Following the Rizal Heritage Trail around the Philippines

Happy Rizal Day to everyone! Today is the 114th anniversary of the martyrdom of Dr. Jose Rizal. As we begin the year-long celebrations for the 150th birth anniversary of Rizal on June 19, 2011, the Heritage Conservation Society, Department of Tourism and Intramuros Administration will be launching the Rizal Heritage Trail to encourage people to revisit places Rizal visited in the Philippines, sites and structures with a connection to Rizal or significant monuments that honor him.

Here is a preliminary list of sites, structures and monuments on the Rizal Heritage Trail:

Region III - Central Luzon
• San Fernando Train Station (San Fernando, Pampanga) - Rizal exited this station on June 27 and 28, 1892 to visit friends in San Fernando and Bacolor as part of his mission to recruit members to his La Liga Filipina. Among the houses he visited were those of  Tiburcio Hilario in San Fernando on June 27 and Ceferino Joven in Bacolor on June 28. An NHI marker was installed in the station in 2004.
• Malolos Train Station (Malolos, Bulacan) - Rizal exited this station on June 27, 1892 to visit friends in Malolos as part of his mission to recruit members to his La Liga Filipina.
• Bautista House (Malolos, Bulacan) - This is one of the houses Rizal is said to have visited when he was recruiting members for the La Liga Filipina on June 27, 1892.
• Women of Malolos Marker (Malolos, Bulacan) - The site of the school of the Women of Malolos whom Rizal wrote to on February 22, 1899 from London.
• Tarlac Train Station (Tarlac, Tarlac) - Rizal exited this station on June 27, 1892 to visit friends during his mission to recruit members to his La Liga Filipina
• Rizal in Tarlac Marker (Tarlac Town Plaza, Tarlac) - Rizal stayed in the house of Evaristo Puno when he visited Tarlac on June 27, 1892 to recruit members to his La Liga Filipina
• Leonor Rivera House (Camiling, Tarlac) - Leonor Rivera is said to be inspiration for Maria Clara in Noli Mi Tangere. Rizal and Rivera were in a relationship for eleven years. But Rivera's mother was against the relationship and intercepted letters from Rizal. She was later convinced by her mother that Rizal no longer love her and reluctantly married Henry Kipping from England.


National Capital Region - Metro Manila
• Rizal Park (Manila) - Also known as Bagumbayan or Luneta, this was the place of execution of Rizal on December 30, 2896
• Rizal Monument (Manila) - A National Monument, it houses the remains of Rizal. It was designed by Richard Kissling of Switzerland.
• Prison Cell of Rizal in Fort Santiago (Intramuros, Manila) - This was where Rizal was incarcerated during his trial from November 3 to December 29, 1896
• Rizal Shrine (Intramuros, Manila)
• Site of the Ateneo Municipal de Manila (Intramuros, Manila) - Rizal was a student of the Ateneo Municipal de Manila
• San Ignacio Church Ruins (Intramuros, Manila) - Rizal heard Mass here as a student of the Ateneo de Manila
• Site of the University of Santo Tomas (Intramuros, Manila) - Rizal was a student of the University of Santo Tomas in Intramuros from 1877 to 1882. A historical marker is located in the UST Campus in Espana, Sampaloc, Manila
• University of Santo Tomas (Sampaloc, Manila) - A historical marker is located in the UST Campus mentioning that Rizal was an alumnus of the university
• Paco Park (Paco, Manila) - Rizal's remains were secretly interred in the Paco Cemetery. They were guarded for fifteen days by the Guardia Civil Veterana. His remains were exhumed on August 17, 1898, placed in an urn and deposited in the Rizal Residence in Estraude Street.
• Rizal Residence (619 Estraude, Binondo, Manila) - The urn containing Rizal's bones were brought to this house until they were transferred to the Rizal Monument on December 30, 1912. Rizal's father Francisco Mercado died in the house on January 5, 1898.
• Residence of Rizal's Family (525 Magdalena, Binondo, Manila) - Site of house owned by Concepcion Leyva where Francisco Mercado, Teodora Alonzo and several of their children and grandchildren lived.
• Tuason House (C. Arellano Street, Malabon) - Rizal was a friend of Lorenzo Tuason, a free mason. According to oral tradition Rizal diagnosed and operated someone in the family. The very table where he had dinner is with an heir. Only the gate of the house is left.
• Paez House (C. Arellano cor. Paez Streets, Malabon) - Among the people Rizal is said to have visited during his trip to Malabon was Lucino Paez.

