Posted on December 17, 2009 - by Vic

PALAUI ISLAND’S CAPE ENGANO LIGHTHOUSE – It might be Lonesome but Darkness will never fall in this Island

By Vic Albornoz Lactaoen
Photography by Teodoro L. Pelaez and Roberta Gonzales

The town of Santa Ana on the northeastern tip of Cagayan Province is one those interesting places to visit when you visit the province of Cagayan Valley. Although it has always been dubbed as the Gateway to the Pacific because of various reasons, it remains pure and welcoming to any visitors who come and visit the town. Of late, it is becoming to be popularly known as the game fishing mecca of the Philippines where various nationalities indulge themselves in the said sports in April of every year, and the home of the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA), an agro-industrial center.

But the town is likewise famous for its centuries-old Faro de Cabo Engano (Cape Engano Lighthouse) built by the Spaniards in the early 18th century located in the timber-rich island of Palaui.

Considered as one of the last frontiers of the country, Santa Ana is actually an intimate introduction to nature and one couldn’t ask for a more serene, natural, and remote but exotic locale. Here, the environs can take you back to a time when unexplored powdery white sand beaches were really unexplored.

My first time on the island was in 2003 when I decided to feature the pristine beaches of Anguib and the surrounding coastal town areas of Cagayan Valley. For my first impression, this island destination has instantly amazed me and has always been included in my list of recommended beaches in the Philippines.

Despite its remoteness, Palaui Island is home to 105 species of rattan and similar commercially valuable timber producing wood species plus 25 imported shrubs and other trees with more than 50 hectares of undisturbed coral reefs.

The waters around the island boast of 21 commercial species of fishes and is the sanctuary of 90 migratory birds.

In April 1970, then strongman Ferdinand Marcos declared the area as a marine and wildlife sanctuary which was earlier endorsed by the World Wildlife Fund General Charles Lindberg.

From Port San Vicente, my group and I was ferried by two motorized outrigger boats courtesy of Sta. Ana Mayor Victor Rodriguez and off we went riding the Pacific waves for Anguib, a village of San Vicente with Palaui Island closely watching us silently to our left.

Big rock formations and an endless stretch of white sand beaches greeted us. Virginal was the first word that came to mind to describe the beach as the group frolicked into it just before lunch of adobong baboy and pinakbet with freshly picked organically grown tomatoes. The crystal blue water was irresistible; the group can’t help but take a brief swim and snorkeling within the cove. A puffer fish under a big rock was caught by one of our outrigger pilots and was released later after scrutiny while the rest of the gang beach combed the area for shells and hermit crabs.

During my first visit a few years back, it took us almost an hour to reach the Cape Engano Lighthouse after climbing slippery boulders contouring the eastern side of the island and negotiating a few kilometers of virgin beaches. It was also Friday the 13th – so my visit to this interesting island sitio has always remained unforgettable. Perhaps, I felt the same way like the Spanish seafarers felt who first set foot on the cape that were so enthralled by its natural beauty that they named it Engano.

Faro de Cabo Engano or now popularly known as Cape Engano is one of the 27 major lighthouses in the country, which until now, continues to play a major role in navigation, especially for ships traversing the Babuyan Channel in Northern Luzon and the Pacific Ocean. It is currently under the supervision of the Department of Transportation and Communications, through the Philippine Coast Guard’s lighthouse division. It is the first light station upon entering or the last when leaving Philippine waters heading for the Pacific Ocean. It played a crucial part in assisting trade and navigation between Spain and the Philippines. Later on the Spaniards realized its importance when trade grew between neighboring Formosa (Taiwan), Japan, as well as the Islands of Guam and further to the west coast of the United States and Australia. It continues to guide vessels heading toward northern Luzon’s most important port, Aparri.

From a distance, we caught a glimpse of the lighthouse perched on top of a hill with wild blue grass cascading all over its surroundings below. To our left were the Dos Hermanas islands, a rock formation and the last land mass on the Pacific side. Legend has it that the island had two sisters who, centuries ago bade goodbye to their husbands on a fishing expedition, only to be left waiting since then for their return.

After negotiating some 229 concrete stairway zigzagging the to the top, we finally arrived. So, this is the famed Cape Engano lighthouse overlooking the Ziwangag Cove to the north.

