The Bell Tower of Bantay Ilocos Sur

The Bantay Bell Tower of Ilocos Sur.

A Belfry built in 1591 – Ilocos Sur is home of old Spanish Colonial architectures that survived through time. These structures exhibit traces of our Spanish Era ancestry centuries ago. The Philippines is a Christian country with Roman Catholicism as the most dominant faith. A lot of edifices in the country include churches boasting beautiful designs with rich stories about the past. One of the province of Ilocos Sur is the Bantay Church located at Manila-North Road, Zone 5, Bantay, Ilocos Sur. It is also known as Saint Augustine Parish Church of Bantay with Nuestra Senyora de la Caridad ( Our Lady of Charity ) as its patron. The statue of the Blessed Virgin is said to perform miracles so as answered prayers. Standing with its handsome sturdy gothic look that was damaged by wars then restored, it has been a witness to many important events in our history.

When the country was still a colony of Spain, this steeple served as a watch tower to monitor pirates. It is also a defence structure against the enemies that the place got its name “Bantay” that means guard. Still erect with all its glory, the tower also survived World War II. It was then restored in the 1950s.

Our Lady of Charity Church of Bantay Ilocos Sur.

Pilgrimage Site.

Photo-op Bench at the Entrance.

A reminder to pray.

Climbing the stairs feels like you are traveling way back in time. Then we climbed the narrow stairway surrounded by bright orange brick walls. I can imagine our forefathers building the tower long ago thinking how intricate the process had been. The large bell is a huge metal which is almost my size. If only that bell could talk, it has been a witness to so many battles, rang thousands of masses from the Spanish Era to the present.

Going up. Look at those bright orange bricks.

The Bell.

Me with one of the bells in one of the windows.

A view from the top.

Going Down.

The view at the top is breath taking. Endearing fresh wind blows overlooking small houses, trees and structures. You can see the province of Abra as well as the western seas.

You can visit the Bantay Bell Tower between 6AM to 6PM. In the entrance, there is a donation box for the church and tower maintenance, you can give any amount you want. Photo-ops are better taken in the bench located near the entrance, beside the bell and in the windows.

A visit to Bell Tower: Achieved!

Overall, the Bell Tower experience is one of a kind. It was also memorable for me because it was my first time to actually climb and go atop seeing it only in movies and pictures. I also get to see a real church bell up close, touched it and look though the beautiful province of Ilocos Sur at the top.

Special Thanks to my friend Karen Feaster some of the pictures, for taking my pictures and touring me around.

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[Food] The Vigan Empanada of Ilocos Sur

The Vigan Empanada cut in Half. The ingredients are mainly of ground meat of longganisa, papaya and egg yolks.

Visiting Ilocos Sur would not be complete without tasting some of their native foods like Bagnet, Longganisa and the equally famous empanadas. There are two famous delicious empanadas in the province; one is the Batac/ Laoag Empanada and the Vigan Empanada which I just tasted for the first time. The unique taste of this Empanada makes tourist want to go back just to have a bite again. The rich flavor comes from its ingredients as well as the preparation.

Served hot with vinegar (Ilocano Vinegar)

Tourists and locals doing some food trip.

Some of its notable ingredients are papaya, carrots, the egg yolks (the Vigan version has only eggyolk unlike the one in Batac that includes the egg white) and ground meat, at times their Longganisa. The dough of the crust is made of rice flour. It is prepared deep fried. Better to eat this when it is hot dipped in Iloko Vinegar with chillies, chopped onions, garlic and pepper. I had my try when we strolled by the Burgos Plaza near the church. There is ample number of empanada and street food stalls there as well as benches for eating.

Not just the empanada is available here, there are also Okoys and street foods.

Very delectable to the taste, this native empanada recipe is addictive. The texture is soft inside with its crispy dough wrap. The price ranges from 25Pphp-40Php depending on the size or the stall. If you are planning of a visit to this famous wonder city of northern Philippines, then you should take a bite of this delicious but affordable delicacy.

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Why the world admires Overseas Filipino Workers?

Filipinos are known great employees or workers that is why we are scattered all over the world working in different jobs making us heroes of our nation by  increasing the economic growth of our country through remittances. In the past three years, the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) reported that there were estimated of more than 10 million Filipinos working overseas. There is a sum of more than US$20 billion amount of remittances from Overseas Filipino Workers in 2011. In the midst of poverty and calamities, OFWs sacrificed leaving their motherland just to provide more income and sustain their families in the Philippines. As they say, in almost every country, there were Filipinos working and we might feel a little homesick but for sure there were kababayans scattered everywhere.

So what are the qualities we Filipinos do possess that make us a huge part of a work force abroad? From the in demand health care professionals, engineers, seafarers, teachers to domestic helpers, we are considered modern day heroes and a great pride for our country. Here are some of the qualities we Pinoys have.

1. COMPASSION:  In everything we do, we Pinoys consider the situation of others. Our professional healthcare providers like doctors, nurses and caregivers work compassionately and take care of our patients in a very compassionate way with love and genuine care like they were our family members. We treat our co-workers with consideration and a ready hand to help in times of need and hardships.

2. GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS: There is no doubt that we Filipinos are globally competitive. We work excellently in different fields, reason why no wonder we are in demand. Pinoys have talents, skills and intelligence making us gives quality services to our employers.

3. HARDWORK AND DEDICATION: We Pinoys work hard and value our commitment in every job we do. Filipinos go to work with passion no matter how stressful the situations are and finish their assigned tasks as needed resulting in productivity.

4. HUMILITY: As workers, we Pinoys could reach out and have good relations with all kinds of people no matter the age, race and status. We also could handle criticisms in a good way and be assertive to others with respect with and down-to-earth personalities.

5. LOYALTY: When Filipinos commit to something or someone, they will hold that as they were supposed to. Being devoted to work and to our employers is such a priceless quality we Pinoys do possess. Our loyalty is immeasurable that is why we tend to gain the trust of our institution, co-workers and superiors. -FAF

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