Filgrimage

This is the very first time we are meeting the Filgrimage Ambassadors. While there are around 35 people who participated in Filgrimage 2019, FILGRIMAGE: A Digital Series tells the journey of eight (8) of them.

The Filgrimage Ambassadors have just arrived in Manila. They register to secure their rooms at the hotel. For many of them, this is the first time they are meeting their roommates.

The Filgrimage Ambassadors take the bus to bring them to their first official stop on the Filgrimage tour: to visit the Rizal Monument in Luneta Park.

Many of the Filgrimage Ambassadors have just heard of Philippine National Hero Jose Rizal from what teachers have taught them in class. For most of them, this is the first time they get to see the place where Rizal was executed by a firing squad, after he was arrested and convicted of sedition, on December 30, 1896.

The Manila Hotel embodies a rich tradition of elegant living, fine dining, and gracious service that goes back over 97 years. Our Filgrimage Ambassadors continue to build friendships while experiencing the grandeur of this historic five-star hotel located along Manila Bay.

The Filgrimage Ambassadors spent their first afternoon making a quick stop at Intramuros and then visiting other museums like the University of Santo Tomas Museum of Arts and Sciences - which is the oldest existing museum in the Philippines. It started as a Gabinete de Fisica, or observation room, of mineral, botanical and biological collections in the 17th century.

On the way to Bataan, the bus stops for a break at a pitstop along the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX). There are several fast food joints and some stalls that sell souvenirs and other gift items and Filipino delicacies. The Filgrimage Ambassadors grab this opportunity to practice their skills at conversing in Filipino with the local vendors. See how they nailed some great bargains.

First stop on the road trip is at Bataan's Balanga Elementary School which also houses the Bataan World War II Museum and the Surrender Site Marker. The grade school students welcome the Filgrimage Ambassadors with a marching band and the eager waving of tiny U.S. and Philippine flags.

Home to Jose Acuzar's collection of restored Spanish-Filipino houses, this resort in Bagac, Bataan reflects Filipino craftsmanship intricately curated into a world-class historical haven. Our Filgrimage Ambassadors eat taho (Philippine snack made of fresh silken tofu and sweetener) and play sungka (Mandala).

The days spent in Palawan were like Paradise. El Nido is surrounded by limestone formations that rise majestically above the turquoise water. For many of them, the stunning beaches and gorgeous islands are picture-perfect, almost like being in a postcard.

The Filgrimage Ambassadors met with members of the Sibaltan Women Weavers Association, Inc. (SWWAI) - a bold, band of women who have taken their skills passed on from generation to generation and had grown them to become an industry that empowers community artisans.

The Filgrimage Ambassadors took an early ferry boat ride to Corregidor Island - a rocky island, strategically located at the entrance of Manila Bay, just south of Bataan province in Luzon, Philippines. They take a quick tour seeing the Pacific War Memorial, numerous gunneries, and the Malinta Tunnel, which served as a supply depot, hospital, and MacArthur's headquarters.

A major highlight of the trip was the visit to Barangay Samala-Marquez, an urban poor community in the municipality of Kawit, Cavite. Throughout the whole morning, the Filgrimage Ambassadors visited, and interacted, with the families from the community. On this Filgrimage, their interior quest is greatly influenced by their "exterior passage" through the slums of Cavite.

The Filgrimage trip culminates in building houses for the Gawad Kalinga Community in Cavite. The Filgrimage Ambassadors experience the true meaning of Bayanihan as it comes to life. They look back at an incredible, unforgettable summer where their visit to the country of their ancestors transforms them in ways they never imagined.