THE HISTORICAL AND RELIGIOUS HERITAGE

OF THE DEVOTION TO THE SANTO NIÑO OF LEYTE

By Rev. Fr. Gilbert G. Urbina, SThD, SLL

As in many places in the Philippines, the devotion to the Santo Niño is very
popular in Leyte. In fact, in the Archdiocese of Palo alone several parishes have
the Santo Niño as their Title - Santo Niño in Tacloban, Villaba, Isabel, Damulaan
in Albuera (aside from Capoocan whose Title happens to be the Holy Name of
Jesus, but the patronal image is the Santo Niño). Obviously, a major factor in the
popularity of the devotion is Leyte’s geographical and ethnic proximity to Cebu
which is not only the cradle of Christian evangelization of the Philippines but more
specifically the home of the first devotion to the Santo Niño in this country.

Among the several expressions of devotion to the Child Jesus, the Santo
Niño celebration in Tacloban is unique. First, the feast is officially celebrated on
June , not on January as in the rest of the country. Second, it has been officially
declared as the Heavenly Patron of Leyte (comprising the present territory of the
Diocese of Palo) with the image officially enshrined at the Provincial Capitol of
Leyte. Hence, the official title, Santo Niño de Tacloban, Patron de Leyte. The
events which led to this have captured the imagination of many and have shaped
and continue to shape the life of the people of Tacloban and its environs for a
century now.

Tacloban and the Santo Niño

Tacloban, originally a fishing village, lies on northeastern part of the island

of Leyte, along the San Pedro Bay, 11 kilometers north of the town of Palo; across
is the town of the Basey in the island of Samar. The place never figured out
during the Jesuit period of evangelization of Leyte and Samar and most probably it
was never a permanent settlement or place of residence prior to the waning of the
Moro raids.1 Its location would have made it an easy prey to pirate attacks because

1Until the eighteenth century (1700s), Leyte was continually invaded by Muslim pirates; even
the missionaries had great difficulty in gathering the people into the town center; the natives
preferred to live in the hinterlands because, among other reasons, they lived in constant fear of
the pirates, cf. de la Costa, Horacio, The Jesuits in the Philippines, 1581-1768.
Cambridge,MA; Harvard University Press, 1967, p. 261.

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it lacks a natural barrier which could protect it from pirates who menaced several
coastal villages in several islands throughout the archipelago even before the
coming of the Spaniards.

Historical records2 point to the year 1770 as the date of foundation of

Tacloban. This coincides with the arrival of the Augustinians who took over the
Jesuit missions after they left in 1768. Despite the challenges and great
difficulties, they continued the task of ministering to and educating the people by
establishing schools in various places so that by the year by 1780, “enough number
of municipal schools and four rural schools” have already been established in
Tacloban alone.3

