Palimpsest, that is, diverse
layers apparent beneath the surface in arts of stone, are nowhere
clearer than in the churches of Bohol. The Loboc church itself has
two facades, each a good six feet away from the other. One is by the
Jesuits, the other by the Agustinian Recollects. Look closely, and
you could still see the Jesuits' medallion imprints of what look to
be saints and the Papal seal on the columns by the church's main
door.
Also, in Baclayon stands the
Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception church. Completed in 1727, it
stands today also as one of the oldest and the best preserved
stone churches that we have. Finely cut coral stone form the
cruciform transepts of the church, and tabique shape its squarish
cupola. Just ride all six kilometers from Tagbilaran to Baclayon for
an in-depth study of our architectural history.
Although there occurred in
Bohol two revolts during the Spanish regime-the Dagohoy and the
Tamblot—it is far more known to be the site of the blood compact or
treaty of friendship between Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and Datu
Sikatuna. A marker in the town of Loay can be seen by the roadside
en route from Tagbilaran to Loboc. The Sandugo (One Blood) fest in
June also commemorates the event.
My media colleagues and I,
together with friends from Philippine Airlines and the Hong Kong and
Shanghai Bank Corporation (HSBC) had already gleaned so much of
Bohol's history from Metropolitan Museum of Manila director Ino
Manalo. We had so far enjoyed this trip to the Philippines' 10th
largest island but we figured there were still some staple
sites we had to tick off from our list.
Off to the tarsiers we go.
The tiny primates stared back at us with their enormous eyes,
clinging to baby bamboo shoots, unmoving. They have dusty brown fur
and nearly naked tails that are longer than their body length. I
catched one tarsier leap to a neighboring shoot, its limbs
outstretched like a frog's.
As much as I wanted to touch
and cuddle them, I didn't. Imprinting human scent glands on them is
a bad
