by Christine V. Lao
Deborah Sindico
Unforgettable
__Pramis, it DA BEST!!!
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Larry Biron
Shadow of What it Used to Be
__The bell tower is the oldest structure in the city. It has survived earthquakes and tsunamis, pirate raids, the Philippine-American War, the great wars of the twentieth century, and the Covid-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, it has lost much of its shine, being an unpaid attraction, per local legislation passed in less enlightened times. Now the local government cannot pay for its upkeep and has resorted to less savory measures to “keep it alive,” so to speak.
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Nick
Amazing!
__100 percent LEGIT!!!
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johnwilliamson
The Good Stuff
__Wala bang online store?
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Alan C.
Review
__A stall beneath the grotto of the Blessed Virgin Mother is the last place to find a seller of these products. There’s no signage and you might miss it among the rest of the candle sellers’. Keep your eyes sharp and look for the one that might be owned by a plantita. You won’t be disappointed.
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Dolores M. Sim
it’s a…
__SCAM.
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HMax350
You mean a…
__TOURIST TRAP
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pete mclaughlin
Tipping point
__Plantita’s legit. Grows her own herbs, other goods from Siquijor. Catch the sweet smell of cigar smoke and follow it. You’re welcome!
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Potterite
High guys!
__Uhrm…explain herbs. Kekekeke….
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Gloria
TO THE GOVERNMENT
__WHAT IS OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT DOING, ALLOWING THESE ESTAFADORES TO CONTINUE THEIR BUSINESS?SIMPLE. THEY ARE CODDLING CRIMINALS WHOFRONT FOR THEM. YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO THIS GODFEARING CITY.! TO OUR MAYOR AND POLICE DO YOUR JOB!
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May P. Ulis
Keep our City clean
__Not that kind of herb, Harry Pothead. Ingat ka.
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Darlene Balthazar
ADZZZZ
__PAMPAREGLA DM ME
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KJE
squammy
__siquijor na lang besh o quiapo malapit saken
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Paul
Special
__May love potion? Kekeke.
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Customer
FINALLY!!!
__Got me two bottles of what I can only describe as…justice? Lol. For details, PM is the key.
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Wyatt Esq.
Eyesore or Worse
__Stay away. Even if it is near holy ground.
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Diane E. Jose
Safety reminder
__If you MUST pray at the Grotto: you will need to pass a narrow alley of stalls selling candles. Keep your eyes forward and walk on. DO NOT STOP TO BUY ANY… CANDLES.
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Wendy
Safety reminder ;D
__Nobody goes to the Grotto to pray. IYKYK.
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Jon Red
Spot of local colour
__I’ve been here and don’t understand the hate. It’s a major tourist spot, for Chrissake. The prayer beads for sale look like glass but are really plastic. This is the spot if you want to see the real city behind the tourism ads.
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Candyce Mendoza
Don’t understand the hype
__There are no price tags! And there are very few vendors! The ones that I met were thin crones with birdlike faces! They hardly ever moved!
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Candyce Mendoza
Where have they gone?
__Correction: no vendors, just products! My husband says the old women were at the Grotto to complete some ritual! No wonder they didn’t reply when I asked how much!
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Bae Suzy
Look for Plantita.
__She’s THE ONE.
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Brian BM
Honesty store?
__I was here yesterday and there were no vendors AT ALL. You could help yourself and get anything (rosaries, prayer books, candles—ordinary stuff) and maybe leave a few p in the donation box by the grotto? I had the uncomfortable feeling of being watched closely by…some quality of thickness in the air. So I didn’t.
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dona ramirez
Value for money!
__Pay what you want.
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Mary A. Olivarez
You get what you pay for.
__This is from experience. Be generous.
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Mac
Those in need ask no questions.
__One might mistake the talismans and amulets for prayer beads. There are also small amber bottles, all stoppered up but empty. I’ve been assured that these are filled to the brim with something one needs. How will you know if you need it? When I asked, Plantita shrugged. Those who need it simply buy. Tells you something about the city and its people, no?
