Revisiting the Town of Padre Garcia, Batangas

* collective symbol of Padre Garcia – cowboy hat and plow

* Padre Garcia Livestock Auction Mall / Market

Padre Garcia is a town where you can actually breathe in the essence of the people’s living. It’s not meant to disparage or anything but the common sight of cow wastes on the streets tells any visitors that livestock rules supreme in this town. A brief side trip to Padre Garcia enabled me to look closer at its lay-out and at any remaining structures from the past.

* stone fence of the Padre Garcia church

* St. Joseph and the church named after him

* church’s main door

* huge buttresses of the Padre Garcia church

* huge stones piled just below the church bell tower

* an upcoming garden site inside the church premises

* the church tower

* the bell and the cross: close-up views

* Padre Garcia church façade

Beside the ever-busy market place of Padre Garcia and the nearby livestock auction market/mall, the town proper is relatively serene. It is relaxing to walk through its narrow streets (particularly if the sun is not lashing out its heat) and see old and modern houses interspersed along the length of the streets.

* a monument for Padre Vicente Garcia;

behind him is the town hall

* Trailer Pransis meeting Padre V. Garcia

* a wagon display on the ground of the town hall

* an unnamed monument for what looked
like a fighter in the Philippine-American war;
is he Miguel Malvar? I wonder

The church, I found, is undergoing renovations. Just below the bell tower huge stones were piled. They most likely came from the dismantled stage found nearby before. Beside the church is a garden of sort in the process of completion. It seems like prayer garden, a solemn place where one can pray or simply reflect.

* Holy Trinity School, Padre Garcia, Batangas

* houses in Padre Garcia, Batangas

* says its all!

A few tasks I have set for myself the next time I visit Padre, Garcia: 1) witness (or if possible participate) in the livestock auction, and 2) dig in more about the priest behind the town’s name. And perhaps rummage for some old photographs of the place when Padre Garcia was still Rosario.