5 Albay heritage sites declared as Nat’l Cultural Treasures
- Bicolmail Web Admin
- 17 hours ago
- 3 min read
By Rhaydz B. Barcia
Daraga, Albay --- The National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) has declared five significant heritage sites in Albay province as National Cultural Treasures (NCTs), underscoring the province’s rich historical, cultural, and scientific legacy.
The newly recognized NCTs are the Cagsawa Ruins, Budiao Ruins, and the Our Lady of the Gates of Daraga Church, all located in the municipality of Daraga; the St. John the Baptist Church in Tabaco City; and the Mataas Shell Scoop discovered in one of the caves on Cagraray Island in the town of Bacacay.
Provincial Tourism Officer Dorothy Colle said the declaration was announced by NMP Deputy Director-General for Museums Arvin R. Villalon during the opening of the Cagsawa Festival in Daraga on February 1. The event coincided with the 212th anniversary of the deadliest eruption of Mayon Volcano on February 1, 1814.
Daraga now hosts three sites declared as National Cultural Treasures, a distinction formally marked by the unveiling of the NCT marker at the Cagsawa Ruins—ten years after its declaration. The ceremony was led by the Diocese of Legazpi under Bishop Joel Z. Baylon, the local government of Daraga headed by Mayor Victor Perete, and the National Museum of the Philippines represented by Villalon.
“The turnover of this important marker adds more value to the Cagsawa Ruins,” Colle said.
“The LGU of Daraga is proud to have three national treasures—a very rare occurrence. For the province of Albay, having five National Cultural Treasures is truly something to be proud of,” Villalon said.
A commemorative Mass was held at the iconic Cagsawa Ruins, officiated by Bishop Baylon, followed by the formal unveiling of the National Cultural Treasure marker.
The recognition affirms Cagsawa as more than a celebrated heritage and tourism site, highlighting it as a sacred symbol of the Bicolano people’s faith, resilience, and enduring cultural legacy.
A National Cultural Treasure is defined as a unique cultural property found locally that possesses outstanding historical, cultural, artistic, and/or scientific value significant to the nation. It is classified at a higher level than a National Cultural Property.
For Albayanos, the eruptions of February 1, 1814 and February 2, 1993 remain deeply etched in collective memory, having claimed a total of 1,277 lives.
According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), the 1814 Mayon eruption was classified as Plinian, characterized by violent and sustained ejection of volcanic ash and lapilli. Historical accounts—largely written by parish priests and government officials—record a series of earthquakes beginning January 31, 1814, intensifying before the climactic eruption on February 1.
Pyroclastic flows swept down the southern slopes of the volcano, burying several towns under thick volcanic deposits measuring up to 10 to 12 meters. The old towns of Cagsawa and Budiao in Camalig, as well as parts of present-day Legazpi City, were severely devastated. The destruction forced the relocation of the provincial capital from Cagsawa to Daraga, then a small village.
Budiao, Cagsawa, and the barangay of Bubulusan—areas traversed by streams radiating from the volcano—were completely buried by lahar deposits.
Nearly two centuries later, on February 2, 1993, a sudden eruption claimed the lives of 77 farmers on the slopes of Mayon Volcano in Legazpi City. Phivolcs records indicate that a vent-clearing explosion generated a small pyroclastic density current, locally known as uson, marking the onset of a Vulcanian-Strombolian eruption.
The victims were within the six-kilometer danger zone at the time of the explosion, which occurred at around 1:11 p.m. Small summit explosions continued until March 14, 1993, followed by lava effusion and pyroclastic flows from March 15 to April 1 of the same year.