According to the Franciscan historian, Felix Huerta, Tacloban, originally

named Cancabatok and later Casiroman, was a “visita” or a barrio/village with a
chapel belonging to Palo with the apellation Sweetest Name or Holy Name of
Jesus.4 This title alone reveals its Augustinian foundations since it was also the
2 Cf. the following works of Cavada and Redondo:
Cavada y Mendez de Vigo, Agustin de la, Historia Geografica, Geologica y Estadistica
de Filipinas. Manila: Imprenta de Ramirez y Girandia, 1876., vol. II, p. 62. This was
considered the official guide to the Philippines in 1881.
Redondo y Sendino, Felipe, Breve Reseña de lo que fue y de lo que es la Diocesis de
Cebu en las Islas Filipinas, Manila: Establicimiento Tipografico del Colegio de Santo Tomas,
1886). Fr. Felipe Redondo y Sendino, the Secretary of Bishop Benito Romero of Cebu (1876-
1885), published an account of the parishes and towns belonging to the Diocese of Cebu. His
entry on Tacloban reads: Cabecera del Distrito de Leyte. Creada en 1770, segun Cavada tom.
2 pag 62 (Las partidas mas antiguas de Bautismos de sus libros son de 1804). Esta parroquia
con la advocacion del Dulcissimo Nombre de Jesus, tiene iglesia de mamposteria, techada de
hierro galvanizzado; de 24 brazas de larga (de una nave), 9, de acho y 5 de alto. – Cementerio:
de impalizada. – Casa parroquial: de mamposteria de moderna construccion, de planta baja. --
Tiene un barrio sin iglesia a 4 ½ kilometros, - Situado Tacloban al N. de la isla en la bocana, E.
del estrecho llamado de San Juanico a los 11˚16 de latitude N. tiene al N. E. al pueblo de Basey
el mas proximo a la provincia e isla de Samar a dos horas de navigacion; y al S. el pueblo de
Palo a 10 kilometros (pp. 197-198).
3Cf. Artigas y Cuerva, Manuel, The Colonial Odyssey of Leyte (1521-1914): a translation of
Reseña de la provincial de Leyte por Manuel Artigas y Cuerva, trans. & ed. By R. Borrinaga &
C. Kobak. Quezon City: New Day pub., 2006, p.94. In this work, Artigas cites an unpublished
manuscript, “Los Agostinos y el progreso material de Filipinas.”
4 The Franciscan historian, Felix Huerta, published in 1885 (first edition) and improved in 1886
(second edition) an account of the Franciscan missions in the country (Huerta, Felix de OFM,
Estado Geografico, Topografico, Estadistico, Historico Religioso de la Santa y Apostolica
Provincia de S. Gregorio Magno, de Religiosos Menores Descalzos de la Regular y mas
Estrecha Observancia NSPS Franciso, en las Islas Filipinas. Manila: Imprenta M. Sanchez y
Cª1865). Page 353 reads: Este pueblo se llamó antiguamente Cancabatoc, despues tomó el
nombre de Casiroman, y fue visita del de Palo, hasta que se trasladó a el la cabecera de la

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name of the province to which these missionaries belong. Likewise, this shows its
close affinity to Cebu whose title is also the “Holy Name of Jesus.” The diocese
of Cebu and the Augustinian province based in Cebu had the same titles and both
were associated with the famous image of the Santo Niño. Because of Cebu, the
conflation between the two (Santo Niño and Holy Name) came about. Besides, the
Augustinians were largely responsible for the spread of the devotion to the Santo
Niño in the Philippines; in fact, there has been a story among the Augustinians that
the Santo Niño of Cebu would sometimes visit Tacloban.5 Other famous Santo
Niño images in the country, for example, the Santo Niño in Aklan and Tondo, are
enshrined in churches founded by the Augustinians. As it is usually the case in
Leyte for example, parishes whose name or title is the “Holy Name of Jesus” adopt
the Santo Niño as their patronal image; such is the case in the Leyte towns of
Malitbog and Capoocan. This arrangement is clearly an influence of Cebu.

In the 1800s Tacloban increasingly gained importance. Considering its

strategic geographical location and with the moro piracy already in check, trade
and commerce grew. It was logical that the place soon became a converging center
for commerce among several places in Leyte and Samar; and in a couple of years it
became the capital of Leyte.6 As expected, the Christianization of the people
advanced due to the ministry of the missionaries and the devotional life of the
people centered on their protector, the Santo Niño. Honor was given to this
revered image during the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus every second Sunday
after the Feast of the Epiphany.7 The Augustinians eventually left Leyte in 1843 8

provincial, desde Carigara, y entonces tomó el nombre que lleva, siendo asignado por primer
Cura franciscano, R. P. Fr. Aniceto Carral. . . .
La iglesia, bajo la advocacion Dulce Nombre de Jesus, es de nipa asi como la casa
parroquial. Hay una buena casa de tabla para el Sr. Alcalde mayor y algunas otras de
españoles dedicados al comercio, las restantes son de caña y nipa al estilo del pais. En la
actualidad su cura parroco interino un P. Clerigo.”
5 As narrated to the author by the famous Augustinian historian, Fr. Pedro Galende.

