San Miguel in the lives of the iliganons

In this fiesta season, the time of the year when St. Michael the Archangel is prominent among Iliganons here and globally, I'd like to share this article, with the hope that it would explain to non-Iliganons why we venerate and adore Senor San Miguel, have done for more than 2 centuries and still do in this new millennium.

The Miraculous Señor San Miguel in the Lives of the Iliganons
Paper read during the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology
College of Arts & Sciences History Week Celebration’s Symposium

By Anna Mary Ellen I. Obach

It is with a bit of awe and more than a little anxiety that I stand before you now to speak on one of, if not the most, significant figures of Iligan City History. Never had I imagined being on the same panel as my former high school adviser and subject teacher for two years, Ms. Estrella Navidad, my poetry mentor Prof. Christine Godinez Ortega, childhood friend and “yayo” and favorite mentor in Cultural History Prof. Ricardo Jorge Salise Caluen. I am just thankful I was assigned to talk about Señor San Miguel, who, as an nth generation Iliganon, I have “known” ever since I tasted the breath of earthly air.

Contrary to my co-panelists who have documented sources, my talk is based purely on oral stories of some direct witnesses. Senor San Miguel, St. Michael the Archangel, Iligan’s patron saint, is as part of Iligan’s history as Maria Cristina Falls and far older than the old names connected with Iligan. To date, devotion to San Miguel is part of any story about Iligan, more than Cheding’s peanuts, Bayug lechon or suka pinakurat.

There are many stories about him, this Senor, passed from generation to generation, most of which are miracles, although very little have as yet been documented.

Let me first backtrack a little and discuss angels and archangels. Angels are said to be God’s messengers. And archangels are any angels of higher rank. St. Michael is placed over all the angels as Prince of the Seraphim. Michael, derived from the Hebrew Micah means “who is like God”. And St. Michael the Archangel is thus God’s messenger who is like God. What makes Senor San Miguel significant, not just to Iligan, but to any Catholic, or student of religions or religiosity, is that St. Michael the Archangel is the Captain of God’s army. The great protector.

As such, he has lived up to that name, as far as Iligan and Iliganons are concerned, then and now.

How when and why did he become Iligan’s patron saint? In deference to Prof. Caluen’s documented narrative, here we start with the oldest miracle story about Senor San Miguel. The arrival of the friars in the 1700s brought with them the images of San Miguel and Nuestra Senora del Pilar. San Miguel was supposed to be taken to Zamboanga to be its patron saint and the Nuestra Senora for Iligan. As the contingent for Zamboanga bearing San Miguel’s image was ready to leave Iligan bay, the skies darkened and the seas became turbulent with big waves, making travel dangerous and impossible. So departure was postponed for another time when the skies would have cleared and the weather more favorable for sailing. But at the next scheduled departure, the same situation occurred. Again and again, giving the Spaniards the idea that possibly the Senor did not want to leave. The images were exchanged, leaving San Miguel to Iligan and preparing the Nuestra Senora for travel to Zamboanga. On the scheduled date, there was absolutely no weather disturbance so the contingent proceeded to Zamboanga to establish the Nuestra Senora’s “home” there. Thus Iligan became San Miguel’s “homebase.” And thus, the old folks say the Iliganons did not choose San Miguel but the other way round. San Miguel chose Iligan.

But the Iliganons decided to honor their intended patron too, the Nuestra Senora del Pilar. And which, according to the old folks, is why Iligan celebrates twice, September 29 for San Miguel and the first Sunday of October, for our Lady. Take note of the Vivas. It is always Viva Senor San Miguel! Viva sa Mahal nga Virgen!

San Miguel’s archangel character, as Protector, the Captain of God’s army came out later.

Documented Philippine history tells of continuing resistance to the Spanish colonizers by the Moros of Mindanao, among other pockets of resistance all over the archipelago. There would also be attempts to “take back” their land, “reclaim their territory”. Sometimes too, forays of bandit Moslem groups would swoop down on the colonized areas to plunder or take slaves. There is a story about San Miguel which is said to have been narrated by Moros. In one planned attack to Iligan, coming down from what is now Lanao del Sur or Baloi, when the group reached the highest point of Overton (the area of the Marcelo Fertilizer housing), there was no sight of any house, any settlement, no sign of where Iligan should be. All that they could see was a big sea, very blue and calm, and in its middle stood (or floated) a big man, holding a bangkaw, wearing a hat whose description matched that of San Miguel’s guerrero hat. That vision was taken by the group as a sign that there was no way for them to continue, and the planned raid or attack was put off.

