A beautiful sunset and the huge cross at the sunken cemetery in Camiguin Island province provide a magnificent tableau for tourists on the boats. MindaNews file photo by Erwin Mascariñas
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CAMIGUIN Island — Sheltering numerous historic that eventually became tourist sites, the Provincial Government of Camiguin underscores the significance of naming the landmarks to the National Heritage Sites in knowing the past and shaping the future of the island.

In the 51st Camiguin Foundation Day, Provincial Governor Maria Luisa Romualdo together with Rep. Xavier Jesus Romualdo reported the success of finally naming four historic sites in the province as National Cultural Treasures and led the unveiling of the markers of the Guinsiliban Moro Watch Tower, Bonbon Church Ruins and Sunken Cemetery on Jan. 7.

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“We want to these places preserved so that our children, our grandchildren, your children’s children will know and will be aware of where and how and what we came from. It’s the history of Camiguin,” Romualdo said.

To further aid in promoting the preservation of the sites, Romualdo urged the teachers to include in their lessons the history of the newly-declared treasures of the country.

Thus, during the unveiling ceremony, the history of such sites was briefly shared.

The Sunken Cemetery, historians said, was just part of a community guarded by a fortress where the original church dedicated to San Roque and a convent was built.

The volcanic eruption that destroyed Bonbon Church is the very same tragic event that drove the cemetery underwater.

The large white cross built in 1982 that still stands today is an erected marking of its mute existence. Such serves as a scenic spot to memorialize the location of the old cemetery where the ancestors of the Camiguingnons were buried. (pia x)

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