6 Because of its location and the importance of the port, Tacloban first became capital of Leyte
in 1774; at certain times, the capital was in Carigara, then for a short period in Palo and since
the Philippine revolution and the American regime until present times, Tacloban has been the
capital of Leyte.
7 This was the day assigned in the Calendar of the Roman rite prior to the reform done by Pope
Pius X in 1913 and the general reform of the Roman Calendar after Vatican II.
8 The Augustinians originally administered the Samar towns of Basey, Balangiga and Guiuan
which belonged to the Jesuit residence of Dagami-Palo. The Franciscans who took over the
Jesuit missions in Samar complained about this; and so, the Augustinians ceded these three
Samar towns to the Franciscans in 1804. But the Augustinian presence in Leyte would only last
until 1843 (Manchado Lopez, Marta, M., “Algunos aspetos de la Expulsion de los Jesuitas de

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and ceded the administration of the parishes to the Franciscans and the diocesan
clergy of Cebu (the Franciscans were mostly in the parishes along the eastern coast
of Leyte while the diocesan priests were mainly in the western part).

The exact origin of the miraculous image now enshrined in the apse of the
church is undocumented, unfortunately. According to an unexamined popular
story which is very much propagated until our times, the present image comes
from the chapel of Buscada in Basey, Samar just across the sea. Upon the
instigation of the parish priest of Basey, the original smaller image in Tacloban
(Kankabatok) was supposedly exchanged for a similar yet bigger and more
beautiful image in Buscada, Basey because Tacloban (Kankabatok) was bigger and
more populated than Buscada .9 This more beautiful image is supposedly the one
presently enshrined in the Parish Church of Santo Niño, Tacloban. This is in fact
the origin of an annual ritual reenactment in recent times held in connection with
the June 30 Fiesta of the Santo Niño, known as Balyuan (local term which literally
means “the place where an exchange or exchanging takes place”).10 Without any
historical documentation, this story leaves many questions unanswered; one may
wonder whether the church of Buscada is none other than the old cemetery chapel
Filipinas. Los Agustinos Calzados en Leyte y Samar,” Hispania Sacra, LV 111 (203) 419-439,
p. 423).
9This story is attributed to the poet Iluminado Lucente who wrote in a 1939 Souvenir Program
that there was already a cult to the Santo Niňo in Kankabatok in 1739; sometime later, because
of the growing population of Tacloban, the exchange of images took place, cf. Lorenzo Ga.
Cesar, “The Santo Niño of Tacloban in History, Legend and Devotion of the People.” Leyte-
Samar Studies, Vol. I, No 1 (1967), pp. 3-15. Historical criticism makes the story rather
questionable; Buscada is a district of the town proper (poblacion) of Basey and not a village
distant from the town center; so, by the time Tacloban’s population outnumbered that of
Buscada (Basey), it was already a “visita” of Palo or a separate parish in the late 1700s or
early 1800s; so, Tacloban was no longer under the jurisdiction of the parish priest of Basey.
10
This annual ritual only started in 1975. The Balyuan is also premised on another presumption
that Tacloban was a former barrio of Basey; again this is historically questionable. To give it
credence, this presumption should be understood within a context. If by “barrio of Basey”, we
mean under the jurisdiction of Basey, this is open for discussion since Tacloban, according to
Huerta, Tacloban was a “visita” of Palo and, even in the 1880s, it was, according to Redondo,
two hours by boat to Basey (in the entry on Basey in p. 219, he says Tacloban is three hours by
boat) and only 10 kilometers away from Palo; this could never have happened after 1747 (which
was, according to Artigas, the year of the separation of the two provinces of Samar and Leyte);
in all probability, Tacloban only became a “visita” with the arrival of the Augustinians in 1768.
This claim, at most, could only mean that Tacloban (as many other villages in the eastern
seaboard of Leyte) was settled or “colonized” by people from Basey since it was an ancient
settlement long before the advent of the Spaniards. Even if it did occur, the story has no
connection whatsoever with the June 30 event.

