CAPUL NORTHERN SAMAR

Capul, officially the Municipality of Capul,is a 5th class municipality in the

province of Northern Samar, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of
12,679 people.

Prior to its founding as a town, it used to be called as Abak with a lighthouse built on
the island, served as a guidepost for the Acapulco-Manila galleon trade vessels passing through
the treacherous waters of San Bernardino Strait. It also served as the capital of Samar from 1848
to 1852. The name Capul came from the word Acapulco, an old trading post in Mexico.

Capul is the only town in the province of Northern Samar with a distinct language,
Inabaknon, instead of Waray-Waray, the native language spoken by the locals of Samar island.
The Inakbanon is a unique language, having no related language in the entire Visayas and Luzon
regions. Due to few speakers, the language is highly endangered. The Inabaknon language is
vital to the culture and arts of the Inabaknon people's island life. Some locals have been
challenging the Spanish colonial name of the island-town, Capul, and revoking it in favor of its
indigenous name, Abak, which was used by their ancestors, and is also the namesake of
townsfolk's indigenous language, Inabaknon Language Capul has a different language from the
rest of Northern Samar and the rest of Eastern Visayas. The native language in the island-
municipality is Inabaknon. Inabaknon has been classified by linguists as a Sama language related
to the Sama languages of Mindanao, rather than a Visayan language. Nonetheless the Capul
people understand the Waray language, as spoken by the majority of the people in Northern
Samar.
CAPUL, Northern Samar — This tiny island in the northern tip of Northern Samar has been
visited recently by foreign tourists on a cruise aboard Caledonian Sky of the Zegrahm Expedition
for their overland adventures. The cruise visit has ignited the curiosity of a group of friends that
decided to visit the island this summer.Capul island town can be reached by land for five hours
to Allen as jump-off point and another one hour of boat ride. As the group reached our
destination, the long trip didn’t matter as we were met with warm smiles and greetings by its
people. Capul is a fifth class town, one of the islands in the Balicuatro Islas in Northern Samar
province. Wilmark Amazona, a travel blogger, said that in the many places he has been to, the
people of Capul are different, because they are so warm and tourist-friendly. Capul’s rich history
is matched by its awesome scenery of green meadows, white beaches, rich foliage, coconut
plantation, spring water, coves, rock formations and the list never stops. Many tourists and
scholars are attracted to its unique and indigenous dialect, the “Inabaknon” which has intrigued
fellow Waray-Warays in the neighboring municipalities. The Inabaknon is one of the eight
unique dialects in the Philippines according to Summer Linguistics Institute. It is similar to Sama
of Malaysia. But of course, Capuleños as they are called, can speak Waray-Waray and Cebuano ,
the vernaculars of neighboring island municipalities. The few Inabaknon words and phrases
introduced to us by the very accommodating Capul Mayor Isidro Suan Bandal were “marangga”
(beautiful); “awdian konta si kaam”(peace be with you); “makababayi kaw’ (you are pretty);
“mahalap nalong” (good morning). Habal-habal (a motorcycle) with one or two passengers, is
the only mode of transportation in the island. Amazona said the Inabaknon dialect fascinates
him. He said learning it, would give him more understanding of their way of life and history.
Capul is blessed with beautiful beaches with crystal clear water, fine white sand like the
Acapulco, Abak, Capul Island Beach and a lot more. Abak beach was even rated as one of the
top 20 beaches in the Philippines by some travel bloggers. The name of Capul is derived from
the name Acapulco, given by the Spaniards when it was discovered in 1590s. It has one of the
few stone churches and fortress in the country.