Region IV - Calabarzon Region
• Rizal Shrine (Calamba, Laguna) - A National Shrine, it is a replica of the Rizal House by Juan Nakpil. Restored by Executive Order No. 145 of President Elpidio Quirino, it was inaugurated on June 19, 1950.
• Calamba Church (Calamba, Laguna) - A National Historical Landmark, Rizal was baptized in the church by Fr. Rufino Collantes on June 22, 1861.
• Rizal in Binan Marker (Binan, Laguna) - Rizal received his first formal schooling under Justiniano Cruz who later advised him to further his studies in Manila.
• Alberto House (Binan, Laguna) - The house of Rizal's grandfather Lorenzo Alberto y Alonzo, Rizal lived there from 1870 to 1871 while he was studying in Binan. Sadly, the house is currently being dismantled and will be transferred to Bagac, Bataan. Such an important heritage structure should remain in Binan, Laguna.
• Paciano Rizal House (Los Banos, Laguna) - The house of Rizal's brother Paciano Rizal
• Casa Segunda (Lipa, Batangas) - A Heritage House, Casa Segunda is the residence of reputedly the first love of Rizal, Segunda Katigbak.


Region V - Bicol Region
• Rizal Monument (Daet, Camarines Norte) - This was the first monument honoring Rizal erected in the country. It was built by voluntary contributions of the people of Camarines Norte and unveiled on December 30, 1898. It is a National Historical Monument.


Region IX - Zamboanga Peninsula
• Rizal Shrine (Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte) - Rizal's estate during his exile in Dapitan, it houses replicas of structures he built there for himself, his family, pupils and patients including the Casa Residencia, Family Kitchen, Casa Redonda, Casa Quadrada, Casitas de Salud and Casa Redonda Pequena among many others.
• Waterworks of Rizal (Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte) - The waterworks Rizal built can still be found in the Rizal Shrine.
• Dapitan Plaza (Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte) - A National Historical Landmark, the Dapitan Plaza was planned and beautified by Rizal during his exile. Acacia trees which he personally planted can still be found in the plaza.
• Site of the Casa Real (Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte) - The official residence and administration building of the politico-military governor of the district, Rizal lived there from July 17, 1892 to March 1893 when he was transferred to Talisay, now the Rizal Dapitan Shrine.


• Dapitan Church (Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte) - Built in 1883, a historical marker can be found in the St. James Church of Dapitan in the exact spot where Rizal stood every Sunday during his exile from 1892 to 1896.
• Relief Map of Mindanao (Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte) - A National Cultural Treasure, Rizal created this map as an aid in teaching history and geography to the locals.
• Santa Cruz Beach (Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte) - On July 17, 1892, Rizal landed on Santa Cruz Beach at 7 p.m. with Captain Delgras and three artillery men. They walked through Sta. Cruz Street with a farol de combate to the Casa Real where he was presented to Don Ricardo Carnicero, the Spanish military governor of the area. A tableau was constructed in the site to commemorate Rizal's arrival in Dapitan.
• Dipolog Cathedral (Dipolog, Zamboanga del Norte) - Rizal is said to have designed the church altars of the Dipolog Cathedral. Although the facade has been extremely renovated, the interior remains relatively intact.
• Rizal Farm (Katipunan, Zamboanga del Norte) - The farm was acquired by Rizal from Calixto Carreon, a blind patient who offered it for free out of gratitude for his successful treatment. Rizal refused and paid him Php200 for the land. He cultivated it every weekend with his pupils.

I'm sure there are more sites which I missed. So if you know of any, please leave a comment below so that we could include the site in this list.

Jose Rizal the global traveler
Rizal was most definitely a jet-setter! Among the cities he visited were Singapore (then a British colony), Colombo (Ceylon now Sri Lanka), Aden (Yemen), Naples, Turin, Milan, Venice, Florence and Rome (Italy), Marseilles, Paris, Dieppe, Vernon, Rouen and Biarritz (France), Barcelona and Madrid (Spain), Strasbourg (then part of Germany), Heidelberg, Wilhelmsfeld, Bonn, Koblenz, Cologne, Frankfurt, Leipzig, Dresden, Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart, Nuremberg and Ulm (Germany), Leitmeritz or Litomerice, Prague and Brunn or Brno (Bohemia now Czech Republic), Vienna and Salzburg (Austria), Basel, Lausanne and Geneva (Switzerland), Port Said, Suez Canal and Alexandria (Egypt), Saigon and Chelong (Vietnam), Hong Kong (then a British colony), Yokohama and Tokyo (Japan), San Francisco, Sacramento, Reno, Ogden, Denver, Farmington, Salt Lake City, Provo, cities in Colorado, Nebraska, Illinois, Chicago, Albany and New York (United States), Queenstown, Liverpool and London (United Kingdom), Brussels and Ghent (Belgium), and North Borneo.

The first city outside the Philippines Rizal got to visit was Singapore. The first Eurpoean city he set foot on was Naples, Italy. I'm sure there are more cities that Rizal visited which he no longer mentioned in his letters. Note that he traveled to all these places in just a span of ten years from 1882 to 1892.

