A Place for Unity

Real Fuerza de Nuestra Senora La Virgen del Pilar de Zaragosa - For some, it may be just a soaring, open, well-built cornerstone of a defense military fortress of the Spaniards in Mindanao during the Spanish regime here in the Philippines. But, for the Zamboanguenos, this fortress, the image of the La Virgen del Pilar, seves as their defender, companion and, most of all, their mother. The Fort Pilar is a monument of faith and history intertwined for the past years. With these are countless stories of miraculous triumphs over struggles and of blessed survival. All these stories emanate from this fortress-turned-shrine, which is seated at the heart of the City of Zamboanga. But how did this shrine actually unite Zamboanguenos since its primary reason of existence is to keep Mindanaoans away? In order for us to answer this, we have to know the place through history and accounts from people.

I went there last summer and the very first thing that went through my mind is what its history was because I was amazed by the fact that it looked like a place built a very long time ago but is still standing strong. So I went to an office inside the Fort Pilar and asked around. They said that historically, the Spaniards built the Fort Pilar in June 23, 1635 as a bastion to protect themselves from constant raids by marauding pirates and raiders of the sultans of Mindanao and Jolo who defied the European invaders and colonizers. The start of the construction was headed by a priest, Fr. Melchor de Vera, a Jesuit engineer. The Fort Pilar was known as Real Fuerza de San Jose. Before 1860, the eastern side of the fort, where the image was located, was converted into a permanent shrine. The main entrance was sealed. After its reconstruction, it was renamed Real Fuerza de Nuestra Senora La Virgen del Pilar de Zaragoza. It carried this name until 1945. When after its occupation by American forces, it was named Fort Pilar. Since then it has simply been known as such. The image in the Fort Pilar was called La Virgen del Pilar. For Muslims, they call the image Sitti Mariam or Fatima.

Added to its history are accounts of miracles they say that come from the image in the Fort Pilar. It is said that the La Virgen appeared to a soldier on December 6, 1734 at the gate of the city. Not recognizing her, the soldier asked her to stop. Then, he recognized her and fell down to his knees. On September 21, 1897, La Virgen made an apparition according to the people who witnessed it. They saw La Virgen standing mid-air over Basilan Strait. She had her right hand raised to signal the onrushing waves to stop, saving the city from a tsunami.

When I went out of the Fort Pilar, I talked to one of the vendors. She is Mrs. Carmelita Hipolito-Kulong, a former teacher. She shared to me a stranger's experience with this image. The stranger told the entire story to Mrs. Carmelita Hipolito-Kulong who, at that time, was still an elementary student. She was walking and selling candies to the people who were going to the fortress when she met the merchant woman with her two cans of biscuits. According to Mrs. Carmelita, the merchant lives in Sabah, Malaysia and goes here for business transactions. She kept on hearing stories of miracle works of La Virgen but none of the stories she heard made her believe in what she claims as an "outlandish image".

Once she was travelling from Malaysia, the ferry she was riding accidentally sank in the sea. All the passengers strove gallantly to save their lives. She was getting tired of swimming and the things, which can help her float, nearby are two cans of biscuits. She was getting weary and weary as time passes by. So, in the middle of the ocean, out of nowhere, she asked help from Sitti Mariam. At the brink of drowning, she made a pledge to believe and have faith on La Virgen and that this belief will pass from one generation to another in her family. Miraculously, the La Virgen del Pilar let her two cans move fast as if it was a speedboat, leading its direction to the shore of Zamboanga near Fort Pilar. She was saved by Sitti Mariam.

Then I went back to the Fort Pilar. While I was inside the Fort Pilar, I was amazed when I looked at my surroundings. I cannot believe with my two eyes what it went through from the past. Clearly, the local government spends an ample budget for the maintenance and development of the Fort Pilar. Although there are still some noticeable old cinder blocks that came from its original construction, there are some new bricks and even new cinder blocks that are intact which were used to replace the old ones which, I believe, looked so brittle that they can be easily destroyed and pounded. The background is full of brightly colored flowers, freshly watered orchids and well trimmed plants which resulted to a pleasant scenery of the place for people to visit and worship and which also resulted to a place like that of the Garden of Eden.

The place has different areas for different purposes. It has an area where people say a little prayer first and light their candles up and offer them to La Virgen del Pilar. Another is where statues of Jesus Christ, Sto. Nino and Mary Immaculate Conception can be found. There are also wonderfully made statues of other saints and sculpted Stations of the Cross all over the place. In the middle, one can see an altar, used for celebrating mass. Behind that altar are a crucifix and a golden medal. People venerate the crucifix and the medal by kissing them or touching them then genuflecting. About a few feet above the crucifix and the medal is the image of La Virgen. Although the image is very old, it looks very new because its details from her clothes up to the smallest details of the baby that she is carrying are perfectly maintained and painted. Outside Fort Pilar, local vendors sell a lot of varieties from items that help people in their prayer life like candles, rosary, prayer book, statues, down to items that replenish the body like food and drinks.

So the Fort Pilar today is actually a place for all Zamboanguenos, regardless of what their religion is, to pay respect to the La Virgen simply because the La Virgen has shown her miraculous works to many. Knowing that it is actually a place where all people pay respect to one person and that the place is like a Garden of Eden makes me want to go to the place over and over again.


by: Michael Vincent P. Manalac