THE QUEEN OF THE MOST HOLY ROSARY SHRINE (MALAJOG)

Location: Barangay Malajog, Tinambacan District, Calbayog City, Samar, Philippines

Updated: January 2, 2020

The imposing Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Shrine

Note: This is a part of my May 2 - 8, 2015 Samar-Leyte-Biliran-Mactan-Cebu Trip which includes: Capul Island, San Antonio Island, Dalutan Island, Sambawan Island, The Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Shrine, Ciriaco Hotel, Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, Other Calbayog tours, San Juanico Bridge, MacArthur Landing Memorial National Park, Limasawa Island

The Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Shrine is indeed, a pride of Calbayog City. It was erected through the leadership of Mr. Leonardo Hermo Oben, Jr. or known as Junior, when he was still the barangay captain of Barangay Malajog. This whole area of real estate property is a conjugal property of the deceased couple Catalino Pelito Oben and Dionesia Abayon Oben. Junior is just one of the descendants of this deceased couple. Junior worked hard in the United States to finance this project where on its later stage, some of his friends and relatives in the USA, had helped him to finance the completion of this project.

The shrine taken from the Look Beach

Brgy. Malajog is 24 kilometers away from Calbayog City or approximately 25 minutes drive. Malajog is one of the barangays of Tinambacan District --- which is one the three districts of Calbayog City, Samar. This shrine is closer to Calbayog Airport at 18.7 kilometers or 19.5 minutes drive.

The shrine taken from the entry point of the Kutay peninsula

The construction of this shrine started in October 2007 erecting initially the 22-foot statue of the Blessed Virgin Mother. It was in the year 2009 that the 14 stations of the cross, nativity scene, resurrection and the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ and two archangels has been started and was finished for more than a year where the construction of all statues was supervised by Mr. Jose Camacho. By September 4, 2010, the blessing of this shrine has been held through Bishop Isabelo C. Abarquez and he declared it as the Marian place for reflection and meditation.

The 20-foot statue of the Queen of the Most Holy Rosary on top of the hill

By February 2012, the construction of the shrine’s chapel with its adjoining guest rooms was started where there was no architect employed for this building construction. All the designs was the concept of Junior and was supervised by its visiting engineer, Mr. Allan Lanuza. The chapel is named Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary. Presently, the shrine is fully operative accepting guests who wanted to stay overnight in Barangay Malajog.

The underlying view from the hilltop

There are three guest rooms at the back of the chapel where each guest room has one double-bed and one king-size bed for an overnight charge of only P1,500 per room equipped with airconditioned units and lockers to keep the guests’ stuff safe. Each guest room has each own comfort and bath room with clean towels also provided.

Overlooking the beach front stretch from atop the shrine

The common area for these three guest rooms is a 10-seater dining table, a sala and porch and a kitchen equipped with gas range and freezer where guests can use for free including the plates, cutleries and kitchen utensils. Cooking of the food can be requested from the very accommodating caretaker, Mr. Ricky Sagala.

The rewarding scenery of the famous Malajog Lo-ok Beach as viewed from atop the shrine

As of this posting, there are on-going construction for the terrace for the sunset viewing at the back of the chapel, guard house, gift shop and the office of the shrine association.

Aerial view of the guest house and the chapel

Just below the shrine is the lone building with the guest house on the rear part of the building and the front has the chapel named Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary. The shrine nestles in the Kutay peninsula. It was once an abandoned piece of property.

Overlooking the vast beach coast from atop the shrine

Indeed, the peak of the hill offers a 360 degrees panoramic view showcasing the nearby islands and islets, the beaches, the rugged mountains and the picture of Barangay Malajog on its totality.

Clean beds and cabinets with lockers are provided

Guest rooms are spacious for a minimum of five persons and it allows extra bed (s) for a bigger group of family occupants and there are enough electrical outlets so that guests can provide the following day. There is mobile and internet network within the area.

Two of the guests' common areas - the dining table and the living room

There are common areas in the guests' house such as the hightech kitchen and the spacious living room with the dining table just adjacent to it. The living room has a glass sliding door which offers the complete scenery of the nearby picturesque islands.

Dining table, living room and the kitchen rolled into one common place

The ambiance inside the guesthouse on its guest rooms are just so rewarding as its amenities are just the same with that of a typical hotel room which are fully furnished.

The Most Holy Rosary Chapel

The chapel can accommodate at least 60 persons during held Catholic masses. Holy masses scheduled every First Saturday of the month and  if there are some special occasions.

Each guest room has a double bed and the queen size bed

Just close to the shrine are some added attractions where guests can also enjoy just like the beach line stretch of Lo-ok Beach. The beach itself is being surrounded by high limestone walls grown with trees which are used as a habitat of the “balinsasayaw” birds where its feces are used as expensive soup in some hotels.

