City of Malabon
As I marveled at the old pictures of Intramuros in Manila, my attention was captured by an old photo with the old facade of the San Bartolome church in Malabon. Also in the photo was the old tranvia in Malabon "Tranvia de vapor a Malabon" railing across the San Bartolome church.
As I marveled at the old pictures of Intramuros in Manila, my attention was captured by an old photo with the old facade of the San Bartolome church in Malabon. Also in the photo was the old tranvia in Malabon "Tranvia de vapor a Malabon" railing across the San Bartolome church.
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| Tranvia de Vapor a Malabon Photo source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9OqvpzT9rovxVTg4W8CrmHmcBiHx2_NX9OoGWikHAuoKrO2ptspp0JT7wMS0a9iSO6ZMqZ7rJqE6v3EQKgP9NHt9vBKMwZDjMxRcsxdW76Kwm-AQBs83IfZJzTlUXvnBGDQJVhqDWhVhyphenhyphen/s1600/Malabon.jpg |
The old photo has inspired me to explore San Bartolome church in Malabon.
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| Old Iglesia de San Bartolome (with the Old Convento at the right) Photo source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC0iDhBWigNsnCyZDg54hT564Jeyxmslrc979w_gPByNDXRnedAdSnsKcp8ivg-kWdKlP_1-3IX9h5DYyWfdN4X5kpVZCKIhox-LnVwRka6_d57LpJRAXtSK2o7dYis5r0_piG-dlU7oo/s1600/10+copy.jpg |
According to some sources and reading materials, the San Bartolome church is one of the few old churches near Manila that was spared from the destruction of the World War II. This information made me more excited to see the church.
Background: Malabon, per legend, came from the words "maraming labong" which means "plenty of labong", the edible bamboo shoots. Originally called the town of Tambobong, Malabon was founded as a “Visita” of Tondo by the Augustinian friars on May 21, 1599 and remained under the administrative jurisdiction of the province of Tondo from 1627 to 1688.
The newspaper La Independencia was first printed in Malabon’s Asilo de Huérfanos, where orphaned children due to a plague in 1882 were housed.
Malabon was officially made a municipality of the newly created province of Rizal on June 11, 1901 by virtue of Philippine Commission Act No. 137. When Act No. 942 was promulgated, Malabon was merged with Navotas under a new government. On January 16, 1906, Act No. 1441 separated Malabon from Navotas into two distinct municipalities of the Rizal province. The first Mayor of Malabon was Vicente Villongco.
For 70 years, Malabon was a municipality of Rizal, until November 7, 1975, by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 824, when Malabon became a part of Metropolitan Manila or the National Capital Region. Malabon became a city on April 21, 2001, under Republic Act No. 9019 when Malabon was 407 years old.
Former Mayor Tito Oreta, who died in office in 2012, was credited with building some of Malabon's most important modern infrastructure projects, including the new eleven-story Malabon City Hall, the Oreta Sports Complex Building and a Government Center Annex.
The City of Malabon is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila in the Philippines. Located just north of Manila, the city has a population of 353,337 as of 2010. It is primarily a residential and industrial town and is one of the most densely populated cities in the metropolis. It has a total land area of 19.714 square kilometers.
Malabon is part of the sub-region of Metro Manila informally called CAMANAVA, which consists of CAloocan, MAlabon, NAvotas, and VAlenzuela cities. Caloocan lies to the south and east, Navotas to the west, and Valenzuela to the north. Malabon also borders the town of Obando in the province of Bulacan to the northwest (Wikipedia).
In my more than 20 year stay in the City of Manila, I never visited Malabon before. The first thing that comes to my mind whenever I hear the word Malabon is "Patis", a by-product of Bagoong, a fish sauce.
Background: Malabon, per legend, came from the words "maraming labong" which means "plenty of labong", the edible bamboo shoots. Originally called the town of Tambobong, Malabon was founded as a “Visita” of Tondo by the Augustinian friars on May 21, 1599 and remained under the administrative jurisdiction of the province of Tondo from 1627 to 1688.
The newspaper La Independencia was first printed in Malabon’s Asilo de Huérfanos, where orphaned children due to a plague in 1882 were housed.
Malabon was officially made a municipality of the newly created province of Rizal on June 11, 1901 by virtue of Philippine Commission Act No. 137. When Act No. 942 was promulgated, Malabon was merged with Navotas under a new government. On January 16, 1906, Act No. 1441 separated Malabon from Navotas into two distinct municipalities of the Rizal province. The first Mayor of Malabon was Vicente Villongco.
For 70 years, Malabon was a municipality of Rizal, until November 7, 1975, by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 824, when Malabon became a part of Metropolitan Manila or the National Capital Region. Malabon became a city on April 21, 2001, under Republic Act No. 9019 when Malabon was 407 years old.
