OUR LADY OF MT. CARMEL
The image on its wall of the Cotta believed to be miraculously growing and has been the object of pilgrimage to the City of Ozamiz.
The image on its wall of the Cotta believed to be miraculously growing and has been the object of pilgrimage to the City of Ozamiz.
FORT SANTIAGO: THE COTTA OF MISAMIS
Easily the first to attract passengers of incoming vessels to the Ozamiz City Port from a distance of about more than a mile away during daytime is the Misamis, Cotta, also called earlier as the Triunfo, a stone fort built along the shores of Panguil Bay more than two centuries ago.
Historical Background:
The Cotta or Fort, which has been used uninterruptedly as a military stronghold ever since it was built in the 1750’s until now, is situated southeast of Ozamiz City (formerly the town of Misamis), a strategically located community at the mouth of Panguil Bay. The poblacion then is the present site of the Imelda Park, a stone throw from the western corner of the Cotta. The above-mentioned Panguil Bay had been described in the mid-eighteenth century as the “never ending source of Muslim pirates”.
Noted historian Miguel Bernad, S.i., said that the Cotta was built about 225 years ago as proposed by Father iose Ducos of the Jesuit for two reasons: to repel the Moro piratical raids which were at their height in the 1 750's, and to provide shelter for the ships of the Spanish fleet during that time.
Possibly the oldest structure in the area, it stands mute witness to the many events that took place in Ozamiz City. It was subjected to deafening sounds on at least two different occasions: first, possibly for a good number of times, from cannons and fusillades of soldiers under the service of the Spanish crown fighting against Muslim raiders, and second, from the numerous bombs on the eye of the last day of the Japanese occupation of Ozamiz City, December 10, 1945.
From the point of view of the planned military occupation of the Philippines by the British before their conquest in the 1750’s, the Misamis Cotta was so important that it was marked as one of the three that must be captured to ensure contact with the Muslims, who were to be used in the fight against the Spanish government. The other two forts included were those of the Zamboanga and Basilan.
From the earlier historical records, it is known that before the construction of the Misamis Cotta, there were already in existence several forts in Mindanao. Among these were that of (1) Zamboanga, called Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zaragoza; (2) Dapitan, located in a stony hill overlooking the sea; (3) Iligan, called San Francisco Xavier, made of squared stones, star-shaped and smaller in size that of Ozamiz, (4) Cagayan de Oro, called San Jose, triangular in shape, built on the beach and dominating the surrounding bay; and (5) Cateel, built of wooden planks with nipa roofing. The maintenance and support of the soldiers assigned to these forts, their supply of arms and ammunitions were quite a big drain on the Spanish Royal Treasury at the time.
THE CONSTRUCTION
There may be no possible data now available about such details as when the first cornerstone must have been laid, the length of time of the actual construction, the names of the construction engineers, and the number of workers who did this extraordinary engineering feat. 'It may be surmised that either forced or voluntary group labor, termed pahina in Cebu-Visayan dialect, must have been used then.
What a casual present day observer may easily notice is the kind of material used which by present standard of construction materials would be considered flimsy. These materials are rectangular blocks of sedimentary rocks, a mixture of coral and sandstone joined together by lime. While these types of stones were abundant along the western shores of Panguil Bay in the early days, a reliable source had it that those used for this particular Cotta were more durable and were said to have been transported by bancas from the neighboring island of Siquijor during the northern monsoon when traveling would be fast and easy. Moreover, these stones have stood, ravaged by time and elements, for more than two hundred years.
These rectangular blocks of stones are varied in sizes, with an average dimension of 30 cm. Long, 25 cm. Wide and 20 cm. in height, the top stones being slightly smaller than the base for piling purposes. Considering the absence of mechanical equipment during that time, it must have taken thousands of person-hours to do the trimming to get the desired sizes and shape before they were actually laid by the masons.
The fort must have been planned to be square in shape with bastion in each of the four coiners. The interior yard measures 60.45 by 56.9 meters from wall to wall. A four meter-wide ramp extending inward 1 7 meters from the base, also made of blocked stones, leads to the eastern bastion. This must have made the movement of cannons and foot soldiers easier and faster in times of emergences.
Inside, all parts of the Cotta wall could easily be reached through a 60-centimeter-wide walk. With the 60-centimeter-thick wall rising to almost a meter and a half from the floor one could move freely inside, protected from the outside enemy fire and from weapons of eighteenth century vintage. Outside the height from the ground to the topmost part of the wall is 5.5 meters, except that of the corner of the western bastion which sank about two meters below ground level during the I 955 earthquake in Ozamiz and Lanao areas.
Each bastion differs in area very slightly from the others; with the two facing the town are 12.5 by 12.4 meters. Each of the town sides of the bastion had two-gun emplacement of different widths, one with .22 meters, the other wit. 4.65 meters. The latter must have been used for cannons for wider range of firing, while the other must have been intended for the riflemen. The thickness of the wall at the floor level is 2.4 meters, tapering to .6 of a meter at the top level. From the inside, the wall is 3.5 meters high from the ground level.
