BASEY THE BEAUTIFUL

By Manuelito S. Uy

(Written during the occasion of Basey Town Fiesta 2019)

Basey is one of the towns in Samar that is rich in history and culture. For more
than four hundred years being a town, it owes its very foundation to the valiant
missionaries and priests who evangelized and taught the townspeople the civilized
way of life. Under the patronage of Señor San Miguel Arcangel, their beloved patron
and powerful intercessor, let us take a glance in the past and review its historical
development of this beautiful and amazing town.

Legendary Beginnings

According to legendary tales, Basey was born because of the beautiful

Bungansakit. This beautiful piece of tale has been recounted for many generations
until today. The story originated with Kadiko and Gilanda, a childless couple who
lived in the village of Omit (the present Barangay Magallanes) and found an
unwanted white baby. They name her Bungansakit which explains into “fruit of
sorrows or sacrifices” that they prayed for a child for twenty years. Because of her
distinct features and characteristics, she was believed to have been an offspring of a
fairy and a human. When Bungansakit grew to become a lady, she was fall in love
and married to a suitor named Suguihon. Their love story ended in a tragic sacking
of the moros in the villages of Omit and Balud when Bungansakit was abducted by a
jealous Moro suitor.

In honor of the legendary Bungansakit, the settlement would be called as

Baysay and eventually Basey which means beautiful.

The Jesuit Evangelical Period (1595-1768)

Although, Basey is situated in the island of Samar, it was not reached by the
Jesuits who arrived in Tinago village on October 15, 1596, the official start of the Samar
evangelization. It took many years later when the Jesuits found a flourishing village
in the south of Samar. Basey was finally contacted by the missionaries who came from
the Residencia de Dagami in Leyte. Its neighboring towns of Balangiga and Guiuan
were also founded and these remained administered by the said Jesuit residence.

In 1625, Fr. Cristobal Miralles built the very first church of Basey made of wood
but this would only have burned down and looted by the marauding Moro pirates
during the Corpus Christi of 1663.
 The great Jesuit chronicler, Fr. Francisco Ignacio Alcina wrote in his 1668
accounts about the miraculous image of Basey during the height of Moro plundering:

The second [observation] concerns the image of Our Lady, whose face and
hands are made of ivory and which is found in the hermitage of this town. Somehow
the Camucon has spared this image on two occasions when he raided this town.
Constantly, this enemy has carried off even the very confessional curtains (so
rapacious is he) and whatever nails he would manage to pull out. Notwithstanding
the fact that ivory is greatly valued and appreciated by them, even more than by our
natives, yet on no occasion has he dared to lay hands on this holy image. Perhaps, the
image protected itself from such sacrilegious and predatory enemy. Or it seems that
God protects it with some special providence or endows it with some virtue or power
that not even the enemy of the faith dares to profane it. Understandably enough, some
of the ministers consider it miraculous and venerate it with special devotion. I heard
one of them say, in all earnestness, that he had not asked anything from that image
that he did not obtain. The last time that the enemy attacked the town, the minister
by some special inspiration from this image was urged to leave the said town during
the night and not wait till morning as it would be most proper. At daybreak, the
enemy fell upon the town without anyone knowing that he was so near, for no
warning had been given. He plundered not only what belonged to the church, but
also some other precious items of silver like the lunette, monstrance, censer, etc. which
the minister borrowed from another town, and took them along.

They also captured some of the people who were unable to escape from the
town. Yet, the Father escaped during that night and, as it was learned afterwards, he
passed the enemy during his departure from the town and was very near them; but
they did not pursue him although they were much aware who he was. The Father
himself attributed this narrow escape to the said image which he visited prior to his
escape. Certainly, this must have been a clear sign of her protective concern for her
ministers. Were it not for all these divine interventions on so many occasions
certainly, many more of us would have fallen into their hands. We know from all this
experience that only God watched over our safety and no one else.

