Cultural Heritage

The Philippines has a rich cultural heritage that springs from our Hispanic past. Some archaeological finds show that Filipinos developed a culture similar to those of our Asian neighbors. Trade and intermarriage with them has left an indelible mark.  An interesting discovery occurred when we went on a tour to Singapore and Malaysia. We found many similarities in language as is shown in the picture below.

The Malaysian terms "waktu buka"  meaning opening hour is very similar to "sakto bukas" if translated literally in our Filipino language. The admission rates in Malaysian terms "Bayaran Masuk" can be translated to Fipino as "Bayad para makapasok" It was a very exciting discovery on our part, that we took  a photograph of this Bulletin Board in the Orchid Garden of Singapore.

There are similarities in physical appearance and food preparations, too. Has our physical appearance something to do with the food we eat? It is highly probable. Do we share the same Malayan gene?  All these possibilities need serious study and research.

 

A photograph I took of Paoay Church in our Lakbay-Aral to Ilocandia.

Our architectural heritage and religious practices show more evidence of the Hispanic influence, however. Years of colonization during the Spanish Regime made us more Spanish than Asian in many ways.   Churches in Vigan and the Ilocos Region are silent testimonies of the past. We hope they survive the test of time. We regret the destruction of Cultural Heritage Churches in Bohol in the recent earthquake that hit the Visayas in 2013. We learned a painful but solid lesson from this experience. I really hope that plans of retrofitting the remaining Heritage Churches are underway.

We may have lost some bastions of our faith but the photographs and memories of those Churches will remain. The faith of our people have grown stronger and firmer through all the storm surges and earthquakes we’ve gone through. The Church is not just the building where we congregate and worship together.  As St. Peter says, “You are living stones, built up into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” (1Pt. 2:5)

The whole world have seen the devastation and many came to help us in our need. You have shown solidarity beyond the call of duty. It was beautiful, beyond compare! Volunteers from different creeds and races united in the name of brotherhood. Thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts. 

Above all, we thank God for all the means He has chosen to teach us the lessons of life. Painful at times, but always full of healing and salvation. All those were obviously tests of our faith as we concluded the Year of Faith.