The unique character of Negros town plazas

This week, we continue with our series on Philippine plazas. We journeyed to Silay in Negros Occidental last week, while this week we visit two small towns in Negros Oriental. To remind readers, we feature these plazas because they represent a heritage of space we inherited mainly from the Spanish-colonial era. We are taking great strides in conserving old houses, buildings and churches, but few realize we are also losing the context of these structures.

We have featured Dumaguete City, the capital and main urban center of the province, as well as Bacong, the town just south of it, in earlier articles in this series. Proceeding further in this direction we reach the towns of Dauin and Zamboanguita.

Both towns have large land areas but small populations of about 25,000 each. Tourists flock to the area as jumping points to Apo Island, which is technically a barangay under Dauin town’s jurisdiction. The rich underwater diversity of Apo is world-renowned and since there is only one resort on the island, most other accommodations for the intrepid visitor are to be had in Dauin and to a much lesser extent in Zamboanguita.

Despite their small populations, both towns have a rich history and heritage seen in their individually distinctive churches and plazas.

Dauin is the slightly larger town with a larger church, but its plaza is smaller. The town and its San Nicolas Church are reportedly some of the oldest in the province. The church is a sizeable structure mainly improved in the late 19th century in stone. The Recollect Order’s history states they administered it until 1969, after which it was turned over to the secular clergy in 1969. The stone church appears to be in good shape save for the bell tower’s metal roof, which appears to be deteriorating.

Dauin’s plaza is about three-fourths of a hectare in size. The town’s small municipal hall is on the eastern edge with the church defining the southern edge. The church’s façade faces the sea, as do most churches in the province. Ruins of two Spanish-era watchtowers are nearby. The municipal hall, built in 1951, takes the form of a traditional presidencia. The plaza itself is more than half-paved with a parking lot, unfortunately taking up most of the front of the town hall. There are also basketball and tennis courts on the other end of the plaza.

Zamboanguita’s plaza is over a hectare in size, but it seems much larger, maybe because the church and other structures around it are small.  The plaza is also mostly green, with only some areas paved nearer the town hall. This municipal structure dates from 1956. It looks like Federico Illustre, chief architect of the Department of Public Works and Highway in that decade, designed it.

Zamboanguita takes its name from the province in Mindanao that is directly south across the sea from the town. The town is famous for its Wednesday Malatapay market, as well as for some resorts that support the tourism based around Apo Island. It is perfect for those seeking peace and quiet.

The church of Zamboanguita, the church of San Isidro Labrador, like Dauin’s, is also a Recollect church. It is unique in that it uses mamposteria, or rubble consisting of round river stones, as its main building material. The palitada (or plaster), which used to cover and protect this, has peeled away. It should be reinstated to keep it intact and free form intrusion of moisture. The structure is not particularly large and its interiors have apparently lost some of its original ornamentation and furniture.

Like most other towns, the local school is nearby. It is not a Gabaldon-type of structure but it is an old complex, expanded apparently in the 1950s. I took note of two statues on either side of the front yard of the school. These are a boy scout and his distaff counterpart, saluting across to each other. I’ve found many other schools in towns and cities in the Visayas have this cute tandem. Scouting was really big in the ‘50s and ‘60s but apparently the scouting movement has since declined.

I had wanted to travel farther down the Negros coast but ran out of time. The next town is Siaton, which is home to picturesque Tambobo Bay. This is a secret refuge that is home to “yachties,” adventurers who travel from all over the region. Many establish roots here, living on water but also embedding themselves in social work and interaction with the locals. Dozens of yachts are regularly seen moored in the bay, a sight that I would have to wait for another time to see.

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