Sights and Scenes in Liloan

Buddy and photo guy Eyean's masterpieces during one of our trips all over Liloan.

Inside San Fernando Rey Church

By the sweats of forced labor, the church of Liloan was built in 1847. As previously blogged, we asked the parish priest's permission to take pictures of the underground tunnel. The priest couldn't know where the opening of the tunnel is.

It was reported that during the American offensive to liberate the Philippines in WWII, the US Airfoce dropped bombs to destroy the church. It was absolutely an easy target yet there were no hits (only big holes in the ground). It was as if the bombs were like "thrown stones deflected in their flight by a sword."

Was it because Liloan Church's patron saint was a warrior king?

Take a look at the well-designed and highly furnished interiors of the church.

Rosquillos

We can never talk about Liloan if we don't mention the mouth-watering and sweet-tasting cookie called rosquillos from Titay's. For many Cebuanos, Liloan is even synonymous to rosquillos. If Carcar has ampao and "itlog mo noy orange", Liloan's perennial pride has been the rosquillos. The truth of the matter is that when Liloan joined Pasigarbo Sa Sugbo's Festival of Festivals, the town showcased its uniqueness and pride by featuring the Rosquillos Festival to all onlookers.



Rosquillos is a cookie curiously shaped as ringlets. The Spanish word “rosca” means ringlet. The ingredients for rosquillos include flour, egg, sugar, shortening and baking powder. But many people have felt that there must be a secret ingredient why rosquillos tastes so good.



Titay’s Rosquillos traces its roots all the way to 1907 (the year before UP’s founding), when Margarita “Na Titay” Frasco one day got bored and started experimenting with her baking ingredients and all of a sudden made her new culinary creation. Like a real scientist, Na Titay used her neighbors and passerby as lab rats who were offered the snack as a freebie for every purchase of a bottle of soda. The yet-to-be-named cookie was “baptized” by then Cebu governor Sergio Osmeña, Sr., who called it rosquillos in reference to the Spanish wine ring cookie known as Rosquillos de Vino.


After more than a century of home baking tradition, the patented secret family recipe has been passed on to the next Frasco generations paving the way for Titay’s to continue making delicious and one of a kind rosquillos. People going to northern Cebu have made it a habit to drop by her store to buy and enjoy the rosquillos. Titay’s Rosquillos gains the prestige of being known domestically and internationally. For foreign nationals who want to get a taste of rosquillos, most Filipino stores abroad have a display of this cookie wunderkind.

While Titay’s is synonymous with rosquillos, the family baking business has expanded to an array of homemade delicacies ranging from galletas de bato, torta, peñato, binangkal, polvoron, mamon, monay, otap, caycay, CPA (chicken pork adobo), bao-bao, elorde and a lot more mouth-watering pastries.

But before you taste other different animals, you got to try out rosquillos first for its charming tongue treat. And because rosquillos recipe can never be replicated in any other home than Liloan.

Holes in Cave Fish Story

It is highly believed that there’s an opening to underwater cave (or amphibious cave) at the back of Liloan Church’s altar. In the old days (perhaps until the early 1970s), the cave opening was left open for public viewing. If you throw something in the hole, it would send off a hollow sound suggesting a sizable hollow space. Some brave souls even went as far as going down the hole.

The underwater cave could be man-made and used as escape route during the marauding days when Spaniards ruled the town. Or maybe it is just a freak of nature and nothing but a black hole. The actual opening of the “cave in a cove” is some meters from the shore at the back of Liloan Church. It runs underneath towards Suba Channel and back to the altar of the church or elsewhere. In any way, there’s a huge tourism potential for it. The cave could contain past secrets and other unveiled beauties.

Deep inside the underwater cave, as blogged earlier by Immortalundead, there were reports that the inhabitants down under are ancient sea creatures. Giant fish called cogtong? Octopus? Mermaids? We don’t know. And there’s not much available literature about it even in Internet archives of folklores.

So we asked around. The older Liloanons we interviewed failed to provide conclusive answers. Wanting for authoritative take, we went several times to hear words from Church people. A few days ago, we were able to finally “corner” Fr. Eric Jecong, the parish priest of Liloan. He is one cordial priest and appears very animated when he talks. He allowed us to take pictures inside the church but not beyond the altar.

Swerver: “Can we have a look at the hole for a sec, father?”
Father Jecong: Why?
Swerver: We would only take some pictures… very quickly. We won’t go down inside for sure. If the hole is padlocked, we won’t ask anyone to open it…
Father Jecong: Dong, I’m just new to this parish. I don’t really know where’s the hole or if there is really a hole.

I know he’s a good and sincere priest. Father Jecong is. But something tells me there was an apparent “air of discomfort” with Church people whenever we talked about holes. Something fishy?

-Swerver

What Swerver and I Had For Transportation Around Liloan

This is a tricycle. It is simply a mode of transportation that consists of a motorcycle and a cab that is attached to the cycle. It can hold about eight persons, driver included. This is the primary mode of transportation that you can ride when you want to go around the town of Liloan.

