Summary List and Fast-facts on new entries in the inventory of Marinduque's Local Cultural Property.
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23. PADRE DIEGO DE SAURA BAS-RELIEF |
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KARANIWANG PANGALAN (Common Name): Padre de Saura
Monument |
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LOKAL NA PANGALAN (Local name): Padre de Saura |
FRAY DIEGO DE SAURA
Diego de Saura y Vell was born in Alajor,
Spain in 1598, and died in Manila in 1631. He lived a short life full of
dedication to his sacred duty in the Philippines, especially in Marinduque.
After studying in Mallorca and
Barcelona he was a novitiate with the Jesuits in Barcelona. His first vows took
place in 1617, heard the amazing stories about the missionary work in America
and the Philippines, where he decided to go in 1622. According to accounts, he
had an extraordinary faith and had the ability to communicate with saints such
as St. Brigida, St. Angela de Fulgino, St. Gertrudis, St Hildergis and St.
Theresa de Jesus, all considered divinely inspired.
In 1977, to start the process for the
beatification of Padre Saura, 120 pilgrims from Menorca visited Marinduque.
They brought the remains of the priest so that Marinduque would be his final
resting place.
Bas-Relief Marker Text:
EL PUEBLO DE LA ISLA DE MENORCA
A SU HIJO, REVERENDO PADRE
DIEGO DE SAURA, MISIONERO JESUITA
EN LA ISLA DE MARINDUQUE
1598-1631
The bas-relief of Fray Diego de Saura that stands in the churchyard of the Boac Cathedral was sculpted by the award-winning Spanish artist Angel Tarrac, (1898-1979).
Diego de Saura arrived in Marinduque at about the same time as Fr. Juan de las Misas, the first Jesuit martyr, who both learned Tagalog in Marinduque, with the Society of Jesus sending more missionaries to Marinduque just to study the dialect. (ref. Fr. Christian V. San Juan). This detail may be important to historical researchers studying the propagation of Tagalog Marinduque in those years.
Boac Catholic Cemetery
Location: Brgy. Santol, Boac, Marinduque
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24. BOAC CATHOLIC
CEMETERY |
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KARANIWANG PANGALAN (Common Name): Sementeryo or
Campo Santo |
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LOKAL NA PANGALAN (Local name): Sementeryo or
Campo Santo |
This Cemetery has since served as the final resting place of the people of Boac.
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25. FONTANA DE BOAC |
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KARANIWANG PANGALAN (Common Name): Sirang Fountain |
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LOKAL NA PANGALAN (Local name): Sirang Fountain |
The pedestal was constructed of concrete by administration, while the life-sized statue of a Filipino child holding a fish, was cast in concrete by B. Nepomuceno, a Filipino sculptor located on Calle San Sebastian, Manila.
It could still be returned to its former glory and could be reverted to its former status as a symbol of Boac’s dynamism, where people converge in the Liwasan for souvenir shots with the fountain in the background.
Old photo of the fountain at the original spot.
Trahedyang Pangkalikasan Memorial Marker
Location: Brgy. Hinapulan, Boac, Marinduque
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26. TRAHEDYANG
PANGKALIKASAN MEMORIAL MARKER |
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KARANIWANG PANGALAN (Common Name): Boac River
Disaster Marker |
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LOKAL NA PANGALAN (Local name): Marker sa Boac
River Disaster |
More than two decades after the catastrophic mine waste disaster, Marinduqueños still seek compensation from Canadian mining giant Barrick Gold.
The 55,000 residents of the town of Boac, many of whom lost homes, rice fields, animals, and the use of the Boac River for food security and their livelihoods, continue to suffer from acidification and high metal levels in the river that has yet to be remediated.
Marinduqueños also remember the many victims,
and two children who died, when an earthen dam burst in the town of Mogpog,
just three years before the Boac River disaster. That dam was meant to hold
back tons of waste from the same copper-gold mine in the mountains. The dam was
less than two years old, but when it failed in December 1993, it inundated the
Mogpog River with so much metal laden silt. The Mogpog River is so heavily
silted and so acidic that it is devoid of life and causes skin ailments when
villagers along the river try to cross it.