The brass marker nailed by the Spaniards was gone save for a rusting Coca Cola sponsored signboard which needed immediate replacement. The U-shaped building formerly housed employees of the Philippine Navy and other officials in charge of the lighthouse. The lighthouse was completed on the 31st of December 1892.

It was likewise rehabilitated by the American forces, as it is the only visible house in Northeastern Luzon seen from an 8 nautical miles distance. The roof was gone on both sides of the building and the lighthouse was constructed at the center. Sadly, the lighthouse ceased to provide the necessary service to guide navigators in this part of the world.

During the Japanese occupation, the underground area at the foot of the lighthouse was used by the Japanese for water torture treatment as a form of punishment to Filipinos. During the American occupation and subsequent administration by the Philippine government, some of the rooms near the kitchen area eventually became the generator room and fuel bunker. Water was provided by collecting rainwater diverted and stored in a cistern located below the courtyard.

For Teresa Jamorabon, she recalled the years when living at the Faro de Cabo Engano were everything she, her husband and their brood of nine could only dream of. Her husband, the late Gregorio Jamorabon, was among the longest serving lighthouse keepers in the Cape Engano light station in Palaui Island at the northeastern tip of the archipelago. From 1946 to 1968, the Jamorabons called the Cape Engano lighthouse their home.

“It was wonderful. We were like living in paradise; we had everything we needed. We were happy because best of all, my husband was working while he had with him his family,” Teresa Jamorabon,” an 80 year old patriarch who still posses some vivid memories said. “The complex use to shelter seven crew members tasked with maintaining the lighthouse. Their families lived with them. The station had four major structures: the one – story main pavilion that serves as the office and the workers’ quarters; two smaller identical buildings, which used to be the kitchen; and the storeage and powerhouse. At the center is the 11-meter (47 foot) octagonal tower, whose protruding attic (the platform on which the crown and lantern rests) is visible from all angles around the cape.

Living there was the object of envy for many people of Santa Ana, simply because it was the only place in the area where residents had electricity. “Santa Ana was still then a dense jungle, so that when people came here, it was like they felt like they were just in the city, she said. Their rations of rice, beans, noodles, cooking oil and kerosene –arrived every month and was shared equally among the workers, regardless of rank. The workers also raised goats to augment their food needs. The forest and the sea were also abundant sources of food, said Imelda Jamonabon-Leano, the eighth child of Teresa – now a grade school teacher at the Santa Ana Central Elementary School.

Old lighthouses when seen, gives the impression that it is like a woman who has lived her time. If only the walls could talk-there would be endless stories to tell.

Sad to say, the light station sits forlorn on the isolated island – like a woman abandoned by her lover. Last time I came here, there was still a commemorative marker giving the island and its lighthouse its proper respect and identity. Today, vandals have taken this marker without any remorse to the history attached to it. At the time of my visit, the original lantern (and bronze cupola which houses it) was missing. A temporary solar-based tertiary lighting mechanism was installed in its place. The lighthouse continues to be destroyed by natural as well as by manmade elements. Old wooden beams that have remained are just memories of the structure that was built to withstand the test of time. The windows, doors and roof of the main pavilion, as well as the kitchens and storage rooms reminds me of how it would have been like with the US militia forces forced entry into the house of Iraqi civilians.

With the program of modernization by the Department of Transportation and Communication which supervises the Coast Guard and its Lighthouse division, it is hoped that the lighthouse in Cabo Engano will eventually receive a new lantern. The balcony surrounding the attic (the platform on which the cupola and lantern rests) has been renovated in the past. Its original supporting metal brackets have been replaced by concrete. The interior of the light tower still retains its original metal spiral staircase and some of the original mechanisms and structural members.

However, there’s a lot to be done here. The building needs total rehabilitation or restoration to make the trip worthwhile. It is a historical landmark in the Northern Philippines and travel writers and local guides’ advice that the national and provincial government should move fast if only to lure tourists over the place.

The support structure, which undoubtedly has seen better times, is in need of a complete restoration. One wonders though, considering that the history of this light station was marred with numerous tragedies, if it is fitting that we restore it to its original state. It could be kept in its present state as a memorial for those who perished in constructing this structure (It is said that 78 people had died at the cape).

The trek itself amidst a panoramic land and seascapes were already a big gain. As we bid the lighthouse goodbye, we promised to be back soon for another exhilarating experience to Palaui island. It is really a gateway to the Pacific and it shows!