Twelve heritage towns near Manila

There is no doubt that Vigan, Ilocos Sur is the best preserved colonial town in the Philippines. But for those in Metro Manila who just want to make a day-trip to a nearby heritage town, here are twelve places you might want to visit.

1. Taal, Batangas
Taal (the town, not the volcano) is the best preserved Spanish colonial town near Manila. People might be thinking Tagaytay City because of its view of Taal Volcano, but the town is actually 42 kilometers away. The historic town center of Taal was declared a National Historical Landmark. Dozens of Spanish colonial homes, several historical landmarks, the Taal Municipal Hall, Santa Lucia Well, and two centuries-old churches — the Taal Basilica and Caysasay Shrine — are among the highlights of a visit to Taal.

The town has several museums including the homes of Marcela Agoncillo, Felipe Agoncillo, Leon Apacible and Gliceria Villavicencio and the Galleria Taal. Don't forget to visit the local market where you can buy good quality piña and other embroidered cloths for barongs and Filipiniana dresses. Popular dishes from Taal are longganisa, tapa, adobo sa dilaw, empanada, panutsa, suman, tawilis (tawilis is now an endangered species, don't eat it) and tulingan. The balisong, a pocket knife which is also known as the butterfly knife, is also from Taal.

It's easy to do a day-trip to Taal. For those with vehicles, exit the STAR Tollway at Lipa (Taal town is about 32 kilometers from the exit). Please check this map for directions. By public transportation, take a bus to Lemery, Batangas and a then a jeep or tricycle to Taal. After exploring Taal, you can opt to have dinner in Tagaytay City, proceeding there via Lemery and Diokno Highway. But be prepared for the traffic snarls in Tagaytay. There are also several old houses which offer overnight accommodation such as Casa Severina and Villa Tortuga. Here's more information on Taal.

2. Pila, Laguna

Another National Historical Landmark close to Manila is Pila, Laguna. This heritage town is a beautiful collection of colonial homes surrounding a green plaza with the Pila Municipal Hall at one end and the Pila Church on the opposite end. Walking around the plaza is like entering a time machine since the historic fabric of the town is relatively intact.

Even beyond the plaza are fantastic examples of Filipino homes built during the Spanish and American colonial periods. So if you're on your way to Santa Cruz, Pagsanjan or beyond, make sure to include Pila in your itinerary. Any bus to Santa Cruz, Laguna will pass through Pila.

3. Balayan, Batangas

Balayan is another Batangas town that is rich in heritage. The Balayan Church is a National Cultural Treasure. And many of its old ancestral homes are still intact. 

I heard the locals are planning a heritage tourism program. But for now, the homes are not open to the public though. Walking around the town will definitely make an interesting historical tour. You might want to pass by Balayan especially on the way to the neighboring town of Calatagan. And just further down the road is Calaca, which has a nice Spanish colonial church and several ancestral houses.

4. Sariaya, Quezon
Further down south is Sariaya, Quezon. It has a fabulous Art Deco municipal hall and three of its many ancestral mansions are declared heritage houses — Natalio Enriquez House, Rodriguez House and Gala-Rodriguez House. The Sariaya Church is also quite interesting with convent buildings on both sides. Too bad though the local government built a multi-purpose hall on one side of what would have been a classic example of a colonial plaza.

The best time to visit Sariaya is on May 15 when the town celebrates the feast of San Isidro Labrador. The ancestral houses are also opened for a fee. But you'll have to deal with the crowds who a troop to Quezon for the many colorful celebrations on that day. Any bus to Lucena, Quezon passes through Sariaya.

5. San Juan, Batangas
San Juan, Batangas is another town with many Art Deco mansions. Few people pass through the town's historic center on the way to Laiya Beach not realizing its hidden treasure. None of the houses in San Juan have been declared. Hopefully the local government has the vision to create a heritage tourism program that will complement Laiya Beach.

6. San Fernando, Pampanga
San Fernando is known for many things — the Giant Lantern Festival, San Pedro Cutud Lenten Rites, and great Kapampangan food among others! It also has managed to preserve a small historic quarter in the downtown area. Five houses have been declared heritage houses — Lazatin House, Hizon-Singian House, Henson-Hizon House, Dayrit House and Augusto P. Hizon House. The San Fernando Train Station, where Rizal got off during his trip to invite friends to the La Liga Filipina and where the long walk of the Bataan Death March ended, still stands.

