Mazgao In The 1700's

Miagao during the 1700 's was a very troubled community. Tumagbok River was used by the Muslim marauders as an entry point to the town. They were barbaric, yes, those Muslims were. They were so savagely cruel that the first two churches where I usually go when I feel down and alone were burnt down into ashes. Thereafter, our community decided to construct a bigger church. It was a delicate process. Our church was made of stones, tabriya stones, a carbonaceous sandstone. These materials were gouged out at Sitio Tubog in neighbouring San Joaquin town and in the highlands of the town of Igbaras. A certain Matias from Igbaras first masterminded the construction but when he was later called to supervised the construction of his town 's church, a certain Aquino from Alimodian replaced him. This was overseen by Fray Gonzales up to its completion. It was built at the top of a hill overlooking our very own Tumagbok River. This was a clever idea since we may be able to see if ever there were intruders coming near ashore in our town. It helped the town defend itself from the frequent raids by Molo pirates in the 16th to 19th century that plagued many neighboring towns and caused whole town-centers to relocate towards Iloilo City. Thus, Miagao and its surrounding area grew without hindrance and with little outside influence. The church and its lookout tower were also set up to secure the town and its people against forays by the native Moro people. For that reason, it has