Boac River Disaster of 1996
Marinduque Provincial Hospital
Location: Brgy. Santol, Boac, Marinduque
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27. MARINDUQUE
PROVINCIAL HOSPITAL |
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KARANIWANG PANGALAN (Common Name): Marinduque
Provincial Hospital |
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LOKAL NA PANGALAN (Local name): Marinduque
Provincial Hospital |
Established in 1949 by Dr. Pablo N. Marquez, the founder and prime mover of the Marinduque Provincial Hospital.
It is said that with good facilities then
comparable to urban hospitals, patients from as far as Mindoro and Romblon came
for medical treatment.
On
March 12, 1956, the first case of Philippine quadruplets, known as the Sales
quadruplets, were born at the Marinduque Provincial Hospital which created a
national sensation with celebrities coming to Marinduque to visit them at the
hospital. Born of a poor family, the hospital became their home with the
hospital staff under the guidance of Dr. Pablo N. Marquez taking turns to take
care of them. They remained ‘wards of the state’.
Luzon Datum of 1911 (Station Balanacan)
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28. LUZON DATUM OF 1911
(STATION BALANACAN) |
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KARANIWANG PANGALAN (Common Name): LUZON DATUM |
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LOKAL NA PANGALAN (Local name): LUZON DATUM |
The reference mark is on a hard, white boulder of about one cubic meter in volume, standing 80 cm above the ground and 90 cm higher than the station. The mark is a hole 1.5 cm in diameter and 8 cm deep, at the center of a cross cut on top of this stone.
The site has been developed after its rediscovery. The place cleared, the stone marker now inside a small steel fence
During the American occupation, the
USGS used Luzon Datum of 1911 to gather information for topographic, geodetic
and hydrographic surveys. It was established with triangulation Station
Balanacan as its datum origin which is now the primary geodetic reference
center of all surveys in the Philippines.
The National Mapping and Resource
Information Authority (NAMRIA), the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR) formed a task group with the National Historical Commisssion
of the Philippines (NHCP) and the Provincial Government of Marinduque to
protect and preserve this national site. The area has since been developed as a
tourist site.
On the 100th anniversary of Luzon
Datum in 2011, a historical marker was installed by the National Historical
Commission at Station Balanacan. It reads:
STATION BALANACAN
DATUM ORIGIN OF THE LUZON DATUM OF 1911
DITO ITINATAG (LATITUD: 13 33’41”.000 N; LONGHITUD: 121 52’03.000 e; CLARKE SPHEROID 1856) NI O.w. FERGUSON, UNITED STATES COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY (USCGS) NA PANGUNAHING GEODETIC STATION PARA SA TRIANGULATION NETWORK NG PILIPINAS, 1906. ITINALAGANG DATUM ORIGIN NG LUZON DATUM NA ITINATAG NI E.R. FRISBY SA PAMAMAGITAN NG BATONG MOHON SA MISMONG PUNTO NG ORIHEN, 1911. NAGING BATAYAN NG MGA SUMUNOS NA KWENTA NG EKSAKTONG LATITUD AT LONGHITUD NG MGA POSISYON SA LAHAT NG PANIG NG PILIPINAS. INANGKOP ANG DATO NITO NG UNITED STATES COAST AND GEODETIC SRVEY (USCGS), 1911; NG BUREAU OF COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY (BCGS) NG PILIPINAS 1950; AT NG NATIONAL MAPPING AND RESOURCE INFORMATION AUTHORITY (NAMRIA), 1987. PATULOY NA NAGSISILBING DATUM ORIGIN SA KABILA NG PAGTAAS SA ANTAS NG PHILIPPINE REFERENCE SYSTEM OF 1992 (PRS92).
Historically, heart-shaped Marinduque has been dubbed the “Heart of the Philippines” and by coincidence, the stone marker strengthens its significance in Philippine geography.