The San Fernando Cathedral and Pampanga Provincial Capitol can also be found in the heritage district. What excites me is the prospect of revitalizing the PASUDECO Sugar Central for conversion into a shopping and entertainment complex. My fingers are crossed.

San Fernando must be the only city in the Philippines where motorized tricycles are not allowed in the downtown area. Instead, the historic center still has many kalesas (horse-drawn carriages) which can take you for a tour around the city. Here is more information on San Fernando.

After you tour, make sure to have breakfast, lunch or merienda in the many restaurants in the city (Everybody's Cafe is an institution) that serve authentic Kapampangan cuisine. You can also visit the nearby Bacolor Church and Betis Church, a National Cultural Treasure. Too bad Bacolor's ancestral mansions were covered by lahar. Pampanga lost a heritage treasure!

7. Malolos, Bulacan
Malolos was a revolutionary capital of the Philippines. The Barasoain Church, home of the Malolos Congress, has always been featured on Philippine currency. The city's historic center was declared a National Historical Landmark especially since many of the houses served as offices of the Philippine Revolutionary Government.

Too bad though that many of the owners don't seem to understand the historical value of their homes. And quite a number have been dismantled by eager antique dealers, despite being declared. So visit Malolos while it's still there, and before antique dealers beat us to it. This city would have made such an interesting heritage walk!

8. Kawit, Cavite
The birthplace of the Republic of the Philippines, Kawit has three major heritage sites — Emilio Aguinaldo Shrine (where the declaration of Philippine independence was made on June 12, 1898), Baldomero Aguinaldo Shrine and the Kawit Church. Aside from those three important sites, there's nothing much to see in Kawit. But most people stop by Kawit as part of any Cavite historical tour or day-trip which goes all the way to Maragondon.

9. Maragondon, Cavite
Another town on the Cavite historical trail, Maragondon has three important sites — Maragondon Church, Bonifacio Trial House and the Execution Site of Andres Bonifacio. The Maragondon Church is a National Cultural Treasure. While the Bonifacio Trial House is a National Historical Landmark. Here is more information on Maragondon.

10. San Miguel, Bulacan

San Miguel is a charming old town with beautiful ancestral mansions. But the charm is fast disappearing because the local government of San Miguel, Bulacan has not really done anything to ensure the protection of the local heritage. 

Part of the Biak na Bato National Park is also in San Miguel. Ironically, despite the large number of ancestral houses, none of them are declared. So just like Malolos, better visit San Miguel before the heritage disappears.

11. Biñan, Laguna
We've all heard the battle cry "Save the Alberto House!" The historic home of Teodora Alonso's family is still in Biñan, or what's left of it. I was pleasantly surprised to see so many Spanish colonial houses in Biñan. In fact, some of them still have clay tile roofs. The only things that need to be addressed are cleanliness and order in the heritage street which is very close to the market. Biñan actually has much potential as a heritage destination. Hopefully the heritage quarter is declared and revitalized by the local government.

12. Malabon, Metro Manila
Okay, so Malabon is part of Metro Manila! But it's at the edge and I just had to include it in this list. Most people don't realize that Malabon, as well as Navotas, used to be a separate islands until shortsighted reclamation projects fused it with the rest of Luzon. And we wonder why the area floods? Back to the heritage, Malabon has a fantastic collection of heritage houses. I wonder if the local government even realizes the potential for tourism. There are occasional cultural tours to Malabon, maybe once a year. But on a regular day, you'll have to explore on your own. While you are there, try out the pansit, sapin-sapin, kikiam, sumpia and broas!

Other interesting heritage towns near Metro Manila are (13) Tayabas (Tayabas Basilica, Malagonlong Bridge and several other bridges are National Cultural Treasures) and (14) Lucban in Quezon, (15) Angeles City (Angeles Church, Pamintuan Mansion, Museo ning Angeles and Center for Kapampangan Studies) and (16) Santa Rita in Pampanga, (17) Paete (Paete Church), (18) Pakil (Pakil Church) and (19) Pagsanjan in Laguna, and (20) Bustos in Bulacan. Did I miss out any heritage town near Manila?

Laguna: Save the Alberto House!

If you believe that the Philippine Government should save the ancestral house of Jose Rizal's mother Teodora Alonzo, share this until it reaches our government leaders. No to transfer to Bagac, Bataan!