A Brief Background

Contrary to what some Filipinos might think, the tricycle is not unique to the Philippines. In fact, several countries -- mostly in Asia -- have tricycles plying their roads. There a lot of versions of tricycles around the world, including these:

I think though that the Philippine tricycle has something unique that makes it more special than the ones in the other parts of the world. Why? It's because I think tricycles in other countries are built that way. The Philippine tricycle, on the other hand, is a convertible. If you wish to use only the motorcycle you can detach it from the cab, and then reattach it if you wish to drive a tricycle around and earn money.

The Liloan Experience

You can encounter tricycles anywhere in Liloan. However, you can find the majority of them parked in a mini-terminal in the town center near the municipal hall and the Church. This is where you should go to as a starting point in your journey anywhere around the town. As such, Swerver and I took one of these when we headed off to the lighthouse and back to the center of town.

I don't know how much they charge per head because Swerver and I made "pakyaw." For a fare of 50 pesos, we had the tricycle to ourselves on the way Bagacay Light Point. As a tourist, you should take advantage of the experience and ask the drivers questions about the town. They are natives, and they should be able to give you some useful information about Liloan. Personally, Swerver and I were able to inquire about some of the other famous spots of Liloan like the boat-shaped rock that we are yet to check out.

I am a native of the Philippines. However, I couldn't get enough of these tricycles because of the experience and comfort that they afford the passengers compared to jeepneys that are always jam-packed that you cannot move your legs around while riding. If anyone new to the town especially foreigners decide to visit Liloan, I strongly suggest you ride the tricycles than charter a van or use a private car. The experience will be truly unforgettable.

An Intriguing Town of Lighthouses, Whirlpools, Myths and Legends

Aside from real lighthouses and whirlpools that are present in town, Liloan is a stuff of history, legends and myths. The name “Liloan” itself is an intriguing piece of folklore as it supposedly came from a story of forbidden love.

Once upon a time, there was a couple whose marriage was objected to by their parents. The lovers, defying traditions and daring the perils of the unknown, had to sail to the big sea and flee somewhere else. They came to settle in a place with abundant supply of fish. Later on, they took to fishing and bartered their “catch” in the nearby villages. When asked where they caught the fishes, they would say “sa may lilo” (in the vicinity of the lilo). It is not clear whether the couple had a “happy ever after” but the couple certainly had found a refuge to fulfill their undeniable love for each other. The couple’s refuge is now known as the town of Liloan and “sa may lilo” refers to the presence of whirlpools in Suba River.

My first exposure to the town came three years ago. Fresh from grabbing my college diploma, I went to work in an outsourcing firm based in Liloan. It was thrilling for a first job as it involved a thing I always love to do – writing. But I was intrigued why my first job had to be, of all places, in Liloan. For one, Liloan to me was just one of Cebu’s more than 50 towns with a name. Prior to my first job, I couldn’t recall an instance that my family had actually dropped by at the town. We had trips in some parts of northern Cebu, particularly in Danao and Bogo, but Liloan always came as a passing town. There was nothing extra special about Liloan. It struck to me as a drab-looking, old and sleeping town -- full of vintage memories but had nothing exciting to offer. Or so I thought three years ago.

Hunting in vain for better words to say now, Liloan is such an intriguing place with a myriad of options for the thrill-seekers. Next to my hometown Opon, there is no place else to love than this town which was built by the Spanish conquistadores in 1845. It’s funny how cosmopolitan ways had influenced my wrong notions about Liloan. See, the first reason that endeared Liloan close to my heart was because of its halo-halo (iced mixture of fruits and root crops) sold near the town plaza’s stalls. For a cheap price of 25 bucks, I have never tasted a more delicious halo-halo from anywhere.

But, of course, Liloan is not all about yummy halo-halo. The town can claim a rightful venue for all town adventures which we will little by little show why here.

-Swerver-

How to Get There?

First off, let us try to settle the spelling issue. “Liloan” is the more current and formal form, but “Lilo-an” is also being used as an alternate spelling. Either way, it's still the same town.

Liloan is a strategically-located town in northern Cebu because of its proximity to the three biggest cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu. The town is just a ride away (30 minutes) from Cebu City. More specifically, it is 19 kilometers away from the city but it can be sooner than that as traffic is never a concern going to the area. Liloan straddles on the northeastern seaboard of mainland Cebu province. It faces the Camotes Sea, a sealane for ships plying to and from the busiest port in the Philippines.

Why go to Liloan? Of course, it’s not good for us to enumerate all the reasons in a single article as you won’t dare read all the entries here. But a bit of teaser: Liloan’s cool air and the small town atmosphere can provide needed respite for hustling and bustling city-folks. The location largely accounts for the “good wind” of Liloan.

So how do you get to Liloan?

If you are from abroad, Philippine Airlines offers international and connecting flights to Cebu. Once you arrive at Mactan-Cebu International Airport, ask the cabdrivers to transport you to Liloan.

If you are from the Philippines, go to Cebu. Once in Cebu, ask from people around what jeepney to ride going to Liloan. If you are a Filipino, you won’t need further tips for sure how to get around with jeepneys. ;-)

Now you’re in Liloan. Liloan’s major mode of transportation is the tricycle, a curious breed of a motorcycle with a cab attached. The motorbike -- called habal-habal -- itself is also a suggested vehicle to witness all intriguing sites of Liloan in an hour or two.