Daraga Islet as taken from the gate of the shrine

Next is the Daraga Islet which is just across the shrine for 5 minutes boat drive. Guests can request the caretaker to look for boat facility to cross to the islet where it is good for swimming. The islet is uninhabited and there are no facilities there. Since nobody manages the islet, guests can enjoy it without paying for any entrance.

A private sea port as viewed atop the shrine

Another 6 minutes drive is the Malopalo massive marble walls along the Bulungto River which empties to the sea. Its entry point is in Malopalo Bridge.

Malopalo marble walls along Bulungto River

With credit to Golden Hour Photography

The pictures below were taken on January 2, 2020

Additional developments were made to this site after I posted  on May 20, 2015, and I posting all these developments based on the pictures I took on January 2, 2020.

Structures erected at the back of the initial accommodation units constructed

Initially this part of the site was nothing but a rocky portion.  These massive rocks were usually reached by the high tide and its tendency is to be slippery then.

Light posts and concrete chairs, tables and pathways were installed

The back of the site was completely turned into an open park which indeed a total makeover, enabling the guests to enjoy the beauty of sunrise and sunset on these amenities.

Truly a refreshing place to enjoy the cool breeze of the sea early in the morning and afternoon

With the developments made, the place is open for reservations for events like: wedding (there is a chapel and the restaurant for reception, so convenient); family reunion, seminars/trainings, birthday party,  meetings and conferences, team building, workshop, retreat and the like.

Its backdrop is the majestic seascape and the distant islands

For retreats or recollections, the venue can accommodate a maximum of 80 persons where adjacent to the chapel are four accommodation rooms for a total of 25 persons and the accommodation upstairs can accommodate 100 persons foam beddings.

Daraga Islet as captured from its rear part

The rear tip of the site with Daraga Islet on its backdrop

The best service it can offer the guests is its restaurant which it is called Bamboo Restaurant, which is why you will its structure is mostly made up of bamboo materials.

The spacious Bamboo Restaurant

The restaurant itself can accommodate 200 persons for dining and the 14 cottages can accommodate 84 persons for dining.    The restaurant's specialty is all-seafoods menu.  There is a live band every Saturday and Sunday from 5:00 to 11:00 P.M.

The interior of the Bamboo Restaurant

The bamboo-inspired walls of the restaurant

CONTACT DETAILS

To reserve accommodation for the guest rooms, restaurant or the whole venue, you may contact Mrs. Naty Oben or Mr. Leonardo Oben at mobile numbers: 09171600650 or 09530618671 or contact Junior through his Facebook account at Leonardo Oben. 

Calbayog is tagged as the City of Water Falls and some other tourist attractions. Thus, it deserves to be toured around. You can hire a van good to move around the place through Indira Ambos Rumohr with Facebook account at Indira Rumohr or through her mobile number at 09177188182 or through her driver in the name of Mr. Rey Tocayon with mobile number at 09265078350.

Philippine Airlines has just recently opened its new flight schedule as an additional flight to Calbayog City as indicated in this announcement below:

SAMBAWAN ISLAND

Location: Municipality of Maripipi, Biliran Province, Region VIII, Philippines

Sambawan Island in all its splendor

Note: This is a part of my May 2 - 8, 2015 Samar-Leyte-Biliran-Mactan-Cebu Trip which includes: Capul Island, San Antonio Island, Dalutan Island, Sambawan Island, The Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Shrine, Ciriaco Hotel, Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, Other Calbayog tours, San Juanico Bridge, MacArthur Landing Memorial National Park, Limasawa Island

Sambawan is a part of Maripipi, and island municipality of Biliran province with 8 municipalities located northwest and considered as the smallest municipality of the province. Sambawan Island is a part of Maripipi but politically speaking, it does not belong to any of the 15 barangays of the municipality, not even Barangay Ol-og which has a port leading to Sambawan.

Biliran Bridge - it connects the provinces of Biliran and Leyte

Sambawan is indeed an island paradise with such an enchanting turquoise blue waters. There are 12 diving sites on its vicinity which have been identified showcasing variant and rich biodiversity of coral gardens. The whole of it offers a very rich marine life.

The panoramic view of Biliran town as taken from Biliran Bridge

The resort of Sambawan is managed and operated by the local government and with my experience it is well-organized. Of course, to get a chartered boat would always depend on your haggling skills. You have the option to take a boat from the Kawayan Wharf which would cost P3,000 to P3,500 for 50 minutes. Traveling there late in the afternoon will take longer as the sea becomes lightly rough even during summer, thus, it would take more than an hour. Another option is taking a boat from Naval Port which would cost you around P7,000 to P8,000 for one and half hours but again, during late afternoon, the sea becomes rough and this can even take you for 2 and half hours reaching the island.