There is more than one version to unfulfilled attack attempts on Iligan. One says that upon reaching the former road from Iligan to Marawi, at the Abaga portion, the raiding group could not find their way to Iligan. An elaboration of this version says that the trail the raiders were following, which was supposed to lead to Iligan, did not. Following the trail to Iligan, they did not find themselves in Iligan but somewhere in Misamis Oriental and that’s where they raided and took captives to enslave.

These were during the late Spanish or early American occupation. The former caretakers or regular “cleaners” of the church were said to have reported several instances of coming to the church to clean and upon nearing the statue of San Miguel to clean it or change the flowers at its altar, they found the hemlines of his cape filled with amor seco. Mystifying for the people then, and would still be for us now. San Miguel’s image is cemented on its base. It could not easily be taken down for a “stroll” among the grassy areas outside of then Iligan. That led to stories that he was patrolling Iligan and its outskirts.

During World War II, in the Pacific arena, which included the Philippines, when the Japanese had come to occupy the country, San Miguel’s statue was entrusted to one Diosdado Actub, according to all my sources who could remember stories about this time. Mr. Actub accepted the responsibility and took care of San Miguel, his statue, i.e. like his personal belongings. Meaning, San Miguel was “evacuated” with Mr. Actub, family and portable properties each time the Japanese were reported to be coming.

Have you witnessed the “Pagkanaog”? How many men are needed to take him down from his pedestal – 10? A dozen? Twenty? Let’s say at least ten. Now, San Miguel had to be evacuated several times, taken from place to place, of security. Usually it needed about a dozen men to carry him, to be replaced by another dozen when the current dozen needed to rest. But there were times that 2 or 3 people could carry San Miguel, not in a slow laborious trudge, but trotting or fast walking. And the people noted that this kind of occurrence happened when the Japanese were close at the evacuees heels. As if he was helping them carry him to safety. The most flabbergasting story of his evacuation during WW II, though (as also narrated by Mr. Caluen) was that one time he was being transported to safety by the usual dozen men. Suddenly they could hear the Japanese troops really so very near that they decided to put him down and hide behind him. That was in the middle of the trail they were on, leading them to somewhere in the mountains/hinterland barrios of Iligan. Report says that the men heard the footsteps on the trail coming nearer and nearer as they were hiding behind the statue, begging his forgiveness that they had to stop because there was no way for them to take him to a secluded place anymore, at the same time imploring him to watch over them and guard them from the soldiers. They heard the footsteps and voices coming and saw the soldiers approaching, nearer and nearer and passing them by! They and San Miguel had become invisible to the Japanese soldiers!!!

One report of an incident during WW II which has been documented by no less than my former mentor here in the History department, and later friend, the late dean Evelyn Binggol M. Jamboy in her masteral thesis goes like this. Iligan was about to be bombed but the poor Kamikaze pilots failed this mission. Why? At the exact spot where the radar showed Iligan to be, all they could see was the beautiful blue and deep Iligan Bay. They circled and circled the area. No land. No Iligan.

A great-aunt of mine also tells of an incident where they heard a plane coming and feared a bombing. But the feared sound of falling bombs did not follow the sound of the plane’s engines. So they went out in confused wonder why it was so. And lo and behold, they saw beside the plane, an eagle flying side by side it. Untouched by the plane’s wings, the plane and the eagle looked like just two birds flying alongside each other. Bird and plane flew over the coast of Iligan a couple of times more then disappeared over the horizon, without dropping a single bomb.

The most recent among these miraculous stories of protection and guardianship is the one during the Big Fire of 1957. The biggest fire ever experienced by Iligan, which explains why there are no buildings along Quezon Avenue more than 50 years old. This fire, which started so suddenly was so fast in its spread too, like pacman gobbling up houses and buildings along Quezon Avenue and nearby streets. The direction of the fire was towards what is now Quezon Avenue extension, and the firefighters and townspeople were losing their resources to fight it with. Some people ran to the church, to pray to San Miguel to protect them from continuing destruction of the fire. There were some who thought of taking out San Miguel from his perch. Some versions say San Miguel was taken out until the churchyard. Some say he was taken out and paraded along Quezon Avenue to meet the fire. Whichever version was true, after San Miguel had been taken down from his pedestal and out of the church, the fire just stopped spreading before the former Boy Scout building and fizzled out. Just like that!

Time and again, Iligan has been miraculously spared destruction and peril – from natural and human-caused calamities. By whose intercession or guardianship, Iliganons have only one spontaneous unanimous reply – Senor San Miguel, St. Michaelthe Archangel, the leader of the army of God.