From Dr. Bimbo Sta. Maria of United Artists for Cultural Conservation and Development (UACCD) in Binan, Laguna:  "A part of the Alberto House caved in yesterday. This is the beginning of the end of this historic house. After it was demolished from the inside and its parts transferred to Bataan, the house has been left exposed to the elements. No ceiling, no floor and its foundations dug and exposed, it was inevitable for the house, now left only with its shell, to go down.

"The planned expropriation proceedings by our local government did not push through for some reasons. UACCD has followed it up in the past until the present but the LGU has other pressing problems to attend to. RA 10066 is in effect. But as stated before, the national government does not have the funds to save all heritage structures.

"It is a fact that the house remains to be private property. With the owner's loss of interest to preserve the house and his selling it, this is the moment he has long been waiting for to get rid of this important cultural property. Consummatum est! (Photo courtesy of Star Jenny Carpena Chiucinco-Temprosa)"

Laguna: A day in charming Pila Town

Ivan Man Dy writes about our visit to the heritage town of Pila, Laguna last summer. Text by Ivan Man Dy. Photos by Ivan Henares.

One lazy weekday, I suddenly found myself itching to go out and escape the city, an impromptu day trip. A few calls here and there and I found out that my tokayo Ivan Henares is heading south to the town of Los Baños in Laguna. I hitched a ride and that's how we found ourselves in the town of Pila.

As a heritage junkie, Pila Historical Landmark has been on my list of historic towns to visit. Funny that I've been to the farther ones like Vigan, Taal, Silay, Carcar and even Sabtang (Batanes) but never to this one which is as close as it can get to the Metro.

Now, exploring a place at your own pace has its advantages but having an insider and knowledgeable host and guide is something of a treat. And it's something that I really welcomed upon meeting Cora Relova of the Pila Historical Society Foundation.

To be honest, there is not much activity happening in Pila, a quaint little town surrounded by rice fields in this lush part of Laguna. No dramatic history, grand edifices nor high-spirited fiestas here. Not even a mall or a fast food chain. What it has however, is something that an urban rat like me find refreshing: provincial innocence and countryside charm.

Over a lunch of house specialties that included pako salad, pork chops, atsarang ubod, fresh coconut juice and an amazingly savory ginataang hipon na tabang, Cora regaled us with historical tidbits and stories of a city girl growing up in the town. According to her, Pila's fortunes are linked with its surrounding agricultural lands, no surprise really. And that wealth was eventually translated to the good life best seen in the houses around the Pila's central plaza.

Any visit to the the town will ultimately lead you here, a lovely patch of green (during the heat of summer) dominated on both sides by the Church of San Antonio de Padua (1578) and the Pila Municipal Hall (1931). This traditional colonial-era pattern has sadly been disfigured in many old towns today. As I explored the latter, I saw a plaque inside that mentions one of Cora's ancestors (grandfather perhaps) as being the municipal president in the 1900s. Roots to the town go really deep for the Relovas of Pila. Surrounding the plaza is Pila's prized collection of historic homes, most dating back to the early 1900s when that generation, alas, perhaps the last of them, still adopted the traditional bahay na bato architecture for their homes.

A century hence, most of these houses are quite well maintained and still with their traditonal details like big kapis windows, intricate kalado patterns and fluted columns. As an extra treat, Cora invited us to her cute 1920s home that was built by her grandmother and regaled us with more stories.

Over a merienda of halo-halo by the verandah, we listened to the 1970s pop band VST at the recently installed speakers in the plaza. We whiled away the afternoon and watch the day end in this small town. "Pila is is not grand. It's charming," Cora says. I couldn't agree more. For a brief moment, time suddenly slowed down in this lovely town called Pila.

Laguna: 150th Birth Anniversary of Dr. Jose Rizal celebrated in Calamba, Laguna

The 150th Birth Anniversary of Dr. Jose Rizal was celebrated in Calamba, Laguna yesterday beginning with rites at the Rizal Shrine, followed by the unveiling of the tallest Rizal statue in the world in front of the City Hall of Calamba, Laguna. What happened in Calamba was quite amazing. The rain stopped right before the ceremonies were slated to begin. And everything went according to plan. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief as President Benigno Aquino III arrived at the Rizal Shrine to lead the rites.