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Margaret Ho
Powerful amulet
__I’d be more cautious about the talismans. I believe in defense rather than offense.
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Customer
But how do I find Plantita?
__I’ve been to the Grotto but the stalls were unstaffed. Only tourists were milling about. Would Plantita act/dress like a tourist???
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Costumer
Destiny
__One doesn’t find the Plantita. The Plantita finds YOU.
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Gloria
FINAL WARNING
__WOE TO YOUALL WHOPLACE THEIR FAITH NOT IN THE CREATOR BUT IN THE FALSE PROMISES OF MERE CREATURES ANDWORST IS CREATURES OF THE EARTH! YOUR FAITHLESSNESS CONDEMNS YOU TO HELLFIRE! YOUR COMMERCEIN MAN’S FAITHFULNESS RESULTS IN DEATH! DEATH BE THY FATE!!!
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Arline
Not worth the price of admission, which is free
__A bunch of faith healers and quacks. The sixties and seventies all over again.
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Patty
Question
__How true that the vendors are descended from kapre?
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Jax
Kind and friendly vendors
__So many memories! Spent some time with them back when Nanay closed down the business in Siquijor and moved to Quiapo. I returned last month and found most of them still there (see below). But things aren’t the same—not even the quality of P’s smokes. BTW we sell love potion and do online transaction. DM me.
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[Photo deleted]
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Vicki M
All That Smoke
__If you’re an asthmatic like me, this place will kill you. AVOID.
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Carlo R
Yosi Kadiri
__Bawasan kasi ang yosi, Plantita. Nakaka-asthma raw.
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Charise
Food for thought
__Has it ever occurred to you that Plantita smokes like the rest of us because of stress?
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Pam
Understanding All That Smoke
__Vicki M, families come here to buy candles and pray at the Grotto, especially on Sundays and after mass. We buy a bunch of the smaller, thinner candles, and lay them down horizontally on the metal grill in front of the Blessed Virgin. Together, they flame up impressively and withstand even the strongest of drafts (they’re pretty strong here, because we’re so close to the sea), unlike the tall thick candle that tourists buy and place on the grill upright and alone. We hope that the smoke from our candles carries our prayers to heaven. After praying, we cross the street and have a meal at the city market. Sorry that our habits have hurt visitors like yourself. It is not our intention.
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Vicki M
Not a visitor
__Pam: what makes you think I’m a tourist?
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Vicki M
The place is a fire hazard.
__Local here, born and raised. The stalls are wood and cardboard structures. They are just a few feet away from the metal rails where pilgrims place their candles. When the sea wind is strong, it blows the flames towards the stalls. The smoke is asphyxiating. Honestly, they should just tear the place down.
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Kim
Disturbing
__Visited last year. Saw a little boy’s jacket catch fire from the candles flaming on the grill. A vendor rushed out of the alley, swept him in her arms and managed to put it out, all the while moaning. A low deep disturbing sound. It was frightening. She was frightening. Twice my size, maybe (I’m very petite). Skin the color of a swallow’s wing. Now I wonder how anyone so big could fit into one of those stalls. Her cigar must have been as big as the child’s arm.
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Renee Martin
Breathtaking—years ago
__It’s quite sad to hear that time has not been kind to what once was a delightful place. My young son and I passed it on our way to the market. The buildings around the belfry obscured just how magnificent it was. As we approached, the sound of twittering birds grew louder. Later we figured they’d built their nests inside the belfry crevices. Or these must have been hidden from our view by the thick vines with claw-shaped flowers (turquoise and aquamarine!) draped around the belfry.
