Bantayan sa Hari also called Buluarte in Mandaue City, Cebu is located below the Old Mandaue-Mactan Bridge in Barrio Looc, built around the early 1800's, the watchtower serve to protect the locality from marauders from the seas. The incursions of the Moro Pirates in the town led to the construction of the "Bantayan sa Hari". A bell in the tower kept the villagers informed about any such danger as they would then take refuge in the Patriarch church of Saint Joseph. In wanting to preserve the historic structure, well meaning but misguided authorities cemented over the relic thus its totally modern look.
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The town was organized in 1835 and named Catmon, the name Catmon is claimed to be after of a tree. Bantayan sa Hari or Watch Tower at Catmon-Daan, Cebu is a structure built around the 1800's which served to protect the locality from marauders from the seas, Padre Miguel de Jesus, an Augustinian Recollect from Spain, first chose this place for his church site the sitio of Catmon (now Catmon-daan). There he also constructed a garrison, a guard-tower or watchtower “Bantayan Sa Hari” to protect the first Spanish settlement from the depredations of the moro pirates plying the coastal areas. the structure is presently located inside the Catmon -Daan Elementary school where kids normally play around. Below were some pictures we took with my friend as we rode our bike all the way to Catmon. Liloan’s Bantayan sa Hari, a forgotten historical treasure that is located few meters away from the lighthouse, I had a hard time going to where it was located since going to where it stands has lots of cave on the ground and no proper trail and was full of shrubs. The Bantayan sa Hari was built around 1857. In the early part of the 17th century, Moros pillaged Liloan, sending residents fleeing for safety to Danao, when Moro raiders concentrated their attacks on Cebu’s north. The Moro raiders turned their attention to the north after the southern Cebu towns’ effective defense of their territories. The raiders not only divested local residents of goods, people were also snatched for slavery. The watchtower is now left to ruins and rubble, only its base part remain. Built around the early 1800′s, bantayan sa hari or watch tower served to protect the locality from marauders from the seas mostly Moro Pirates. The Moro Pirates, also known as the Sulu Pirates, were Muslim outlaws of the southern Philippines who engaged in frequent acts of piracy, primarily against the Spanish, beginning in the late 16th century. One in a long line of friar-soldiers, Fray Julian Bermejo belonged to a handful of friar popularly and affectionately called “ el Padre Capitan.” Known for his military exploits, each town was asked to build the fortification as a first line of defense from the Moro pirates. Fray Bermejo's hard work in shielding the towns of Cebu, from north to south, against the Moros was considered by few local scholars as the crucial moment that made the Christianization and development of Cebu a success.
Fray Julian Bermejo ( 1777- 1851 ) Augustinian Fray julian bermejo was assigned to Boljoon on October 19, 1802 at age 25. An unusually talented and accomplished priest, Fray Julian not only attended to the spiritual needs of his flock, but also taught women how to weave cotton and introduced plants to augment the diet and livelihood of his parishioners. But it was as a competent builder and military leader that he was well known. Prior to his arrival, Boljoon had been attacked by slavers in 1782 leaving the town in shambles and the church bereft of everything save for a few vestments and the image of the Virgin under the title Patrocinio. Another friar, Ambrosio Otero, had begun a new church in 1783 but it stood unfinished when Fray Julian got there in 1802. He assessed the situation and concluded that before proceeding with the construction, he had to secure the perimeter of the church complex. Using mortar and piedra vitoca ( coral blocks ). He built a meter thick wall to enclose an area and fortified it with bulwarks at every corner. Within this enclosure, he built a parish house, completed the church and constructed a large blockhouse, 120 meters long by 80 meters wide, along the north wall and a two storey watchtower facing the sea. Fray Julian then built a string of baluartes from Sibonga to the north of to Santander ( Tanon Strait ) in the south to act as an early warning line. Later this line was extended to Carcar in the north for a total of 96 kilometers. The baluartes were with in sight from each other. Following the religious tradition of his era, Fray Julian named the baluartes after saints associated with the military like the Virgin Mary, the apostles Peter and Paul, the archangels Michael and Gabriel, and Barbara the patroness of the artillery corps, and the 4TH century martyr Saint Cucufate or Cugat, as he is better known in Spain. With the baluartes in place, the coastal settlements would no longer be caught off guard. But Fray Julian was apparently not content with mere defense. To provide deterrence and an offensive capacity, he organized a small armada of ten barangays (shallow draft boats), ready to set sail at a moment’s notice, manned by the towns- people from Boljoon, Oslob, and Caceres ( Ivisan) under local leaders. Each vessel was armed with falconets, fore and aft, and its crew with a variety of weapons of combat at close quarters. The townspeople supported the small armada through a regular levy of food. |
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