Congratulations to the National Historical Commission of the Philippines and the Technical Working Group for a job well done! For more photos from the Rizal@150 / Rizal Sesquicentennial Ceremonies yesterday, visit Ivan About Town in Facebook.

Note: A special thank you goes to Ford for lending me their Ford Fiesta Sport the past few days. Very reliable car as I traveled to the different Rizal events in Calamba. Too bad I'm returning it tomorrow! I was quite impressed with many of the features of the car, particularly the Bluetooth handsfree mobile phone sync with the car and voice commands for both the phone and radio.

Laguna: Save the historic Alberto House in Biñan, Laguna!

Now they are targeting the historic Alberto House in Biñan, Laguna, the house of Teodora Alonzo, mother of Jose Rizal! That foolishness in Bagac, Bataan has got to stop! Shame on you, you greedy developer! Stop poaching our history!

The historic Alberto House is significant among Biñan houses because of its association with Dr. Jose P. Rizal. This grand bahay na bato with its tile roof still intact, is a cultural treasure to the people of Biñan. And anyone who dares take it away for his personal use can only be called greedy!

The ancestors of Rizal, both Alonzo and Mercado, are from Biñan, Laguna. Rizal's grandfather was Don Lorenzo Alberto Alonzo (1790-1854), municipal captain of Biñan in 1844. The Alberto House was thus the ancestral house of Rizal's mother, Teodora Alonzo. Dona Teodora and Jose Rizal himself, at various periods, lived in the house.


Rizal connection aside, the architectural features and date of construction of the Alberto House (approximately constructed in 1765) make it very significant not just to Biñan, but the entire province of Laguna.

According to sources, about 20 percent of the interior was already dismantled as of this week. It's a good thing the City Government of Biñan, Laguna stepped in and has offered to purchase the house. Imagine the gall of this developer! They were demolishing the Alberto House without a demolition permit! And before we forget, R.A. 10066 - The National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 is already in effect. Therefore, demolition of structures at least fifty years old cannot proceed without the permission of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

Another good thing is that people in Biñan are up in arms! I laud communities who know the value of their heritage and the need to preserve it. The United Artists for Cultural Conservation and Development, City of Binan, Inc. is calling on everyone's support to help them save the Alberto House in Biñan, Laguna. They are staging WELGA: Isang Gabi ng Dula, Awitan, Sayawan, Atbp., a cultural protest condemning the demolition and transfer of the Alberto House on June 9, 2010, Wednesday, 7 p.m. at the town plaza of the Biñan.

Thank you to BJ Borja of the United Artists for Cultural Conservation and Development, City of Biñan Inc. for photos of the house by Neil Cholo Legaspi and information on the house. For more details, read Laguna town prevents demolition of Rizal mom’s home.

Update: The City Government of Binan, Laguna pledged its full support for the restoration of the Alberto House. It has allotted funds for its purchase or expropriation if need be. The United Artists for Cultural Conservation and Development, City of Biñan Inc. has begun fund-raising efforts for the eventual restoration of the house. All it takes is for the Albertos to say yes to the offer.

Laguna: Heritage town of Pila, Laguna

Pila is the heritage town of Laguna. The historic center of the town was declared a National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Institute in 2000. It was known as La Noble Villa de Pila, one of the few towns in the country which was elevated to villa during the Spanish colonial period.


The center of town is an elegant collection of colorful colonial period structures located around a spacious plaza. The layout out of the town is very typical of most Spanish colonial towns. On one side of the plaza is the Pila Church dedicated to San Antonio de Padua. On the opposite end of the plaza is the charming Pila Municipal Hall dating back to the American colonial period and painted in brick red. And on the west and east sides are the elegant homes of the town's principalia.

Pila's house colors come in shades of brown, pastels and white. This was how houses were painted during the Spanish and American colonial periods. It was not all white.



The town has a very active heritage conservation group, the Pila Historical Society Foundation, Inc. which has continuously led efforts to preserve the heritage of this genteel town. Here's a map of historic structures in Pila, Laguna if you want a guide while you do a walking tour.

Laguna: Visita iglesia in Pila, Pakil, Paete and more Laguna churches

Laguna has a lot of heritage churches and is a good place for visita iglesia. I found myself on the road again last Palm Sunday in Laguna. After speaking at the Rotaract District Conference 2010 in Bay, Laguna, I decided to explore again the Laguna towns along Laguna de Bay since I was there anyway.


