Standing between 10 and 40 meters high, Philippine watchtowers played critical roles not only in defining the boundaries of the nation but also in keeping maritime navigations in check. However, it appears that these almost forgotten sentinels of the seas, along with other forms of fortifications, may have been the first Spanish colonial structures to lose their significance, and are now struggling the most to exist as they are no longer needed.
Suffice to say that fortifications in the country are some of the most underappreciated cultural heritage properties, as well as the most endangered ones because they have not been used for more than 150 years. Even the faintest memories of the people about them have already dissipated. Nowadays, some have found new roles as selfie backdrops and quick stopovers for tourists—but, most are still in need of immediate attention.
Monuments to a Bygone Age
The first watchtowers were most likely constructed using wood and other indigenous materials that did not last long. Old maps, like the undated “Carta Noroccidental de la Isla de Luzón” from the Biblioteca Virtual de Defensa, were able to plot locations of watchtowers. It can be assumed that the early makeshift lookout posts were those with no trace of them remaining today. Eventually, as the need for more permanent surveillance stations arose, building materials were replaced with more durable stones; places with a high presence of coral stones used the naturally-occurring rock, while the places that lack natural quarry sites had to build theirs using bricks such as the case of the well-known Baluarte of Luna in La Union.
While watchtowers are largely established along the shores serving a singular function, there are also multi-purpose watchtowers that go beyond providing mere defensive uses. The latter ones are found more inland where they also function as bell towers of town churches as demonstrated by the recently-restored Balilihan bell tower and the enormous Laoag bell tower in Bohol and Ilocos Norte, respectively.
Large concentrations of watchtowers have been found from Cebu all the way up to the Bicol peninsula because the channels in between islands and their immediate coastal communities were frequented by Moor pirates from the south. The existence of some in Batangas has also been recently reported. In the north, on the other hand, the watchtowers were meant to keep Chinese pirates at bay, especially around trading harbors and ports.
The oldest datable Philippine watchtower is the so-called Cannon Pavilion of Dalaguete in Cebu, which was erected in 1768. It is a part of the extensive defense line established by Friar Julian Bermejo in the southern section of the island stretching out from Santander to Carcar towns. The town of Oslob in between even has the ruins of an elaborately fortified settlement largely reclaimed by the forest. The same initiative can be seen in Romblon where Augustinian El Padre Capitan established a few including the restored quadrilateral Fort San Andres that commandingly sits on a promontory. Together with the now ruined Fort San Santiago across the poblacion, the twin forts used to guard the busy harbor of the provincial capital. Twin watchtowers are observed to be extremely rare in the country and the more impressive example of which is the pair in Currimao, Ilocos Norte. They clearly stand out as they belong to a bigger, well-preserved trading complex that includes a working ancient wharf, massive tobacco warehouse (tabacalera), ruined custom’s house, and several dated stone wells in the vicinity. Thus, one can still understand and even easily reinterpret how these structures related to one another in the past. Another interesting case is that of the watchtowers (kuta) in Gumaca, Quezon province which were all once connected with curtain walls. Each of the towers in town now stands independently from each other after the curtain walls have been demolished, and one of them now houses the local history museum.
Watchtowers of the Ilocos Region
The Ilocos region is dotted with enduring watchtowers starting from Sual in Pangasinan, which only got recognized officially as a heritage monument last year, to the one in Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte—notorious for having been horrendously cemented over a few years ago because no one on the ground knew how to properly carry out the needed interventions.
In La Union, there are five watchtowers that have been declared National Cultural Treasures. Ilocos Sur and Norte have four and seven, respectively. A previously unknown one in Bauang, La Union was noted to be unique as it was neither constructed using bricks nor coral stones. Before its inattentive demolition in 2021, it might have been the only watchtower built using round river stones. The same was the fate of the watchtower in Salomague, a historic port in Ilocos Sur. What remains now of the once glorious keep is just a small section of its base as a house was built on top of it. In 2021, the existence of another twin watchtowers on the mouth of the Padsan river in Laoag City was established. This only means that the city had a defense line. While one of them still stands, the other ceased to exist in the 70s, with a few scattered bricks in the sand dunes acting as painful mementos. These instances are clear indications that preserving watchtowers is fundamentally a battle against ignorance as well as time.
Our Turn to Watch over the Watchtowers
It has been previously estimated that there might have been over 300 historic watchtowers spread out across the Philippine archipelago. This is documented in the book “Fortress of Empire: Spanish Colonial Fortifications of the Philippines.” However, the growth of cultural mapping exercises revealed and confirmed the existence of some more undocumented ones, and the inventory can definitely benefit from an update.
In the past, there was even an attempt to have a few watchtowers and fortresses inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites but the proposal never moved forward. Such a plan should be revisited and relaunched to further highlight their uniqueness, contribution to humanity, as well as their telling need for better safeguarding of our shores.
Image credits: Dresden State Arts Colleciton, Biblioteca Virtual de Defensa, Government of Spain