Do you share in promoting Rizal
Follow the 150th Birth Anniversary of Dr. Jose Rizal on Facebook and Twitter @Rizal150. And don't forget use the hashtag #Rizal150 when tweeting about Rizal. Blog about Rizal and share your posts on the Facebook page.

Pampanga: Giant Lantern Festival 2010

Better late than never! Congratulations to Barangay Santa Lucia for winning the Giant Lantern Festival 2010. They beat defending champions Barangay Dolores who placed second this year. Completing the top three is Barangay San Nicolas.



It's actually very difficult to judge the competition. But I guess the winners were quite obvious this year. I felt though that we need to jazz up the music next year for better audience impact. It should be a mix and remix of Christmas, pop and traditional music. It's also weird that some entries had similar music for the first round. I hope they become more creative next year and invest on the festival pieces.

See you all at the Giant Lantern Festival 2011 on December 17, 2011!

Lady Santas bring cheer on SEAIR Christmas flight to Boracay

Have you every taken a flight on Christmas Day? Well, I did for the first time yesterday. I took a SEAIR flight to Caticlan. And guess the surprise we got! Free goodies from SEAIR courtesy of two Lady Santas. And we got our own Santa hats as well.


Here are the Lady Santas greeting the passengers as they get down from the plane in Caticlan.


I was able to take some photos. Good thing many of the passengers took their own videos and I found this one on YouTube. So enjoy! I hope Glee's Puck enjoyed this Christmas surprise too.

Mark Salling of Glee flies to Boracay on Christmas Day

Mark Salling, who plays Noah Puckerman or Puck on Glee, took the last SEAIR flight to Boracay on Christmas Day. I was actually on the same SEAIR flight to Caticlan and got to have a photo taken with him while he was checking-in at the Manila Domestic Airport.


Here's a photo of Mark Salling with the SEAIR flight attendant. It was a really cool Christmas flight which I'll talk about in another post.


Thank you Mark Salling for visiting our beautiful country. And thank you for tweeting that you are in Boracay. It's a great boost to Boracay and Philippine tourism. Welcome and I hope you have a great time!

Masbate: Buntod Reef Marine Sanctuary, Pawa Mangrove Ecosystem & Bituon Beach

Masbate may have been the last province I visited. But it's definitely not the least. It was an exhilarating feeling as I stepped down from the plane into the Masbate Airport, finally having visited all 79 provinces of the Philippines. I wanted to explore as much of Masbate City as I could in a day. So as soon as I found a place to stay for the night, I was off to the beach.


I hired a tricycle to take me to Bituon Beach which is in the neighboring town of Mobo. It's one of the better beach resorts in Masbate. It took about 30 to 45 minutes to get there. If you want accommodation around Masbate City with a beach front you can swim in, this would be it.


But I wanted a more spectacular beach. And after inquiring around, it turned out there was a sandbar off the coast of Masbate City. So I hired a pump boat to take me to the Buntod Islet which is part of the Buntod Reef Marine Sanctuary.


It takes about 20 to 30 minutes to get to Buntod Islet. And from a distance, you could see that the scenery was stunning. On one side of the island was a small forest of dwarf mangroves. This area was covered with a lot of broken shells on the sand.

The opposite end of the island was a long sandbar. On one side of the sandbar, the water was warm, while the other side was cooler. There's also a large wooden structure which acts as a ranger station, where you could have lunch, take a nap or escape the heat of the sun. I didn't realize that Mayor Socrates Tuason was with his family at the hut that Saturday. He even invited us for a drink.



He suggested that I visit the Pawa Mangrove Ecosystem and Wildlife Park which I did. The main attraction is a 1.3-kilometer wooden bridge that connects Barangay Pawa and Sitio Daang Lungsod. It requires some hiking from the National Highway to get to it. There are some huts along the elevated boardwalk where you could have a picnic. And the area is also a great place for bird-watching.


I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening sleeping and resting from the heatstroke that hit me since the sun was scorching hot that day. In between beaches, I got to see some heritage structures around Masbate city including the Masbate Provincial Capitol, several Gabaldon schools, and the Bayot Ancestral House.

Rodeo Masbateño is the main festival of Masbate. But I'll have to come back in April to experience this rodeo show. If I had more time in Masbate, I would have arranged a visit to one or two ranches which are several hours from Masbate City.

Where to Stay in Masbate
I stayed at Baywalk Garden Hotel for one night which is quite comfortable and has free WiFi. It's actually by the shore (can't swim though since it's too shallow) where the nightlife is. But it's not close to the town proper. I moved to GV Hotel which is in town and closer to the airport since my flight was very early the next day.

Baywalk Hotel - (0907) 3042331 / (056) 3336648
Bituon Beach Resort - (056) 3338065 / (056) 3332242
MG Hotel - (056) 3335614
Hotel Sea Blick - (056) 3336911