Fr. Alcina also wrote in another account on how the missionary fathers asked
for the powerful intervention when the town of Basey was infested by crocodiles. He
wrote:

The first observation about this town is that it was terribly infested with
crocodiles and those that have perished in their grip were not a few. These beasts were
so daring that even at night they would creep under the kitchen of the Fathers
carrying-off pigs and other domestic animals. One of the Father ministers of this town
and of Palo, who laboured here for many years due to his illness, began searching for
some supernatural means whereby to eliminate this menace, for all natural means
were futile. On one occasion, when all the people were gathered in town, he proposed
that they should choose an advocate before God who would protect and defend them
from those carnivorous beasts which caused so much harm to everyone. They would
be asked to choose several names of saints, write them on paper, fold them and place
them into an urn. The one whose name would be drawn by lot would be named their
patron against these fierce creatures and that every year a solemn fiesta would be held
in his honor.

All agreed to the proposal; having selected a number of names of saints, they
placed them into the urn and together prayed that God would give them a most fitting
advocate.

An innocent lad was chosen to draw the lot. He was ordered to bless himself
and draw one paper from the urn. When the lot was read, the name of Saint Matthew
the Apostle came up. The paper was then folded again and returned to the urn. On
two Consecutive draws the same Apostle surfaced. Hence, he was chosen as the
patron against this scourge. The people called upon him by means of a solemn
celebration with such excellent results that ever since — it is already twelve years —
not a single person has been carried-off by the crocodiles. Although many of them are
found swimming in the rivers as before, they no longer snatch persons but only dogs
and other animals. And so the protection of this glorious Apostle is very evident and
confirmed by so many years of tranquility. This security will, perhaps, last and endure
as long as we invoke his protection through our prayers and petitions which he
receives so well.

There is no an exact record as to when Basey became a pueblo and parish but
Fr. Felix Redondo based on Diocesan Records placed its establishment in the year 1662
or before 1663.

It was in 1698 when Basey was given a permanent missionary called operarius.
The Spanish missionary, Fr. Mauricio Perrera of Manresa, Spain became the first
operarius of the town. He would later succeed by the following missionaries:

1708 - Fr. Martin Gil with Balangiga

1714 - Fr. Pedro Farriz with Palo (Rector of Dagami Residence)
1716 - Fr. Vicente Alsina with Tanauan
1718 - Fr. Francisco Cabia
1721 - Fr. Pedro de Estrada with Lalawiton
1725 - Fr. Jose Samaniego with Lalawiton
1728 - Fr. Martin Gil with Lalawiton
1739 - Fr. Juan Ignacio Echevarria with Lalawiton
1748 - Fr. Bartolomeo de Lugo with Lalawiton
1749 - Fr. Bartolome Sanchez with Lalawiton
1751 - Fr. Pedro Baeza
1754 - Fr. Francisco Javier Ortiz
1754 - Fr. Guiseppe Maria Silvestri with Lalawiton

The last Jesuit missionary of Basey was the Czech Fr. Jose Paver (1757-1768).
He left for Spain on January 23, 1770 aboard the frigate named Santa Rosa.

A Brief Period under the Augustinians (1768-1795)

When the Jesuit missionaries were expelled, the three southern towns of Samar
like Guiuan, Balangiga and Basey were aggregated to the Augustinians of Leyte.
Erudite Augustinian historian, Fray Agustin Maria de Castro reported that the pueblo
of Basey has five hundred paying tributes and it was assigned to Fray Ignacio Callazo.
Fray de Castro also wrote about the beautiful sceneries and natural landscape of the
town with a bridge of arches that nature has made. But he also noted that the
settlement of this town has scattered villages with bad Christians living on it where
they drink a lot of wine called tuba.

Fray Callazo was succeeded by the following Augustinians:

1773-1778 - Fray Tomas Monclus

1778-1780 - Fray Ignacio Callazo
1780-1788 - Fray Lorenzo Molina (with Balangiga and died in Basey in 1793)
1788-1796 - Vacante
1796-1804 - Fray Francisco Villacorta (Last Augustinian Minister)

The Franciscan Missionaries (1795-1898)

Due to the lack of Augustinian missionaries, they decided to turn over to the
Franciscans the towns of Basey, Lalawiton (visita of Basey), Balangiga (visita of
Guiuan) and Guiuan in 1795. In 1814, Fray Juan Navarro y Vega was appointed as the
first Franciscan parish priest. Until 1898, the town of Basey was under by the
Franciscan missionaries with few Secular priests being assigned sometime as cura
encargado and assistant priest. After Fray Navarro, he was succeeded by the
following missionaries:

1804-1811 - Fray Juan Navarro y Vega

1813-1814 - Vacante
1816-1839 - Don Francisco Navarro
1839-1841 - Don Juan Navarro
1841 - Fray Juan Abarzo
1843 - Fray Jose Zamora
1844-1861 - Fray Domingo de Madrid ó Lopez
1861-1868 - Fray Leon Tellez de Tembleque
1870 - Fray José Mata (interim)
1871-1873 - Fray Benito Diego (also Comisario del Distrito de Guiuan)
1875-1876 - Fray Vicente Gutierrez
1876-1877 - Fray Policarpo Nadador
1879-1880 - Fray Pedro Arnaez & P. Don Juan Lorena
1880-1882 - Fray Jose Aparicio & P. Don Policarpo Ovano , P. Don Matias Cabrera
1882-1885 - Fray Pantaleon de la Fuente
1885 - Fray Agustin Delgado
1886 - Fray Fernando Esteban, Fray Filomeno Flores
1888-1891 - Fray Francisco Mendez
1891-1894 - Fray Antonio Sanchez, P. Don Filomeno Orbeta
1894-1897 - Fray Francisco Mendez
1897-1898 - Fray Manuel del Olmo

La Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel: Home of the Artists and Heritage of Basey
People

The first church of Basey was said to have been constructed by Fr. Cristobal
Miralles in 1625 and eventually destroyed by a huge fire in 1663. Another church was
constructed in Guibasaye or Binongtuan made of coral blocks but this wasalso
destroyed by a great typhoon. The people decided to transfer the town center to a
higher place and finally settled on a hillside, facing the sea at the back of the Buscada
River. A bigger church made of coral blocks. The construction of the church was said
to have been led by its leaders, Makarumpag, Makatindoy and Seda Daray. The
Jesuits built a beautiful altar which included a silver tabernacle, gold chalices, gradas,
laternahan, gueo, candeleros, arranias, ceremonial [sanctus] bells, liturgical vestments
embroidered with gold leafs.

From St. Matthew, which was chosen by the people as patron against scourge,
the Jesuits introduced the devotion to St. Michael the Archangel. An ivory image
together with other images of saints were purchased from the galleons from Mexico.

During the term of Fray Domingo de Madrid ó Lopez, the church of Basey was
repaired. He also built a beautiful tower cum belfry and large convento made of stone.
He also erected a spacious cemetery and its center a small capilla. In 1858 he built a
road that leads to Tacloban. Fray de Madrid, together with Fray Francisco Juan
Moreno de Montalbanejo of Calbiga and Fray Jose Gomez de Huerce of Calbayog,
they undertook the cleansing of the coastal of Samar against the marauding Moro
pirates resulting to a peaceful and calm environment for the profound growth of faith
among the Samareños.

The Franciscans were the ones who organized and developed the town. Basey
had a casa real, a carcel and two primary schools for boys and girls endowed by the
caja de comunidad.

During the Franciscan period, the church was undergone huge

embellishments. Intricate wooded carvings were made. Statues of saints were added
together with carved images of the Via Crucis made of wood and can still be seen
today in the church.

Local artists, Spanish, Filipino and Basaynon like Mariano Zapanta, Matias
Adona, Prudencio Nanquil and Juan Cabuquit were the ones who painted the
frescoes. This frescoes in the altar ceilings depicts the visual representations of “Quit
Ut Deus” (the powerful Holy Trinity), “El Triumfo Glorioso San Miguel de Arcangel”
(the common depiction of St. Michael the Archangel battling with Satan), with events
from famous Biblical characters like the “La Torre de Babel,” “El Pariseo y El
Publicano,” and the image of holy people like Santa Teresita del Niño de Jesus, Santa
Cecilia, San David and San Juan de Bosco.

Old families of Basey also started to own santoses and this religious images
were carved by the local artists of the town which are used during Good Friday
processions. There are also images from different cofradias that were carved from
priceless marfil or ivory.

The Baseynons started their hermadad to their patron in 1899 led by Mr. Placer
Macasaet as the first hermano mayor.