My first stop was Pila, which is Laguna's heritage town and a National Historical Landmark. I'll showcase more of Pila's old houses in another post. Pila Church is dedicated to San Antonio de Padua.


Further down the road is Santa Cruz and Pagsanjan, which has a very iconic welcome arch built during the late 19th century. Sadly, the interior of the Pagsanjan Church has been renovated already but the exterior is still relatively intact. Notice also the Spanish colonial casa municipal beside it which is badly painted though.



Lumban is a town known for its embroidery. It's a good place to purchase de calado barong and dresses. You could also check out the Lumban Church which has a very interesting exterior and convento. But the interior has been renovated as well.


After Lumban is the town of Kalayaan. Look for Barangay Longos which used to be the town proper and you'll find the centuries-old Longos Church. It's quite austere compared to its neighbors. But at least the interior is relatively intact.



Paete, known for its woodcarving and paper mache, has one of the better churches of Laguna. The Paete Church has ornate retablos and several centuries-old paintings near the entrance. The church is dedicated to Santiago Mayor.


Close to Paete is the town of Pakil, home of the Turumba. Pakil Church is my personal favorite among Laguna churches, with its grand white and gold retablos and very interesting convent. This church deserves to be declared a National Cultural Treasure!


Anyway, the Turumba commemorates the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary with seven pistang lupi. The first pistang lupi is held on the Friday before Palm Sunday (the first of two feasts of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary) and the seventh is done on Pentecost Sunday. During these days, the image of the Nuestra Señora de Dolores de Turumba is borne on an anda and brought around the streets of Pakil in a procession amidst dancing. Other processions are also held aside from the seven pistang lupi, the last being on the third Sunday of September, the second feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin May.

The schedule for 2010 is Unang Lupi (Viernes de Dolores, March 26), Ika-2 Lupi (Fiestang Martes, April 6), Ika-3 Lupi (Fiestang Viatico, April 12 to 14), Ika-4 Lupi (Fiestang Viernes, April 23), Ika-5 Lupi (Fiestang Linggo, May 2), Extra Lupi (Fiestang Pakileñas, May 12), Ika-6 Lupi (Fiestang Pag-akyat, May 14), Ika-7 Lupi (Fiestang Pag-Panaog, May 23) and Domingo de Dolores (September 12). Mass is at 6:30 a.m.

We drove as far as Mabitac. But it turns out, only the belfry of the Mabitac Church is intact since the church on top of the hill is totally new.

If you have more time, also visit the Majayjay Church (a National Cultural Treasure), Magdalena Church (the church where blood stains from Emilio Jacinto's battle wounds can still be found), Nagcarlan Church and San Pablo Church.

Philippine festivals and other cultural celebrations

Philippine festivals or fiestas are among the most colorful in the world! I recently got to read the book "A Year of Festivals: A Guide to Having the Time of Your Life" published by Lonely Planet. It features the most unique festivals in the world. The first thing I did was to check how many Philippine festivals were featured.

There are five in the book, two of them in San Fernando, Pampanga! The five were the Feast of the Black Nazarene (Quiapo, Manila), Ati-Atihan (Kalibo, Aklan), San Pedro Cutud Crucifixion Rites (San Fernando, Pampanga), MassKara Festival (Bacolod, Negros Occidental) and the Giant Lantern Festival (San Fernando, Pampanga). There should have been more since the Philippines is known to be a country of colorful festivals!

That's what I've been saying about making sure festivals are unique. Festivals that cannot be found elsewhere are those which attract attention. With so many festivals and events flooding the Philippine fiesta calendar, I decided to pick my favorites from the crowd and came up with my own list of unique festivals worth visiting. Most definitely, these festivals have become iconic symbols of the towns and cities where they are held annually.

FEAST OF THE BLACK NAZARENE
January 9 | Quiapo, Manila
On this day, the centuries-old image of the Black Nazarene is pulled through the streets of Quiapo by male devotees clad in maroon, in an intense mammoth procession. This has been a tradition for over two centuries and some people who have touched the Nazarene during the procession claim that they have been healed of their diseases.

ATI-ATIHAN FESTIVAL
Third weekend of January | Kalibo, Aklan
Held every January to commemorate the feast of the Santo Niño, many consider the Ati-Atihan Festival as the Mother of all Philippine Festivals. Among the wildest, if not the wildest of Philippine fiestas, revelers paint their faces with black soot and wear bright, outlandish costumes as they masquerade and dance in revelry around the streets of Kalibo to the beat of ambulant ethnic troubadours. This is the original street dance fiesta of the country and many of the later street dance festivals in honor of the Santo Niño were inspired by Ati-Atihan.

