CAPALONGA, Camarines Norte—On his 25th year as priest of the St. Lucy parish in the coastal town of Capalonga in Camarines Norte, Fr. Edwin Abel is more than happy that the main street leading to the church has finally been widened and cleared of stalls.
Before, Fermo Absonda Avenue was occupied by hawkers anticipating sales during the May 12-13 religious fiesta. This year, 250 busloads of devotees of the Black Nazarene of Capalonga had the entire roadside for parking space, Abel says.
Capalonga is a far-flung fourth-class municipality (annual income: P25 million-P35 million) known for its own image of the Black Nazarene, similar to that in Quiapo, Manila. It is 76 kilometers from Daet, the capital town, and 331 km south of Manila.
“Everything becomes in order. Some private vehicles were also able to park inside the church premises. People came to pay homage to the miraculous image of Black Nazarene of Capalonga, most of them three generations of Chinese-Filipino families,” Abel says.
Shrine
The priest reveals that it was the product of a road project of the local government unit as part of collaborative efforts with the parish to attract pilgrims and tourists upon completion of a new Black Nazarene shrine.
Abel says the hilltop shrine in Barangay Talagpukao will overlook the sea beside the coastal road, 3 km before reaching the town center,
While he has little knowledge about the Black Nazarene of Capalonga, Abel believes it to be centuries-old, like the one in Quiapo, which was carved in Mexico and brought to the Philippines in 1600.
He learned from residents three stories how the Black Nazarene came about.
According to one story, someone found a log with red sap floating on the ocean and carved the image of a kneeling Jesus carrying the cross. When it was dried, the red sap turned black.
In another, someone found the Black Nazarene image after it was washed ashore and brought it to the church.
The last story refers to a Dumagat devotee who carved the image, its color similar to that of his tribal people.
Abel says Capalonga was originally inhabited by the Dumagat people, but intermarriages through generations have erased traces of their physical attributes.
While the religious feast is celebrated in honor of the Black Nazarene, the parish founded in 1634 is also dedicated to St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr, he says.
“We do not know which came first, the Black Nazarene of Capalonga or St. Lucy. But I am sure the image (Black Nazarene) is old and miraculous,” Abel says.
He says the Black Nazarene image is very popular among Chinese-Filipinos because their requests for “good health, fortune and long life” are fulfilled. Devotees come every year from as far as Cagayan de Oro and Baguio cities, as well as the different towns of Camarines Norte and Metro Manila.
Vice Mayor Mariano Arguelles says the widening of streets was started in January. The municipality paid for the reconstruction or renovation of buildings that were affected by the project, like the way then Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chair Bayani Fernando did with sidewalk vendors and clearing operations, he says.
He reveals that the incumbent mayor, Senandro Jalgalado, was a deputy general director in charge of traffic of Fernando’s MMDA.
Centerpiece
Capalonga is laying down the groundwork to develop the town as a tourism destination with the shrine as centerpiece, and the beach fronts along the way as resort facilities.
It has also created a task force of 60 workers assigned to undertake road improvements in its 22 villages.
But the local government alone cannot carry out such ambitious project, Arguelles says. It plans to invite investors under a build-operate scheme, he says.
At present, he says the town depends on its internal revenue allotment share from the national government, amounting to P64 million this year. Local revenues average only P2 million per year.
Since the Edsa Revolution in 1986, the Jalgalago family has ruled over local politics. Viviene Lu Jalgalado, who was appointed officer in charge by then President Corazon Aquino, won the mayoral race in the first local elections after the uprising.
Her husband Ernesto Jalgalado Jr., took over until his brother, Senandro, won in the 2010 elections. According to Arguelles, the present mayor is “proactive” and is committed to stop “jueteng” (a numbers racket) and other illegal activities and concentrate on infrastructure projects.
Senandro has decisively enforced the laws against illegal fishing and had several offenders jailed and prosecuted.
Teofilo Diolola, a resident of Barangay Calabaca and municipal coordinator of the Office of the Governor in Capalonga, commented that for more than 20 years of Jalgalados running their town, no single road going to the 22 villages had been cemented.
Diolola said concreting of the 39-km national road going to the town proper from the crossing in Barangay Bagong Silang in Labo town started during the term of Rep. Liwayway Vinzons Chato from 2007 to 2010.
The tourism project is cosmetic with poverty widespread and the majority of the population depending on fishing and coconut farming, he said. A great number of middle-income families depend on family members employed abroad or have small business at the town center, he added.
On a scale of 10, Diolola gives Senandro a grade of 7, saying he seemed sincere and active in eradicating illegal activities.
Abel is worried that the mayor may encounter difficulty in going after criminals, including illegal loggers, because local politicians are involved. The priest, however, did not name names.
But he advised that Senandro must deputize a task force directly under his command and free from police control to decisively eradicate crimes.