Former Mayor Tito Oreta, who died in office in 2012, was credited with building some of Malabon's most important modern infrastructure projects, including the new eleven-story Malabon City Hall, the Oreta Sports Complex Building and a Government Center Annex.
The City of Malabon is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila in the Philippines. Located just north of Manila, the city has a population of 353,337 as of 2010. It is primarily a residential and industrial town and is one of the most densely populated cities in the metropolis. It has a total land area of 19.714 square kilometers.
Malabon is part of the sub-region of Metro Manila informally called CAMANAVA, which consists of CAloocan, MAlabon, NAvotas, and VAlenzuela cities. Caloocan lies to the south and east, Navotas to the west, and Valenzuela to the north. Malabon also borders the town of Obando in the province of Bulacan to the northwest (Wikipedia).
In my more than 20 year stay in the City of Manila, I never visited Malabon before. The first thing that comes to my mind whenever I hear the word Malabon is "Patis", a by-product of Bagoong, a fish sauce.
In the province when I was still a small boy, whenever someone goes to Manila, my grandfather would always send an empty plastic container "Gallon" to be filled with "Patis" from Malabon. That was the first time I heard Malabon and that was the way I knew the place - source of "Patis".
It was a gloomy Saturday morning. I just came from Hidalgo Street in Quiapo to see some camera repair shops. At home, I Googled San Bartolome in Malabon and checked the Map and Satellite view of the place. The church is located at Rizal Avenue Extension, Malabon City.
From the map, I had two plans of getting to the church location. My first plan was to take a cab from my place near Malacanang and take the Roxas Boulevard all the way to Radial 10 Road in Tondo and then C4 (near the church).
My second option was to get to Tayuman, take the LRT all the way to Monumento and then check if there are public transports there going to Malabon.
Being budget conscious and a backpacker, I decided to go for LRT in Tayuman.
It was almost 12noon when I reached Monumento LRT station from Tayuman. From there, I checked the signages of the jeepneys bound west. I happened to see "Malabon Bayan" and then asked the driver if he will pass-by San Bartolome church. I picked the correct jeepney and from Monumento I went straight to Malabon Bayan.
There were big trucks loaded with container vans along the way and as expected there was a heavy build-up of traffic. It took me near an hour to reached San Bartolome church from Monumento.
As I walked through the church, I saw some old/heritage houses lined up the street though they are all in serious ruined state - I was sad. I knew that there are still few heritage houses in Malabon but I saved them all to see in my next trip to the area.
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| Facade of San Bartolome Church |
I was so excited to see the church. As I alighted from the jeepney, my attention was caught by the towering belltowers of the church.
I was surprised though as I stood infront of the church facade to see that a major renovation was in full swing. I immediately noticed the cylindrical columns at the church faced - the plaster were all chipped out exposing the abode stones, which the columns are made of.
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| Facade Columns Exposed |
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| Details of Restoration |
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| Facade with the Seal |
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| The Side Entrance and the Belltower |
As I entered the compound, I learned from parish office that the parish is preparing for the 400th founding anniversary of San Bartolome parish. The parish dates back in 1614, at that time the present Malabon was still known as "Tambobong" still a visita of Tondo. The present church might have been constructed in the 1800s.
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| New Parish Office |
I was thinking, the Parish is restoring the old/original looks of the church just like what the Agustinians in Intramuros did to San Agustin church.
The main entrance at the church facade was closed at that time so I found my way inside through the side entrance door.
The main entrance at the church facade was closed at that time so I found my way inside through the side entrance door.
I was so delighted to see the interior of the church freshly painted. The paintings at the ceiling was complete. It is marvelous. I spent sometime taking shots of the dome, the main altar, the pulpit and ceiling from the entrance of the church.
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| Main Entrance |
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| Freshly Painted Church Interior |
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| The Church Dome |
The church built, just like other old churches, is of baroque style - massive walls and huge buttresses made of stones.
As I explored the interior of the church, I remembered the interior of the Taal Basilica in Batangas. They have almost identical interiors - the design and the way they were painted.
Facing the church at the left side is a cemetery while on the right side is a school.
Facing the church at the left side is a cemetery while on the right side is a school.
Looking at the old photo again, the left side of the church used to be an open space - maybe a plaza and on the right side of the church was the old Convento with sliding windows made of capiz sheels and a tiled roof. The old Convento no longer exist.
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| Main Altar |
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| Paintings on the Walls |
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| More Paintings |
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| Paintings on the Ceiling |
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| Ceiling Details |
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| Series of Domes |
The San Bartolome Church indeed is a priceless heritage and a very important landmark at the City of Malabon.
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It wasn't the old church anymore (from the first picture above), it was 100% complete renovation! They ruin the church architectural and cultural value.... It was totally brand new instead of restoring it into it's heritage value, sad
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