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of the Parish of Basey; also, one may ask where the original Tacloban image is
(since the one presently in Buscada is not even old). If this indeed occurred, was it
ever given the nod of a people who must have had a special attachment or devotion
to their religious icon? In fact, even for religious anthropology the story is tenuous
and even questionable. At most, I think it is simply an etiological story to explain
the ethnological, cultural and commercial ties between the people of Leyte and
Samar, specifically the southern part of Samar and the eastern seaboard of Leyte.

The present June 30 celebration is based on a series of events which started

in the year 1888. Oral and written tradition abound, most of which are passed on
uncritically. However, gleaning from the stories that have been published and
retold (often in souvenir programs and brochures), the following are the
established facts:11 After the fiesta of 1888, Arcadio Zialcita, the Principal Sponsor
(Hermano Mayor) for the year 1889 together with the Confraternity (Hermandad)
of Santo Niño decided to send the image to Manila for a much needed facelift or
repainting (encarna) and to be fitted with new vestments in preparation for the
parish fiesta of January 1889. On its way back to Tacloban, the ship, SS Luzon,
caught fire. Because of panic, several crates or boxes were thrown into the sea;
among them was one containing the image of the Santo Niño. Left for lost, the
Confraternity (Hermandad) immediately had another image made in time for the
Fiesta of January 1889. Meanwhile, the crate, despite its heavy weight, did not
sink but drifted instead to the island of Semirara. However, in May 1889, the
military governor of Leyte, Jose Gil de Avalle received communications from the
governor of Mindoro of a box marked for Tacloban which was found off the coast
of the island of Semirara. Immediately retrieval operations were planned. A nine-
man team headed by Agustin Baňez was dispatched chartering the boat
“Consuelo,” owned by a prominent businessman from Palo, Emilio Yu Biao.
Upon getting back the image, the team immediately sailed back to Tacloban. On
the afternoon of June 30, 1889, the boat carrying the image of the Santo Niño
finally docked at the port of Tacloban. Meanwhile cholera was afflicting many
residents. As soon as the image arrived, great jubilation swept the people and an
immense crowd accompanied the procession of the image from the port to the
church. The return of the image was considered timely and indeed a miraculous
11On June 23, 2009, the Leyte Heritage Festival Committee together with UP Visayas Tacloban
College sponsored an academic forum on the Santo Niño History; among its aims were, first, to
establish the historical narrative of the Tacloban Santo Niño Fiesta celebration based on
credible and verifiable sources; and second, to raise questions on the existing historical
narratives and devotional practices related to the Santo Niño. Two papers were read which
were eventually serialized in the the Leyte Samar Daily Express: Aguilos, Ramon, “The Story of
the Image of the Sto. Niño de Tacloban: In Search of History;” and Urbina, Gilbert, “The image
of God among the people: Issues and challenges to the devotion to the Santo Niño of Tacloban.”

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event because the arrival of Santo Niño resulted in many cures and the end of the
epidemic.

The Impact of the event

The return of the image was considered a portent of divine intervention in

the lives of the people of Tacloban. Since then people began to celebrate annually
this June 30 event which changed the lives of many. The great rejoicing
characterizing the celebration eventually eclipsed the January celebration of the
fiesta that soon June 30 became the date of the fiesta and the name of the parish
was changed from “Sweetest Name of Jesus” to “Santo Niño.”12

Through the decades, the image of the Santo Niño enshrined in the parish
church of Tacloban has become even more a great object to devotion among the
populace. People with their respective stories of miracles and favors granted by
the Santo Niño continue to come to this shrine and venerate His image. The
increasing number of devotees flocking to the church has resulted in the renovation
and remodeling of the parish church of Tacloban several times during the past
century.

