St. Anne Parish Church, Buguey

Cagayan is well-known not only for its abundance of cave systems and natural attractions but also to its towns that has its own share of beauty that draws the attention of many visitors. Buguey town might be one of the unknown places to many but a visit to this place will give you a priceless pleasure and be contented with it.

Olden times of Buguey

The rustic town of Buguey was believed the landed site of Juan de Salcedo, a small fishing village called Mission. It is a debatable thing but it is recorded that the town was founded on May 20, 1623. But before that it was a Dominican ecclesiastical mission in 1596.

It became a Barangay of Camalaniugan at the start of the 20th century and became an independent town again in 1915. Every year Buguey comes alive to celebrate its patron saint’s feast day and its prime commodity in the Parabur Crab Festival.

“A sweet surprise” – Santa Ana de Buguey

Despite the quietness, the town holds “a sweet surprise,” as written by an excited Manuel Maximo Lopez del Castillo-Noche, an architect and architecture historian, in an article surveying the retablos of Luzon. He was talking about “the little known and out-of-the-way Church of Santa Ana de Buguey.”

Near a marketplace and partly hidden by trees, the Church of Saint Anne revealed itself, a diminutive and quaint sanctuary. A fountain surrounded by rosy periwinkle plants adorns its front yard. Four white pillars accent its brick façade. There are similarities between this church and the Tuguegarao cathedral.

Lopez Del Castillo-Noche described that “it has an austere but charming retablo mayor that appears to have been installed sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century. Though the retablo mayor, which is made of wood, suggests a more neo-baroque look, traces of the rococo can still be seen.” Beside the church are the ruins of a convent, now a nice little garden.

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In this town of things lost and found, I walked about the convent ruins, thinking about the town’s name, derived from the Ibanag bugay meaning “shipwreck,” and twirling a periwinkle blossom, a small consolation for lost things.

Travel to Cagayan

Travel to the province is a never-ending adventure. Daily flights are provided by Cebu Pacific and Air Philippines. Various bus companies with lines to Cagayan Valley Region leave Manila everyday while public utility jeepneys, buses, tricycles and calesas are the common mode of transportation for short leisurely trips.

Original Article: Roel Hoang Manipon – A freelance journalist covering the arts and culture, poet, award-winning fictionist, travel writer, part-time model and a natural cook. He has attended the Iligan and the University of the Philippines Baguio National Writer’s Workshops.