Pagsanjan reborn

For many decades, Pagsanjan in Laguna, located just 100 kilometers from Manila, has attracted many tourists. However, it is not its proximity that made the town popular. It is the beauty of the cascading Pagsanjan Falls that has lured adventurers and nature lovers away from the city and into this quaint rural area.

Pagsanjan got its name from a river which forks into two smaller tributaries. In Tagalog, it is literally translated as “pinagsangahan ng dalawang ilog.” This river is the town’s lifeline. This is where the people get their food, water and main source of livelihood.

In the 1970s, the town suffered from the reputation of being a popular destination of foreign pedophiles. But for the past few years, the people of Pagsanjan have been taking efforts to erase that reputation. They want their area to be known as a town rich in history, inhabited by Christ-centered residents ensuing generations-old traditions.

Pagasanjan has been able to preserve prominent historical markers. Upon entering the town, the 120-year-old arch of Guadalupe is the first to welcome its visitors. It was erected in 1880. Locals believe that Guadalupe, the town’s patron saint, stands guard by the arch to keep the bandits away from this peaceful place.

Established in 1670, the Parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe is currently the home of the original statue of Guadalupe. The icon was brought to Pagsanjan by the town’s first parish priest, Fr. Agustin de la Magdalena, from Mexico.

Over the centuries, Pagsanjan has borne the brunt of rebellions and wars. The church was destroyed with only the belfry and a brick wall as reminders of a turbulent past. Local residents have recently expressed solidarity in bringing the church back to its old glory. They have started raising funds to start restoration work.

Rizal Street, the main thoroughfare, lines the 100-year- old Spanish houses, attesting to the town’s old elite. Descendents of its first owners still prefer to live there.

These ancestral houses, called bahay na bato, were built to withstand natural calamities, bombings and wars, relying on its foundations made of the stones from the Pagsanjan River. The windows are made of capiz, while the floors are made of thick planks hewn from old hardwood trees. These are religiously polished as they had been when they were first laid out.

Although uninhabited, the grandest of these old houses is that of the Ejercito family from which President Joseph Estrada is a descendant. It was the residence of Estrada’s parents, Don Porong and Doña Mary. Since their children have gone and moved to other places, it has long been abandoned for a long, long time.

After years of neglect, it was recently reconstructed to be preserved for the family’s posterity.

Just before reaching Pagsanjan’s border is the Monument of Sambat commemorating the heroic acts of some Taiwanese conscripts of the Japanese army who turned against the invaders and allied themselves with the locals during the Second World War.

Although the town’s history molded Pagsanjan, it is its people that made its tourism flourish. The town receives around 700 tourists everyday, both local and foreign. During summer, they expect almost a thousand visitors a day. Its popularity opened doors to numerous business opportunities, mostly hotels and restaurants located along the riverside.

This is also where many men in Pagsanjan found their main means of livelihood, working as boatmen to tourists. They also serve as the official tour guides.

Each boat can only carry two or three passengers with a couple of bangkeros positioned at each end of the bangka. For a R600 fee per person, the bangkeros carry them on a six-foot banca, rowing upstream through a seven-kilometer river gorge, sometimes maneuvering the boat over rocks all the way to the falls. It takes a lot of skill to do this job. What makes the ride more exciting are 16 rapids meandering through a lush rainforest. The bancas pass through there before reaching the waterfalls.

The trip lasts an hour-and-a-half. At the end is the gorgeous sight of the 70-foot falls. There, tourists can ride a raft that takes them to the falling water for R50. People who have tried this ride were all delighted, attesting that it was well worth it.

Recognizing the efforts of the town’s most hardworking people, Mayor Abner Afuang organized the first Bangkarero Festival in May 1999. The word bangkarero comes from two words, bangka and karera, or boat and race.

The boat race took place at the place where the river forks. It was such a festive event as the people watched from the riverbanks, cheering for their favorite bangkero. In the afternoon, a fluvial parade was held commemorating Our Lady of Guadalupe. After that, a santacruzan was held in the main streets of the town to parade Pagsanjan’s most beautiful women.

Pagsanjan is now recovering from the reputation that has negatively tainted this peaceful town. The people can only be grateful now that their efforts are slowly bearing fruits.

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