If you’re a lighthouse enthusiast, I know you know that while there may still be a handful of working lighthouses in the Philippines, too many of them are naghihingalo, barely surviving because – truth be told – even if they may be pretty tourist spots, they’re not priorities of local government units, or even of some historical agencies tasked to look after them.
A case in point: the Malabrigo Point Lighthouse.
The Malabrigo Point Lighthouse was completed and lit in 1896 to guide ships passing through the Verde Island Passage going to either Batangas Bay or Sibuyan Sea. It is said to be one of the oldest working lighthouses in the country, and – if you believe the PR talk – one of the, if not the most well-preserved. This last part was emphasized in Wikipedia pa nga eh.
But… that’s it.
This place isn’t even open to the public anymore because of its condition. Though the establishment looks pretty particularly from afar, like some haciendero’s house, or a setting of a Baz Luhrmann movie, you can see that it’s decaying. The concrete used in the lighthouse tower itself is crumbling; the wood in the main building hasn’t seen polished for some time; the fences have rusty parts; and so on.
@outragemag #LGBT checking the good-to-look-at but no-entry-allowed #Malabrigo Point Lighthouse in #Lobo, #Batangas ♬ original sound Outrage Magazine
There are vendors in front of the lighthouse, and the chismis they share are actually sad – e.g. that the lighthouse, in particular, is already crumbling; that upkeep isn’t the priority of those overseeing the place; and so on.
As an effect, tourists are only allowed to roam around the building, take shots from a distance, so to speak. Historical appreciation through immersion isn’t possible here.
When it comes to something, anything historical in the Philippines, we almost always have to just accept that we’re sh*tty with looking after remnants from our past. Ewan ha, try to persuade me otherwise, though only after you visit Malabrigo Point Lighthouse.
But join us as we continue with our rampa.
Malabrigo Point Lighthouse is located along Lobo-Malabrigo-Laiya Rd., Barangay Malabrigo, Municipality of Lobo, Batangas Province.
