Lighthouse links Taguig to Katipunan

MANILA, Philippines - Mention “Katipunan” and one would immediately think of Andres Bonifacio, his men tearing up their cedulas (residence certificates) and the famous Cry of Pugad Lawin that ignited the flames of revolution against Spanish colonial rule.

Few know that Taguig City has a strong connection with Bonifacio, his Katipunan and the revolution – through a parola or a lighthouse that used to stand at the mouth of the Napindan Channel, where the Pasig River meets Laguna de Bay.

Known to local historians as the “Parola ng Napindan,” the structure used to stand where Barangay Napindan of Taguig now is.

The lighthouse stood until after the eruption of the Philippine-American War when it was destroyed by the American military to stop all vital war communications between Filipino units that used the structure as a command and control facility.

Meeting that launched revolt

According to the local historians of the cities of Taguig and Pasig, the lighthouse was the original site where the Katipunan led by Bonifacio met on the night of May 29, 1896 to launch the armed revolt against the oppressive Spanish colonial government.

The meeting, according to Jose Eduardo Velasquez, Pasig City historian and executive director of the group Kampanya para sa Kamalayan sa Kasaysayan (Campaign for Consciousness of History) or Kamalaysayan, happened before the historic “Cry of Pugad Lawin” in Balintawak, Quezon City, which is popularly known as the start of the revolt against Spanish rule. The Cry of Pugad Lawin happened either on Aug. 24 or Aug. 25, 1896.

According to Velasquez, it was in the Napindan lighthouse where Bonifacio, Emilio Aguinaldo (who commanded the Cavite faction of the Katipunan) and several high-ranking commanders of the Katipunan listened to the report of Dr. Pio Valenzuela.

Valenzuela was earlier sent by the Katipunan to talk to Dr. Jose Rizal – who was then in exile in Dapitan, Zamboanga – to get Rizal’s thoughts on the planned revolt, as ordered by the Katipunan’s Asamblea Magna held at the house of Katipunan general Valentin Cruz in San Nicolas, Pasig.

Valenzuela, according to Velasquez, reported that Rizal advised that for the revolt to succeed, the Katipunan needed to secure the assistance of the wealthy traders and the “known indios,” prepare the people to join the revolt, make sure to tap the support of foreign governments, and lastly, to enlist the assistance of Antonio Luna, who was schooled in tactics at a military school in Spain.

It was after Valenzuela’s report to the Katipunan leaders gathered at the lighthouse that the decision to push through with the revolt was forged.

According to Velasquez, Bonifacio, Aguinaldo and the rest of the present Katipunan commanders, agreed to start the revolt with the arrival of the next strong typhoon.

“That typhoon never came as the revolution was abruptly started with the discovery of the Katipunan,” said Velasquez.

Familiar area

Velasquez said Bonifacio selected the Napindan lighthouse as the venue for the Katipunan’s important meeting as he was familiar with the area. His father, Santiago, was from Barangay Tipas in Taguig and Bonifacio had spent some time in Taguig as a boy. The security of the meeting in the lighthouse was also guaranteed for the Katipuneros as the lightkeeper then was a member of the Katipunan.

“Bonifacio as a boy learned how to hide among the thick bamboo that still grow in Tipas. That helped him later hone his guerilla tactics,” he said.

Velasquez said the Katipuneros managed to hide the meeting at the lighthouse in full view of the patrolling Guardia Civil.

“The meeting took place during the pilgrimage month and that area is frequented by pilgrims. The Katipuneros pretended that they were having a picnic. There were women with food and the men were singing. The Guardia Civil were not aware,” he said.

Velasquez said that for the duration of the revolt against Spain, the “Parola ng Napindan” would serve as the Katipunan’s nerve center for communication and control.

Destroyed

The lighthouse would continue to serve the same purpose for Filipinos when they fought the Americans until March 19, 1899, when the American gunboat, USS Laguna de Bay, completely destroyed it during the Battle of Taguig.

Velasquez said the Americans intended to destroy the lighthouse to deprive the revolutionary army of command and control over the area.

The Katipunan meeting at the Napindan lighthouse, said Velasquez, was chronicled in a memoir by Katipunan general Cruz, whose forces operated in Pasig. Cruz had his memoir notarized before his death in 1957.

The Philippine Coast Guard later built a concrete structure with a solar-powered beacon to help guide barges, tankers and small vessels that travel from Laguna de Bay to the Pasig River.

According to Velasquez, there is no photograph or sketch of the original lighthouse that exists. He said there are possible records on the lighthouse kept at the US Library of Congress but access to these records proved to be quite difficult for his local group of historians, whose members come from the cities of Pasig and Taguig.

A photograph hangs on a wall of the Taguig City Public Library that is identified as “Parola-Napindan, Taguig, Photo Taken Early 1900.”

But according to Velasquez, the photo is not of the Taguig lighthouse but of the original Pasig River lighthouse in Tondo, Manila, which was reportedly built in 1642 and was the first lighthouse in the Philippines. The three-tiered lighthouse was demolished by the Philippine Coast Guard in 1992 and was replaced by a simpler lighthouse.

Twin lights

According to Velasquez, the Taguig lighthouse and the Tondo lighthouse appear to be “twins” as one guards one end of the Pasig River at the Laguna de Bay while the other stands at the other end.                            

But Velasquez admits that this theory would be hard to prove as the site of the original Taguig lighthouse continues to deteriorate as the small island it was built on is quickly being swallowed by the lake.

Velasquez said that although the bombardment by the USS Laguna de Bay leveled the lighthouse, its foundation remains intact under water. Velasquez believes that an archeological study of the site could help unlock its mystery and give a picture of its appearance.

Velasquez said that based on the records his group has, the Taguig lighthouse is similar in scale and design to the other lighthouses built by the Spaniards, such as the Tondo lighthouse and the Cabra lighthouse in Mindoro.

The Cabra lighthouse is located about 75 kilometers from Manila. The original lighthouse was built by the Spaniards in 1889, to mark the passage from the South China Sea, to the Verde passage through the center of the Philippines archipelago. 

Velasquez said the site of the original Taguig lighthouse should not only be studied but should also be preserved for future generations to enjoy.

He said that the Taguig City government is willing to fund a restoration project for the lighthouse. However, the plan could not push through because a blueprint of the original lighthouse has yet to be found.

“The Taguig lighthouse could someday be rebuilt according to its original design and materials and be able to re-write Philippine history as the original site where the decision to revolt from Spanish colonial rule was made by Andres Bonifacio and his Katipuneros,” said Velasquez.