DAMAGE CAUSED BY THE 1955 EARTHQUAKE
In April 1955 an earthquake, which registered intensity 7 on the Richter scale, rocked Ozamiz and its environs. That quake may be considered as the most devastating natural disaster ever experienced by the city residents. While no life was lost, the Sunday dawn quake destroyed important landmarks of the city, such as the century-old Catholic Church and part of the Cotta and cause meter-wide cracks along Rizal Avenue leading to the port road.
The damaged of the Cotta, which possibly could be permanent and now irreparable; is in the form of crevices or cracks and holes on both the wails and bastion floors, varying from 50 centimeters to 1.2 in width or diameter. As mentioned earlier, the corner of the western bastions sank about two meter below ground level during the 1955 earthquake. The sinking must have been cause by the weakened foundation around the particular part of the bastion, near where Japanese soldiers, using the Cotta as their last refuge, had dug trenches in their last-ditch defense after b mg trapped by the guerilla forces. The sunken bastion faces the present port where the guerilla forces had also dug their trenches while on watched for the trapped Japanese soldiers. The soldier bastion on the other hand, sank less than a meter. The tilt on this bastion is not quite noticeable if one is at the top.
There are six large crevices and two holes together, mostly found at the southwestern side of the Cotta. Actually two ether cracks were formed on the eastern bastion with its corner sunk about one foot below. These cracks however have been filled and joined with cement. The location of these cracks is indicated in the accompanying sketch by letters “a” to “h”.
THE COTTA TODAY
Since late nineteenth century until present the Cotta has been closely associated with the shrine of what the Misamis folks consider the miraculous image of the Birhen sa Cotta outside wall on the northeastern side facing the Ozamiz City port. This section was formerly a gate, which is now closed and walled in. The Birhen sa Cotta, as it is more popularly called, has been adopted as the second patroness of the city, with its feast day July 16, celebrated yearly. The inauguration of the change of Misamis to the chartered city of Ozamiz but also from other towns and provinces come daily to the cotta to light candles at the shrine and pay homage to the Blessed Virgin.
The Cotta, which served as a watchtower for Misamis during the dark days of the 1750’s, now serves, through its lighthouse, as a guide for both mariners and fishermen entering Panguil Bay during dark nights. The lighthouse, pre-World War II addition, is located at the eastern bastion. Standing on one-meter base and tapering to a half-square-meter top, the lighthouse has a height of 0.6 meter from the Cotta floor by a winding 38-step stairway.
The fort today, to an ordinary citizen, may just be another huge of stones piled on top of one another, unimposing in appearance especially because of its irregular and unkempt condition. It could easily pass for what Markham described as “stolid and stunned” and now “bowed by the weight of the centuries”.
Both the northern and northwestern sides are now blocked by makeshift homes and refreshment stands catering to the needs of devotees of the Virgin and beach users alike.
Attempts to restore the fort to its grandeur were not actually lacking. One of the latest is that from a group of civic-minded citizens, led by retired Judge Geronimo Marave of Ozamiz City who helped raised the amount of P 30,000.00 last 1975 in addition to the national funds set aside for its preservation. It should be known that before the 1960's, the sea encroachment towards the Cotta became alarming. The sea has eaten up the northeastern side exposing a good portion of its very foundation. The timely construction of the groin and breakwater saved the fort from what could have been another irreparable damage. Today the storage Cotta is the only remaining witness of Ozamiz City's rich and colorful past.
The question that may be raised is should the Cotta be left to its present state, at the mercy of the elements and allowed to deteriorate and ultimately to crumble to the sand, or should its original grandeur be restored so that future generations may see and remember? The answer lies with the people of Ozamiz, our leaders both civic and government, local as well as national. Whatever the answer may be, some price will have to be paid. If we refuse to pay for it now in terms of funds for its restoration arid preservation, we will pay for it later in terms of a complete extinction of a valuable link with the past and with our future generation.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT NOTES
The writer wishes to acknowledge the help extended to him in preparing this article to the following:
1. The 446th PC Company, through Lt. Felipe Ochate, Commanding Officer, for the permission to move freely around the Cotta premises to take notes and measurements.
2. Mrs. Ellodora L. Abella and Miss Milagros Yumol, both members of the Faculty of Natural Science, Immaculate Conception College, for their help in analyzing the materials used in the construction of the Cotta and other pertinent information about its physical characteristics.
3. Mr. Fernando Daniel, Mr. Emmanuel Arano, Mr. Michael Chiong, Mr. Frank Mibulos and Mr. Ramon Bueno Daomillas, Jr. for their assistance in making notes as well in the measurement and analysis of the present physical condition of the old fort.
OUR CONTRIBUTORS
Conception C. Hernandes, M.A. Educ. (ICC) is connected with the public school as Division YCAP Coordinator and Private School Area Supervisor, Ozamiz City.
Virgilio Resma, M.A. English, (ICC.), is with the public schools but is at present on leave for scholarship grant at the Ateneo de Manila University.
Antonia Balverde, M.A. Educ. (ICC) one time Research and Evaluation Coordinator, is a Head Teacher in the Public Schools Aurora, Zamboanga del Sur.
Elpidio A. Acebedo, M.A. Educ (ICC) is a District Supervisor District 3, Division of Ozamiz City.
Ramon N. Daomilas, M.A. Educ. (George Washington University, Washington D.C.), Ph.D. (University of San Carlos) is Dean of College, Immaculate Conception College.
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