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Forest deep inside the city’s heart
smdar
__When I was four, my parents brought me here. While they were praying, I saw something tiny move and slither towards the stalls. It disappeared into the one nearest the Grotto exit. I don’t remember anyone being in the stall. It was a gecko, by the way, the first I had ever seen. And as the tarp fell behind me, it stopped and turned to look at me. I dropped to the ground and stared back. Then someone asked if they could help me. Only then did I realize that I was in some kind of forest. Or a cave covered in the greenest vines, the sweetest smelling flowers. A woman’s face loomed above me, large, dark, kind. She took a drag from her cigar and blew a ring of smoke that knocked me out. My parents have always said I dreamed it all. But it’s too vivid to be untrue.
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Pam
Nice Story
__Hello, smdar, your parents are right. This was a dream. There has never been a forest behind the Alley stalls, only the exterior wall of the belfry. It is physically impossible. You can fact check with the City Government. And to my knowledge, no one apart from the city’s swallows has ever lived inside the belfry. You’re quite the writer, though. Kudos.
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Joe
Been there too
__Entered through the back of the stall nearest the grotto. They were smoking a pipe or a cigar, and I now don’t quite know if its smoke was what had made me feel so good. They pressed a small empty bottle and one of their cigars in my hand. The last was almost as large as my hand. “Sweet dreams, they said.” Their eyes were very tired and very red, as though they had been crying. That night, after the little ones had gone to bed, I smoked the cigar and fell asleep. It was the best sleep I’d had in years. The bottle, I’m saving for when I need it, more than I do now. God bless them.
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Charise
Wait whut
__Plantita lives INSIDE the Belfry???!
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Gloria
VENGEANCE IS MINE
__SAYETH THE LORD. WOE UNTO ALL WHO TAKE THE LAW OF NATURE INTO THEIR HANDS. THE END IS NEAR TO ALL CREATURES WHO BOW TO NO SOVEREIGN. THE LORD IS MASTER OF ALL. AMEN. AMEN. AMEN
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May P. Ulis
Baliw
__Ingat sa
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Charise
Progress?
__Actually, the Plantita’s-forest-within-the-city is a concept I can get behind. Remember when they opened a fish spa underneath Siquijor’s centuries-old balete? Business grew 10,000,0000x!
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Pam
Good Point
__Now that is an idea that the City Government will welcome, a Forest-Within-A-City complex. But it is impossible to implement in the belfry area without bending the rules of reality, Charise. And there is no vendor along Candlestick Alley named Plantita. I understand the City has a development plan in place. But keep those good ideas coming.
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Vicki M
Good Idea
__Here’s a thought: evict the occupant/s of the Bell Tower, tear it down along with the Grotto and Candlestick Alley, and plant there.
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Pam
Response
__I’m afraid that even if we do that, Pam, there won’t be enough space to plant a forest.
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Saila Lim
Sapakan na lang
__…or go get a room you two.
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Jax
What about P???
__Seems like no one has seen or heard from P lately. If you have, DM me? Please?
@Mac, @smdar and @Joe, hope you don’t mind my messaging you.
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Admin
Your attention please
__Just a reminder that this thread is for HONEST REVIEWS of The Cathedral Bell Tower, Grotto, and Candlestick Alley.
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Jax
Can anyone confirm?
“A crowd gathered late afternoon to witness the alley’s long-time occupants being loaded onto a city government truck. The mayor promised they would be relocated to a less populated area in the countryside, where they could grow their own food, raise livestock to satisfy their needs. The eviction was delayed by one of the vendors, a foreigner (black, over seven feet tall and 300 pounds) who was found CHAINED to the inner wall of the belfry. It took over an hour for the police to unshackle him. As the officers led him away from the belfry, a flock of swallows resting on his shoulders took to the sky. The earth shook a little, the ancient belfry trembled. Vendors from the public market right across the alley said it was just another shakedown, one of the usual. Better the alley than their businesses. They seemed to have forgotten that they protected themselves with atswete and brass figurines acquired from the alley.”
Thank you for all your DMs, especially to the person who was able to screenshot and send this before the author took it down. There were many witnesses, so why was this not in the news? Please, if you hear about or know where P and her friends have been taken, contact me.