Throughout the years, June 30th has been a special day for people of
Tacloban and its environs. In preparation for the fiesta, the image would be
brought to different communities or barrios of Tacloban.13 Aside from the Solemn
Celebration of the Mass usually celebrated by the bishop of Palo with the clergy of
Leyte and Samar in concelebration,14 the highlight of the day is the Grand
Procession – fluvial and land procession of the miraculous image. This is none
other but a reenactment of the miraculous return of the image on that momentous
day of 1889; in the minds and hearts of many devotees, this is also an occasion to

12 We can only be certain that the change of the name of the parish from “Holy Name” to
“Santo Niño” happened after 1889. As for the exact date, the information has eluded us because
a check with the archives of the Archdiocese of Cebu (to which Leyte belonged until 1910) has
revealed that all their pre-WWII documents went up in flames during the Allied Bombing; and a
check with the archives of diocese of Calbayog (to which Leyte belonged from 1910 to 1937) has
given us the information that their old records and documents have been destroyed and lost.
13 Until around the third quarter of the last century, the original image is brought around for
the visitation; but nowadays only a replica is used.
14 Since the past years, other bishops of stature in the Philippine hierarchy would often be
invited to preside at the Solemn High Mass and bishops of the region would concelebrate as
well.

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publicly witness to the favors Santo Niño has granted and to renew one’s spiritual
fervor.

On June 1, 1967, the Most Rev. Teotimo Pacis, CM, DD, Bishop of Palo,
issued a decree proclaiming the Santo Niño as the Heavenly Patron of Leyte
(comprising the present territory of the Diocese of Palo). Part of the decree is the
instruction that the “the feast of the Santo Niño be celebrated every year on June
30, with the liturgical rank of second class.” Because of this decree, a replica of
the image was enshrined in the Hall of the Provincial Capitol. In the subsequent
years, Imelda Romualdez Marcos had replicas of the image made and distributed to
government offices of the Province and Region and all municipalities of the
province of Leyte. The image of the Santo Niño of Tacloban has been made more
familiar to people in Leyte, even those far from Tacloban.

Since its proclamation as Heavenly Protector of Leyte and even of the

Province, the provincial government in cooperation with the Parish of Santo Niño,
the official custodians of the Image, would usually facilitate the annual pilgrimage
of a replica of the Image to the different municipalities of Leyte.

The devotional icon

The much revered icon of the Santo Niño of Tacloban, given the moniker
“El Capitan”15 has indeed survived time. Its exact origins have already skipped
the memory of the devotees and what has even been committed into writing. As a
devotional tool, the icon evokes countless blessings and untold stories of divine
assistance. There is a need to document all these, not just to provide inspiring
materials for spiritual reading and meditation for the strengthening of one’s faith,
but also to gather materials in order to evaluate or measure the quality of the
people’s devotion so as to help them develop a more mature faith.16

As a religious artifact, the icon is an artistic and cultural heritage of our

country. While the body is made of wood, the head, hands and feet are carved
ivory; the vestments are of beaten silver; the crown and other ornaments are
encrusted with precious and semi-precious stones. In fact, this image has a stash of

15 This title evokes a similar title given to another Santo Niño image that was previously
enshrined in the Augustinian Recollect Church of San Sebastian, “El Gran Capitan de
Filipinas”.
16 Cf. Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Directory of
Popular Piety and the Liturgy: Principles and Guidelines, December 2001, no. 64.

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jewels kept in a bank. In recent times, the former First Lady, Madam Imelda
Romualdez Marcos, herself a great devotee, has donated valuable jewels to add to
the collection. A more thorough inventory or study of these materials is wanting.
When somebody asks me what iconographical feature distinguishes the Santo Niño
de Tacloban from other Santo Niño images, usually my immediate answer is the
color of the vestments; the Santo Niño of Tacloban is clothed in silver and gold,
the same color of vestments that have come down to us since 1889.

