino historians, perhaps, deliberately negated Liloan being a historic place for here in this land, too, homes the most illustrious event of history which features Liloan not only wealth, trade, and, theocracy, but Liloan's aesthetic beauty proclaims more than the recognized, and, written history to speak of the homage beyond the still picture. To mention a few of the historic remnants found in Liloan being a historical landmark is the one standing at the corner point in between Sogod Bay, and, Tagbak Marine Park, the century old Light-house (the locals call it Parola), which was a standing witness of the famous raids of Ruperto Kangleon against Japanese troops during World War 2, and still is providing light to guide seafarers away from danger; the recorded date of its building was during the American occupation on 1 August 1905, however, just a few meters away from the latter Light-house located a senescent-looking, and, simple-structured, yet, time-honored Light-house built during Spanish admiralty in 1856. This long-lived Spanish Light-house, even if it is no longer active, is standing more than one and-a-half century with a modest rectangular post-design almost has the same height as the former American spiral-design Light-house, nonetheless, both lighthouses are incomparable jewels of Liloan.

The two lighthouses of Liloan
Spanish (c. 1856), and American (c.1905).

Col. Ruperto C. Kangleon (Right )with Lt. Gen. Walter Krueger
of the U.S. Army
Photo credit: ibiblio.org

Sunset view, Liloan Lighthouse
Date Constructed: August 1, 1905
Photo credit: bombshell1461.blogspot.com

      The town of Liloan has two ports, one is located in the Northwest, at the heart of the town facing the Roman Catholic Church, it is the old Municipal Wharf (the Liloan old folks used to call it SAMOA Pantalan [SAMOA Wharf], the construction is undated). It was first rehabilitated in 1964 after the wharf have been seriously damaged during the Second World War, while the second rehabilitation and expansion was in the years 2013-2014; another one was located at the Northeast, adjacent to the Caldera Bay, known as the Liloan Ferry Terminal. 

The Liloan Municipal Wharf
(a.k.a. SAMOA Wharf)
Photo credit: mnn8356@flickr.com

    The construction of said ferry (RoRo) port made a landmark title for Liloan as the Gateway Port to Mindanao, the establishment of the port was an implementation of then President Ferdinand Marcos’ Pan-Philippine Highway, also known as, Maharlika Nautical Highway, which was first proposed by the latter in 1965 linking the three major islands of the Philippines through maritime connectivity, and the realization of his dream to open the route to Asia Pacific (ASEAN) regions through maritime transport inter-connectivity.

Jaime H. Pajara
President of

J.H. Pajara Construction, Corp.

Contractor/Engineer of:

                   1.) Liloan Ferry Terminal

                   2.) Wawa Bridge

Photo Source: Philippine Constructors Association, Inc.

     www.philconstruct.com

The aerial view of The Liloan Ferry Terminal
The people of Liloan used to call this Ferry Terminal as "Pajara".
A name attributed to the project engineer constructing this port.
Photo credit: PPA Visayas via flickr.com

The Wawa Bridge in bird's-eye view
Source: A photo of the "Wawa Bridge" shared on Facebook

     While the longest Pan- Philippine Maharlika Highway which spans 3,517 kms. (2,185 miles) is serving as our country’s principal transport backbone, converting Liloan's Municipal Road to National Highways connecting this island to the mainland of Southern Leyte through the Wawa Bridge, a steel bridge, constructed and completed in 1976-1977, traversing through the whirling-violent current in the narrow Panaon Strait located in Barangay San Roque of this town, a real depiction of Simon and Garfunkel's song, "Bridge Over Troubled Water".