MANILA, Philippines - Unity through heritage—the one message that the Filipino Heritage Festival has been promoting since 2003 through the annual National Heritage Month celebrations.

For the closing of the 2008 celebrations recently, the festival chose Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental in the Visayas (the opening had been in Cagayan de Oro in Mindanao). The choice could not have been more appropriate, for Dumaguete is a model of social cohesion and unity.

The high point of the closing ceremonies was the inauguration of the Sidlakang Negros Tourism Village, a project of Gov. Emilio Macias II. Located just beside the Hall of Justice in Barangay Piapi, the village is composed of 25 booths of re-invented nipa and bamboo huts assigned to each local government unit of the province.

In 1988, Macias opened a showroom and gallery of Negros Oriental arts and crafts, called Sidlakang Negros, or Eastern Negros. The present Sidlakang Negros Tourism Village amplifies that concept in an enduring form.

It is the one location where the people of Negros Oriental come together as one to promote their harvests, delicacies, products, culture and tourist sites. A stage and open-air auditorium provides local artists with an avenue to showcase their talents and skills.

Leon Kilat

Among those who showcased their talents were Silliman University’s College of Performing Arts. They performed a play based on the life of Pantaleon Villegas and his anting-anting or amulets. Better known as Leon Kilat (Leon of the Lightning), Villegas led the revolutionaries in Cebu during the Philippine revolution against Spain.

Villegas’ relatives would tell stories how the folk hero had the uncanny ability to seemingly appear and disappear at will with the aid of his handkerchief and with the speed of lightning.

Those who saw Villegas in battle would claim “he would advance toward his enemies even with bullets buzzing around him. It would be difficult to hit him. Or, even if he is hit, he simply dusts himself off and he is not even hurt.”

Villegas came from Bacong, Negros Oriental, whose people are known for their bravery and for standing up to the Moro marauders who historically raided and pillaged the town and kidnapped the natives for the slave trade.

“Bacon! Bacon!” (Rise! Stand up and fight!) was the rallying cry of the town folk during the raids that occurred well into the Spanish era, when the friars built massive churches and fortifications to ward off the marauders.

According to the historical notes of Fr. Roman Sagun Jr., the raids eventually ceased and the town was able to develop.

On May 2, 1849, the Parish of Bacong—under the patronage of St. Augustine of Hippo—was established in accordance with Church law and those of the patronato real. Recollect Fray Joaquin Soriano was its first parish priest.

During the term of Fray Jorge Carcavilla, the church acquired a pipe organ built by the House of Roque de Zaragosa in Spain.

In November 2001, the National Museum declared the church as a National Cultural Treasure. It is being restored by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

Silliman

Meanwhile, Dumaguete is best known for Silliman University.

Founded on Aug. 28, 1901, Silliman is the oldest American university in Asia. When Protestant missionaries of the Presbyterian Church started the school, they named it after Dr. Horace Brinsmade Silliman (1825-1910), a retired businessman and philanthropist from New York.

Silliman began as a boy’s school and started to offer college degree courses in 1910. It opened its doors to girls in 1912.

In 1938, it became the first school outside of Manila to be recognized as a university.

As part of the Heritage Month celebrations, Silliman University hosted the “Handurawan” photo exhibit.

“Handurawan is a graphic recollection of fond memories,” explained artist Danny Sollesta, who headed the project.

Images of old Dumaguete, most of which are those of Silliman University during its earlier years, were put on display.

The photographs of Silliman students having fun—some even playing tennis—were well-preserved. The images presented warm-hearted memories.

A younger brother of Silliman University is Silliman Hall. Constructed in 1903, the building is a typical American structure designed as a colonial mansion. It used to hold the school library, classroom and faculty until World War II when it was seized by the Japanese who used it as their provincial headquarters.

Silliman Hall houses the university printing press. Artifacts and archaeological discoveries dating back to 2,000 years ago as well as an ethnographic collection of Philippine tribal minorities are also on exhibit.

Silliman Hall also serves as the perfect setting for those in the mood for a little nostalgia, such as the heritage festivities where folk dances and kundimans were performed by the locals and Ang Ating Pamana group, respectively.

Nature tours

While Negros Oriental truly has a lot to offer, heritage-wise, its natural resources are also something to look forward to.

For those who enjoy nature treks, there’s Balanan Nature Resort in Barangay Sandulot, Siaton, home of three majestic waterfalls on the far side of Balanan Lake. A one-hectare pond ideal for fishing can be found in the southeast.

Balanan Lake is 285 meters above sea level and a “humerus” bone-formed body of water oriented along a northwest-southeast direction with an area of 24 hectares.

Another body of water worth visiting is Tañon Strait, the narrow channel between Negros and Cebu islands known to have one of the biggest concentrations of cetaceans in the world.

From Bais City, visitors can avail themselves of the tour and see dolphins and sometimes pygmy sperm whales in their natural habitat.

The tour also includes a stopover at Manjuyod’s White Sand Bar, a kilometer-long strip of white beach in the middle of North Bais Bay. The area is visible only during low tide and disappears at high tide. Cottages accommodate picnickers and overnighters.

E-mail the author at dxmatilla@yahoo.com