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Jax
Over a week now
__The lawyers say expect the worst.
DM if you have news. Anything.
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Vicki M.
Honest question
__I wonder why, in this day and age, the LGU would think of the belfry and grotto and alley as tourist spots. IS THIS ALL OUR CITY ISCAPABLE OF? WEARE MORE THAN JUST THE CRADLE OF FRAUDAND SUPERSTITION. WE CAN DO SO MUCH BETTER.
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Ng Tu Lay
Confidential funds yarnnn?
__Yes, Boomer/Gloria/Pam/Vicki M.
We gotchu.
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Admin
Your attention please
__Just a reminder that this thread is for HONEST REVIEWS of The Cathedral Bell Tower, Grotto, and Candlestick Alley. We will DELETE entries that do NOT review The Cathedral Bell Tower , Grotto, or Candlestick Alley.”
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Admin
Your attention please
__We are pleased to inform you that the Mayor himself has reached out and requested that the following message be posted on our humble page:
I am deeply saddened by the tragic fire that razed down the Cathedral Bell Tower, Grotto, and Candlestick Alley, all part of our city’s rich heritage, earlier today. The loss of these three iconic places in our beloved city is immeasurable.
Our days will not be the same without the hourly tolling of the Cathedral bell. And what can I say about Candlestick Alley, which has always been a quiet, if quaint, respite from city life for residents and tourists alike?
There is no balm to those who mourn its loss, nor the passing of all its vendors, who have been the lifeblood of the space for centuries and who, with their ancient arts, have not only preserved the wealth of our richest members but also provided the most judicious amount of comfort to the poorest. For the last four hundred years, they were the very source of our city’s peace.
These are serious losses, and those responsible for it, if any, will face justice. I have already ordered an investigation into the possible origins of the fire and undertake to report its findings to our people soon.
That said, I am pleased to inform you that we already have the funds and the plans to restore the Cathedral Bell complex immediately.
Even before tragedy struck, the City Council had already voted to approve the funding for the rehab plan I had made for the belfry, grotto, and alley. The only thing in the way of its implementation were the alley vendors who resisted the full automation of the planned arcade.
This was by no means a simple issue, even for your local government. Our vendors were bound to the complex not just mystically, but physically as well. We have spent many hours contemplating how to resolve it, together with our consultants from religious, educational, historical, cultural, medical, and business sectors.
It may seem ungrateful to say this right now, perhaps even unkind, given that it is only a few hours since their passing, but it is the truth: the vendors’ contribution to our city’s well-being has miserably decreased in recent years. Moreover, they have become hazards to our people, especially the youth. Although we have defended the Alley in the past from allegations that the vendors were involved in the sale of native narcotics, we have come to the conclusion that there is wisdom in the old adage, “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”
Even if you disagree with me on that point, you will have to admit that they have consistently refused to abide by our rules. The Chief of Police has recounted to me all the times the vendors did not comply with city fire hazard regulations and the National Building Code. If we allow such powerful beings to coexist without respecting our boundaries, then they are already trampling on our city’s independence and our nation’s sovereignty. Clearly, what centuries-old compact once bound our kind to theirs should no longer be honored.
It is unfortunate that all these issues have been resolved by a tragedy that none of us wanted—even though it has given rise to a small opportunity to improve our city’s tourist attractions and increase government revenue. By funding the automation of vending facilities at Candlestick Alley, the government and its investment partners will have an active hand in pricing the services provided therein, then remitting the earnings to the City Government. Previously, Candlestick Alley had operated at a loss, earning nothing for our people.
My dearest constituents, let us move forward from this tragedy with determination and resilience. Set your eyes, not on what we have lost, but what we might yet gain. Remember: There is nothing you and I cannot do together! The future is bright for you and for me! Mabuhay tayong lahat! I thank you.
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plantita
tabang
__tabangi k
About the Author: Christine V. Lao left the practice of law to write. She teaches at the University of the Philippines Diliman.