Which is why he is honored by one out of every 5 children born yearly being baptized Michael, Miguel, Mitchell, Mikael, Malek or Malik. Yes,even Moslems. WW II, as Binggol’s thesis says, WW II and Japanese occupation unified the people of Lanao – Moslem Maranaos, Christian Cebuanos, Tagalogs, Boholanos, Siquijodnons. And everytime San Miguel asserts protection and guardianship over Iligan, it is to all Iliganons, regardless of religious affiliation. Thus, as St. Michael has devotions from the world’s three greatest religions (Islam, Christianity and Judaism), so it is with Iligan ---Catholics, Moslems, other Christian denominations honor, revere, fear San Miguel. Everyone who calls himself/herself a true/real Iliganon.

Viva Señor San Miguel!
Viva sa Mahal nga Virgen!
Viva!

Pagkanaug 2009

Two days ago, Iligan City residents and guests flocked to the St. Michael's Cathedral to witness and experience the Pagkanaug of St. Michael the Archangel, the city's patron saint. It literally means, the "going down." The statue of St. Michale is taken down from his niche and placed in the center front aisle, his usual attire removed and his ceremonial costume put on him by the city's top officials. I'm not so sure if it has always been them who did or when I was younger. I hadn't paid attention to that then.

The Pagkanaug is the start of the celebration of St. Michael's feast day September 29. Traditionally, the Pagkanaug commenced the novena too. This year, the Pagkanaug was held a day before the novena commencement "so as not to disrupt the schedule of Sunday masses."

St. Michael is not only the patron saint of Iligan, as patron saints go. He is also the personal patron saint of Iliganons past and present, here and all over the globe. and from wherever they are, they come to Iligan to join the Pagkanaug, as part of their Panaad (literally, pledge) to St. Michael, in imploring a petition or in thanksgiving for a petition granted.

From the time St. Michael the Archangel became Iligan's patron saint (I will share that story in another post)the Iliganons have had this intense personal feeling for San Miguel, Senor, Senor San Miguel. They talk about him like they would a favorite uncle or grandfather or male mentor. This personal feeling can be first seen and felt during the Pagkanaug.

People come from all over, the balikabayan Iliganons, the natives from all the way to the hinter barrios with anticipation in their faces, as early as 5 am, to be as close to the altar as possible. The anticipation becomes laced with eagerness and excitement as the time of the Pagkanaug draws near(it used to be 8 a.m. they made it 6 am this year). You could see it in the faces, young and old. Like in expectation of a long-absent dear one come home for a visit. The addition in recent years of the cebu sinulog and kalibo ati-atihan influenced drums adds to the excitement which becomes a frenzy by the time men go to the statue to lift it down and carry it to the platform below the altar.

The anticipation and eagerness and adoration and even manic excitement is almost physical. More than a few faces are tear-stained. Especially as the shouts start coming one after the other "Viva Senor San Miguel!" with the automatic response of "Viva" with a clenched fist. A newcomer might think s/he is in the middle of a leftist rally with all the clenched fists raised. But no, it is all for the Senor. He is the commander-in-chief of the angels, and to those of you who don't know, in the Bible and in the Koran. Therefore the militant response is but natural. He is the protector, the guardian, the warrior. The original San Miguel song has the title "guerrero" attached to his name.

With the "Vivas" shouted out loud, as if hoping to be carried to the heavens, and the clenched fists, you could see infants, babies still-small-or-light-enough-to-be-carried all raised up as if in offering to the Senor. I did it myself, the first year my son and I came back. I offered him to the Senor, to his protection and guardianship, against all evil and harm, for his constant intercession to God. And I told him that. Thus, even without detailed explanations, my son has grown a personal attachment to San Miguel himself.

The "vivas" and the clenched fists and the lifted children go on until the main celebrant signals it is time to go on with the mass. But not before the San Miguel song is sung with all the feeling and fervor of devoted, committed, adoring congregation, all the way to those who can't fit inside the cathedral, standing just outside.

After the mass the people do not immediately leave. They wait for the priests and government officials to leave the altar. And begin queueing –to go near the Senor’s statue, for them to touch even just the hem of his tunic, or his cape, to kiss even. Those with babies or smaller children carry them to touch any part of San Miguel. As if the physical connection with the statue is a tangible link to St. Michael.

Faces of those leaving the cathedral are either serene, ecstatic, awed, reflective, and proud. The pride is there, pride in having touched San Miguel, thus having connected with him, the sure link to God. There is now the assurance that they are spiritually armed against the onslaughts of the devil, at least until the next Pagkanaug.