History
In the 13th century, the followers of King Abak of Java, Indonesia and in honor of their deposed
King, they named the island Abak. They landed in this 3,500 sq. kilometer-island that borders
the western end of treacherous waters of San Bernardino Strait.
The island’s name was later changed from Abak to Capul, a contraction from Acapulco, when
the Manila-Acapulco trade flourished.
Father Gaspar Balerite, the historian of the Diocese of Northern Samar, said that during the 16th
century, when Father Francisco Petrus was assigned in the island permanently in 1606, he
constructed the first church which was made of hardwood and nipa but was razed to ashes in
1615, when Moro pirates plundered the island.
In the same year and same site, a permanent church was erected made of stones integrated with
fortress wall to protect its residents from Moro raiders. The church has an 11-meter high belfry
and a stone watch tower. The church situated in the town plaza is dedicated to honor St. Ignatius
of Loyola, a soldier before he became a priest from Loyola in Cantabria, Spain.The National
Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) under the Office of the President, unveiled the
historical marker “Fuerza de Capul” on August 5, 2011.
The declaration as historical site and recognition from the government is considered significant
and protected by law for its restoration and preservation according to Mayor Bandal.
Also on April 23, 1996, the late Papal Nuncio Vicenzo Moreni came to Capul to put a cross in
front of the church marking its 400-years.
Just recently about almost a hundred foreign tourists on board Caledonian Sky dropped anchor in
Capul and enjoyed the rustic ambiance and rich history of the place.
They went loco over coco, according to Eastern Visayas Regional Tourism Director Karina S.
Tiopes when they were brought to a coconut plantation and witnessed how the coconuts were
harvested and made into copra as part of their overland adventures.
They were made to ride a kangga, a buffalo-pulled sled made of wood or bamboo.
And treated to a culinary feast made from coconut meat and milk mixed with glutinous rice and a
lot more. Broom making, coconut scrub, bags and other products were demonstrated to them.
There is a “Bañadero” where men and women wash their clothes. While the rest of the region is
in dire need of water, Bañadero’s natural spring water flows abundantly that supplies the island
with safe drinking natural water, also for bathing and washing.
In fact during the land excursion of the foreigners, few gamely washed their clothes in the
bañadero.
Before the sun sets, we traversed to the narrow hilly side of San Luis village towards the
picturesque Faro de la Isla de Capul (the Lighthouse of Capul).
The Parola as the Capuleños call it, is 143 feet above sea level. It has rich history having been
built by the Spaniards in the 1800s that serves as a beacon and guideposts to vessels.
We went up the Parola and mesmerized by the San Bernardino Strait, the green meadows on the
left side and white beaches on the right side that dotted the island.
An awesome sunset greets us that added color to the postcard pretty Capul.
The brief sojourn to Capul island has reinforced our belief that Eastern Visayas is a very
beautiful region, a must see with its rich history coupled with natural attractions which our
kababayans should not miss to visit first.
Capul is being marketed as part of overland adventures of cruise tourists by the local government
unit and the Department of Tourism. The Sharp Travel, handler of Zegrahm expedition, has
showed interest for another cruise ship to visit the island on March 2016.
 SOURCES

http://www.canadianinquirer.net/2015/05/07/capul-a-tiny-island-with-lots-of-surprises/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capul
How to get to Capul

Route from Tacloban: Vans are available every hour from 5 a.m. onwards at the Tacloban Bus
Terminal going to Allen port, Northern Samar. Fare is PHP350. From Allen, a boat is bound for
Capul every 12:00 noon. Only once a day trip. Fare is PHP150.
You can charter a boat at PHP3,000-up depends on the number of your group and if you don’t
want to stay overnight in the island, but you will miss many sights. Boat bound out of Capul is at
6:45 a.m. daily.
Route from Manila: You can take the early morning from Manila to Catarman, the capital town
of Northern Samar. Then take a jeep going to Allen.
Also you can take a flight going to Calbayog City from Manila. Then take a van to Allen
Northern Samar which is about two hours to Allen.
In Capul island Beach Resort, room is PHP1,000 up. There are small lodging houses and
homestay with rates for as low as PHP 200-up.
 CAPUL
NORTHERN
SAMAR
Members:
Anthony Chin
Lucky S. Ano
Jeremy Diano
Bernard G. Bello
Leo Bello