The origins of the festival are said to date back to the 13th century when a group of Malay datus fleeing Borneo purchased land from the local Ati people. This agreement was commemorated with a celebration, where the datus and their people painted themselves black to honor the Ati people. This was later converted into a religious celebration with the arrival of the Spanish.

SINULOG FESTIVAL
Third weekend of January | Cebu City
The Sinulog Festival is one of the grandest, if not the grandest, and most colorful festivals in the Philippines. It is held in honor of the Santo Niño. Just like the other Santo Niño festivals, it features a street parade with participants in bright-colored costumes dancing to the rhythm of drums, trumpets, and native gongs. The day before the parade, a fluvial procession is held in the morning with the image of the Santo Niño carried on a boat from Mandaue City to Cebu City. In the afternoon, a more solemn and larger procession makes its way around Cebu City.

DINAGYANG FESTIVAL
Fourth weekend of January | Iloilo City
Another Santo Niño festival, the Dinagyang is a religious and cultural festival held the weekend after Sinulog and Ati-Atihan. The festival is also characterized by street dancing, frenetic stomping of feet to the beat of ambulant ethnic troubadours.

The festival saw its birth in the late 1960s but was just confined to a parish. It was in the 1977 when President Marcos ordered various regions to come up with festivals that would boost tourism that the Dinagyang as we know it today began to take shape. In fact, as a testament to how it has grown and evolved, Dinagyang was voted as the best Tourism Event for 2006, 2007 and 2008 by the Association of Tourism Officers in the Philippines.

PANAGBENGA FESTIVAL
February | Baguio City
Panagbenga, or the Baguio Flower Festival, is month-long annual flower festival held in Baguio. The first one was organized in 1995. The next year, it was renamed Panagbenga, a Kankanaey term that means "a season of blossoming, a time for flowering." The highlight of this festival is the Floral Float Parade usually held during the last Sunday of February (or first Sunday of March).

TURUMBA
April to May | Pakil, Laguna
The Turumba commemorates the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary with seven pistang lupi. The first pistang lupi is held on the Friday before Palm Sunday (the first of two feasts of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary) and the seventh is done on Pentecost Sunday. During these days, the image of the Nuestra Señora de Dolores de Turumba is borne on an anda and brought around the streets of Pakil in a procession amidst dancing. Other processions are also held aside from the seven pistang lupi, the last being on the third Sunday of September, the second feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin May.

The schedule for 2009 is Unang Lupi (Biyernes de Dolores, April 3), Ika-2 Lupi (Pistang Martes, April 14), Ika-3 Lupi (Pistang Biyatiko, April 20, 21 & 22), Ika-4 Lupi (Pistang Biyernes, May 1), Ika-5 Lupi (Pistang Linggo, May 10), Extra Lupi (Pistang Pakileña, May 12), Ika-6 Lupi (Pistang Pag-akyat, May 22), Ika-7 Lupi (Pistang Pagpanaog, May 31), Ahunan sa Ping-as (May 30), and Domingo de Dolores (September 20).

MORIONES FESTIVAL
Good Friday | Marinduque
A pageant of wooden masks called morion, the Moriones Festival is celebrated in the towns of towns of Boac, Mogpog and Gasan. Men are colorfuly garbed and masked as Roman centurions. The festival culminates in the reenactment of the beheading of Longinus.

CUTUD CRUCIFIXION RITES
Good Friday | San Pedro Cutud, San Fernando, Pampanga
The San Pedro Cutud Crucifixion Rites is arguably the cultural event most visited by foreign tourists. It's mentioned in almost every guide book about the Philippines. It's actually the center of bloody flagellation practices that happen in Pampanga every Holy Week. The very first crucifixion happened in 1962 as part of a passion play of the barangay. Ever since, more and more penitents followed suit and thus began a cultural practice that went beyond ordinary flagellation.

PULILAN CARABAO FESTIVAL
May 14 | Pulilan, Bulacan
An annual festival held the day before the feast of San Isidro Labrador, it features hundreds of decorated carabaos and colorful floats parading along the streets of Pulilan, a celebration for a bountiful harvest.