In its present state, the icon - especially the ivory face and hands - needs
professional work (not just from any “village beautician”). Considering its age, it
indeed requires special treatment and handling. And so, the questions: is there
really a need to use this original and centuries-old image for the fluvial and land
processions? Would it be better to use a replica instead, since "the honor rendered
to the image is directed to the person represented" 17 Because of its fragile
condition, would it be better if the original image be left in its present niche in the
apse of the church? Any major decision that will be done regarding this original
image at present and in the future, I believe, does not rest on the authority of any
individual or even of a particular group. Consultation and professional expertise
are needed. After all, the icon now belongs to the religious and cultural patrimony
of a community of believers; it is a cultural patrimony of the church. Similar
points could also be raised regarding the “El Teniente”,18 the second image that
was made in 1888 after the original was left for lost at sea.

The non-liturgical expressions of the devotion

Among the early non-liturgical practices connected with the devotion was
the Inagta. To honor the natives (supposedly aetas) who, accordingly took care
of the image in Semirara, young boys would paint or cover themselves with soot to
look like the aetasw (or negritos) and they accompany the procession, both fluvial
and land. And they would honor the Sto. Niño through praises in verse (poetry)
and dance. With the advent of much bigger, better funded and more organized
festivals, the Inagta (those dressed as aetas) has gradually been reduced in number
and are just assigned as mere escorts during the fluvial and land processions; their
participation however in the so-called Balyuan Rites is not keeping with the

17Ibid. no. 18, quoting the Council of Nicea II, Definitio de sacris imaginibus (23 October 787)
in DS 601 and the Council of Trent, Decretum de invocatione, veneratione,et reliquiis
Sanctorum, et sacris imaginibus (3 December 1563), in DS 1823-1825
18This is the moniker of the second image of Santo Niño which usually stays with the Hermano
Mayor or Principal Sponsor throughout the course of a year.

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original story but merely to add pageantry to an activity which can be considered
only as one of the cultural or devotional expressions honoring of the Santo Niño.

More recent festivals in Tacloban in connection with the June 30 Feast

abound. Within the last two decades, the Pintados and Kasadyaan Festivals loom
large. The past few years saw the advent of yet another Festival, the Sangyaw. All
these purportedly were organized as a fruit of a devotion to the Santo Niño.
Without judging the motives of the organizers and participants, one may just
wonder as to their devotional content and historic connection to the June 30 event,
if ever there is anyway. Surely, their touristic and entertainment value can never
be underestimated.

Conclusion: the continuing challenge

The current popular narrative surrounding the June 30 fiesta unfortunately

includes the Balyuan or exchange of Santo Niño images – a story which has
already acquired some sort of legitimacy because it has become a quasi-official
part of the church activities in line with the fiesta. Historically, this was not an
integral part of the June 30 event and has only crept into the popular mind in recent
times. The June 30 event is not just any celebration in honor of the Santo Niño.
From the liturgical perspective, the January feast of the Santo Niño is more logical
since the mystery of the childhood of the Son of God is very much linked to the
mystery of his Incarnation (birth as man) which is celebrated on December. To
celebrate the Feast in June implies a grave reason which should never be simply
taken for granted. To be more specific, the historical content of the June 30 Feast
is the Return of the Image of the Santo Niño and the miracles that ensued at its
arrival. For church educators, it is essential to emphasize the story behind June 30,
to reflect on its significance and share the story to all. It is likewise important to
document all other miracles or divine interventions which happened through the
help of the Lord under the guise of the Santo Niño. Individual devotion is not
enough; the community is continuously challenged to relearn and reflect on the
meaning of the historic event of June 30 and the subsequent divine interventions of
the Santo Niño in people’s lives throughout this past century. After all, we
Christians celebrate a concrete event, not any myth or an invented story. It would
be a great tragedy or disaster for church custodians and educators to be unwittingly
dragged into a purported tale with probably another suspicious agenda altogether
other than an authentic devotion to the Santo Niño. And it would be a great
disservice to the community and great dishonor to the cultural patrimony of the
people if heritage practitioners would remain silent and not help rectify

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inaccuracies and educate the people to value and learn more about the origins of
their traditions and what has shaped them as a community.

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