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Region 6: Western Visayas ••• Antique ANTIQUE
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Anini-y
Reputedly
established by fisher folk, ca. 1600-30, Anini-y was inhabited
by fishermen who came from Asluman (Asloman), a barrio of Hamtic. Hamtic, the oldest settlement of Antique was under Augustinian
administration from the year 1851, when Fr. Miguel de Siguenza
was appointed minister.
Anini-y was a visita of Hamtic and priests from
the mother parish would visit the settlement on their mission
tours that brought them as far as Cagayancillo, islands in the
Sulu Sea. Fr. Hipólito Casimiro and Fray Felíx Roja
y Zuñiga were two priests credited with organizing and
evangelizing Anini-y in the 18th century. Anini-y became an independent parish on 22 March 1862, in accordance
with a decree of 20 December 1861.
Due
to lack of personnel, several Filipino seculars under the diocese
of Cebu were assigned to Anini-y, however, Antique governor Don
Joaquin Varón (1849-53) ordered the Augustinians to take
over administration "so that better buildings would rise
in Antique's skylines."
The Augustinian chapter of 1875 accepted the order. The first Augustinian parish priest was Fray Romualdo Crespo
who was appointed that same year.
The third and last Augustinian parish priest was Fray Jerónimo
Varquerín, who served Anini-y and Cagayancillo for 17 years
(1878-95). He continued serving Anini-y, three more
years after that. The
parish complex was vacant during the Philippine Revolition until
the Aglipayans took possession of it in 1902.
A Catholic missionary congregation, the Mill Hill Fathers,
took charge of Antique in 1906, and when Anini-y reverted to the
Catholic Church the fathers took charge of the parish in 1908.
Heritage
site:
Anini-y has the only preserved colonial church in Antique. This gem of a church is the third built in the town. The first was probably built by Fray Hipólito
Casiano, between 1630 and 38.
The church whose foundations still exist measured 33 x
13 meters. A second church of much greater length
but narrower at 48 x 12.5 meters was constructed close to the
earlier church. Work
began around 1845. Fray
Vaquerín was responsible for completing the present complex,
the convento in 1879 and the church, except for the arco
toral, was almost completed when the Augustinian left. Vaquer’n's
church measured 65 x 16 meters, and had a height of 10 meters.
The
convento was almost totally demolished during the world war, but
the Mill Hill priest Fr. William Erickweld preserved the ruins
while building a modern convento beside it.
In 1973, the church roof and back wall were damaged by
a typhoon, but Fr. Erickweld took pains to restore the church.
The
church belongs to 19th century revivalist styles, incorporating
traditional elements from the Baroque like the triangular pediment,
supported by a single story, divided into there sections by engaged
pilaster. Between the central pilasters is the arched
entrance to this single-naved church, pleasingly decorated by
rosettes. Flanking
the entrance are expanses of wall decorated by niches above, which
are rose windows. The pediment is likewise ornamented with
a niche and flanking blind occuli.
The facade comes to an end in stout pilasters ornamented
above with finials. The
three-story bell tower is attached to the church; its lowest floor
is quadrilateral while the upper floors are hexagonal.
Arched windows pierce the tower and a domical roof crowns
the whole structure.
Former
capital of Antique (until 1802) and after which the province was
named, Hamtic was under the spiritual administration of the Augustinians
beginning in 1581 when Fray Miguel de Siguenza was appointed minister. For a long time, Hamtic was the sole parish in area and counted
under its jurisdiction Dao, Anini-y, Casay and the island of Cagayancillo
in the Sulu Sea. To
administer this area, the priests had to travel from town to town,
going as far as Cagayancillo by boat.
Anini-y was the convenient jump off point to this remote
island. Initially, Augustinians found the inhabitants
difficult to convert, blaming this to their many superstitious
beliefs and the strong influences of the babaylan, native shamans. The friars were also saddled with lack
of personnel, so that the secular clergy had to be recruited to
attend to the spiritual needs of the people.
Fray
Hipólito Casimiro, appointed parish priest of Hamtic in
1690 and again in 1714, reported in 1705 reported 3,000 conversions
in Cagayancillo. He had the converts settle in Anini-y,
against their wishes, probably to be able to attend to their spiritual
needs better. It
is worth noting, the rather late date of this mass conversion;
in other provinces and places the Christian communities were thriving
and the people were building massive and opulent churches.
Hamtic
remained the capital of Antique until 1802 when San Jose de Buenavista
was made capital.
Formerly
Tubigon. San Jose
was established as Antique's capital in 1802.
Patnongon
Founded
as a visita of Sibalon in 1761, Patnongon was placed under the
patronage of San Agust’n.
It was made an independent parish in 1762, with Fray Francisco
Amperosa as first parish priest but reverted as a visita of Sibalon
in 1778. The parish was re-established in 1841 with Fray Joaqu’n Lopez
appointed as parish priest.
Heritage
site:
One of three places where the Augustinians built a church and
convento of stone and mortar, Patnongon has unfortunately lost
its much of historic structures due to human agency.
Fray Manuel Asensio, appointed parish priest in 1860, commenced
construction of the church. The succeeding pastors, Sabas Fontecha
(1872-89), Wenceslao Romero (1889) and Eustaquio Hera (1895) continued
work on the complex and completed it.
Fray Joaquín Fernández designed and landscaped
the church plaza in 1896. Unfortunately, two yeas later the church
was partially destroyed by revolucionarios. Although the Mill Hill fathers repaired the convento, restoring
its neoclassic lines, they demolished the remaining walls of the
church, except for part of the façade, to make way for
a school.
The
existing historic remains at Patnongon and old pictures of the
church show that both church and convento belonged to the neoclassical
idiom. The characteristics of both are shallow
engaged pilasters, flat walls, pierced by arched windows. The pilasters do not have proper capitals;
in their place are horizontal bars of masonry. The church represents a late colonial
style characterized by greater simplicity and economy of ornamentation.
Bugason
By
1596, the Augustinians had established a mission in Bugason and
gathered the people into a settlement.
Bugason became a visita of Hamtic.
The town of Bugason was established in 1700, peopled by
settlers from Guimbal in Iloilo.
Fray Tomás Sanchez and two others were assigned
in 1704 to work among the mountain dwellers of Antique.
They baptized a number of people and built a church in
the mountainous areas of Bugason. Bugason was considered a mission viva
until 1734, that is, it was classified as under the process of
conversion. However, according Fray Felix Rioja, Bugason
became a parish in 1731.
Fray Rioja was responsible for transferring the town to
a new site because it was exposed to slave raiders.
He built a church of light materials at the new site. Bugason remained a visita of Sibalon from
1740-45 and even as late as 1780, although politically it remained
an independent town.
Heritage
Site: Due to its vulnerable location, no permanent
church was built in Bugason's old site. In the new site, a church of masonry and iron was built by
Fray Manuel Asensio in 1867, although Jorde claims that he built
only the convento. Fray
Sabas Fontecha restored the church and decorated its interior. The church complex was destroyed in 1942 and never rebuilt.
What
is left of the historical structure is the convento. Even it ruins it is quite obvious that the plan and style hews
closely to that of Patnongon.
In fact the absence of true capitals, replaced instead
by horizontal bands of mortar, are also present in Bugason's convento. It would not be too daring then to speculate
that the Bugason church complex followed the sedate lines of neoclassicism.