PAHIYAS FESTIVAL
May 15 | Lucban, Quezon
An annual celebration to celebrate the feast of San Isidro Labrador and to usher in a bountiful harvest, homes in Lucban are decorated with the town's agricultural products. The most distinct of these decorations is the kiping, a brightly colored rice dough rolled into thin wafers and shaped like leaves. Other decorations include fruits, vegetables, grains and straw hats.

Also visit the Agawan sa Sariaya and Mayohan sa Tayabas the same afternoon in the neighboring towns. The highlight of Mayohan is the famous agawan ng suman in honor of San Isidro Labrador.

OBANDO FERTILITY RITES
May 17 to 19 | Obando, Bulacan
A three-day festival where childless couples, praying that they bear children, do the pandango or "fertility dance" on the streets of Obando as a procession carrying the towns patrons Santa Clara, San Pascual Baylon and the Nuestra Senora de Salambao, makes its way around town.

TAONG-PUTIK FESTIVAL
June 24 | Aliaga, Nueva Ecija
To commemorate the feast of Saint John the Baptist, the people of Brgy. Bibiclat, Aliaga, Nueva Ecija, transform themselves into mud people or taong-putik. The ritual, called Pagsa-San Juan, begins at dawn when devotees wear dry banana leaves or vines, smear themselves with mud and walk the streets to ask for alms in the form of candles which are lit at the plaza.

PARADA NG LECHON
June 24 | Balayan, Batangas
Another celebration to commemorate the feast of Saint John the Baptist, the town of Balayan parades dozens of lechon (roasted pigs) in outlandish costumes. Imagine roasted pigs wearing wigs, sunglasses, hats, and clothes! And just like in any fiesta for San Juan Bautista, expect to get wet!

APUNG IRU FLUVIAL PROCESSION
June 28 to 30 | Apalit, Pampanga
A three-day fluvial festival, the Pampanga River comes alive with gaily decorated motorboats and colorful bancas during the feast of Saint Peter. At the center of the fluvial processions is a lavishly-decorated pagoda mounted on a barge that carries a centuries-old ivory image of Saint Peter which the locals call Apung Iru.

PENAFRANCIA FESTIVAL
Third Saturday of September | Naga City, Camarines Sur
A festival honoring the feast of Our Lady of Peñafrancia, Patroness of the Bicol Region, on the last day of the celebrations, the image is returned to the Basilica in a fluvial procession along the Naga River. The procession is lit by thousands of candles from devotees in boats escorting the image.

MASSKARA FESTIVAL
Weekend nearest October 19 | Bacolod City
The MassKara Festival is held every October to celebrate the Charter Day of Bacolod City. The festival features carnivals, fairs, and a Mardi Gras-like street parade of costumed and masked dancers. It was first held in 1980 during a period of crisis. The local community decided to hold a festival of smiles, because the city is the City of Smiles, in order to pull residents out of the gloomy atmosphere.

LA NAVAL DE MANILA
Second Sunday of October | Quezon City
The La Naval de Manila is a grand procession held in honor of the Nuestra Senora del Santisimo Rosario (Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary) along the streets of Quezon City. Before the destruction of the grand churches of Intramuros during the liberation of Manila, this tradition was held in the walled city. The image is said to be the most lavish and most celebrated Marian image in the country, and is brought around preceded by carrozas of St. Joseph and various Dominican saints.

HIGANTES FESTIVAL
November 23 | Angono, Rizal
A festival held in honor of San Clemente, it's one big party around the streets of Angono with a loud, rambunctious, and wet & wild Mardi Gras-like parade (it's actually a procession). The procession culminates in a fluvial procession in the Laguna de Bay. Higantes are colorful paper mache giants measuring about ten to twelve feet in height.

GIANT LANTERN FESTIVAL
Saturday before Christmas Eve | San Fernando, Pampanga
The date of this spectacular festival is a bit confusing but it's usually held the Saturday before Christmas Eve but not too close to it (so that would be sometime between December 15 to 21). The festival features close to a dozen 18-foot lanterns made by competing barangays of San Fernando. Each lantern is fitted with thousands of light bulbs that are controlled manually. The dynamic interplay of lights and color that precisely moves with the rhythm of music is unbelievable! It is because of these giant lanterns and the San Fernando lantern-making industry that the City of San Fernando has been dubbed the Christmas Capital of the Philippines.