The undisturbed Capinahan Island

For my trip, I was in a group of 10 for a 7-day Samar-Leyte-Biliran-Cebu Trip. Our trip to Sambawan was such a long one coming from Barangay Malajog, Tinambacan District, Calbayog City leaving there at 3:30 A.M. and reaching Naval Port of Biliran at 12:40 Noon for a total of 341.2 kilometers. On our way, however, we dropped in Catbalogan (Samar) – 5:25 A.M., Calbiga (Samar) – 6:05 A.M. for breakfast, San Juanico Bridge – 7:53 A.M., San Rafael Farm (Babatngon, Leyte) – 8:05 A.M., McArthur Leyte Landing Memorial Park in Palo (Leyte) – 9:05 A.M. and Biliran bridge – 11:40 A.M. via Pan-Philippine Highway just for pictorials.

This picture was taken at 6:05 P.M. of May 5, 2015

We had our lunch in Naval and decided to market our drinking water and all other food supplies we need in the island. Lunch in Naval was in a decent carinderia where costs varies from: viand is P30 and P10 for rice, fried and paksiw fish costs P15 for two pieces and vegetable per order is P20 while buco is P25 which is the same with Manila’s price. Its public market offers P160 a kilo for yellow fin fish and same with tuna. Practically, all the food supplies you need are in Naval. There are banks there and grocery stores.

The southernmost tail end of Sambawan island

We left Naval Sea Port at 2:05 P.M. and docked at Capiňahan Island at 2:30 P.M. We just stayed there for short pictorials and headed to Dalutan Island where we reached there at 3:00 P.M. The island has a stunning scenery overlooking the nearby islands and so we stayed for 20 minutes there. We reached Sambawan Island at exactly 5:00 P.M. with a total travel time of 2.68 hours from the port of Naval.

The majestic sunrise as captured from the foot of the viewdeck

Sunset in Sambawan island offers a superbly majestic scenery where one can readily capture it without any obstruction in any part of the island most particularly from the island's viewdeck.

This same angle was taken at 5:06 A.M. of the following day, May 6, 2015

Going to Kawayan wharf from the entry point of Biliran bridge will give you another 18.60 kilometers for it is nearer to Sambawan as compared with the Naval Port. There are available jeepneys which are always jampacked with passengers and cargoes.

An aerial view of the resort's cottages and beach coast as taken from the viewdeck

Personally, touching the ground of the majestic Sambawan Island is an event. I felt I was then close to mother nature. The place was so serene. The fresh sea breeze massages my skin and I find it so soothing. Friendly and accommodating staff guided us to our booked accommodation. They were actually giving us the usual briefing which included the house rules but I begged with them not to be disturbed and we just dropped our things in our cottage and we ran up to the 130-concrete stairs view deck to capture the best scenery, the one which I usually see in the blogs and their webpage.

The resort's viewdeck

I also captured a picture of a breathtaking sunset. My adrenalin rush of taking pictures came to a halt when the night gradually invaded the island. It was only that time that I came back to my normal senses. We had booked for two P2,500 cottages but we found out that each cottage has its own attic where it can accommodate 10 people in the cottage. This is not to mention that the spacious balcony of the cottage can accommodate four people to sleep. With this, I requested from the management if we can all stay in just one cottage and we were granted.

The concrete 130 stairs leading to the viewdeck

Our cottage is equipped with three beds only with soft pillow and a blanket. It has two electric fans, one in the main room and one in the attic. Outlets are available for charging cellphones and other gadgets enjoying a sundown-to-sunrise electricity supply. There is one comfort room and one bathroom equipped with fresh water. There is a strong network signal where you can enjoy net connection all night and day long.

Well-kept cottages and clean surroundings

It was at this time, too, that I negotiated with one resort’s staff to cook our food for dinner and breakfast. All the cutleries for dinner and breakfast were provided. We were charged for P300 for the cooking and the cutleries but satisfied of the service, we opted to pay the staff with P500.

The typical P2,500 per day cottages

After dinner, while enjoying the huge moon above us during a night swim, one of the resort’s staff approached us giving some in-house rules and we learned the following: (1) getting shells has penalty of P2,500; (2) no liquors are allowed in the viewdeck; (3) guests are responsible for the proper waste disposal where we are given three garbage bags segregating the recyclables, biogradable and non-biogradable; (4) our cottage has its own water meter where the first 200 liters is free and the excess would be charged for P1 per liter; (5) entrance fee is P100 per head; (6) boat docking fee is P125; and (7) minimizing noise is enforceable.

The receiving area and balcony of a P2,500 cottage

We woke up at 5:00 A.M. the following day to make sure that we can dip in the beach early in the morning. The water was really clear and irresistibly inviting. As early as 5:30 A.M., our breakfast was already served in our balcony. After rinsing, we trekked around the island which we knew that during high tide, the island transforms into three small islets.

The interior of a P2,500 cottage with a ladder going to the attic

We really wanted to stay but we still had scheduled trips ahead. Thus, at 7:08 A.M. we left the island boarding our chartered boat and reached Naval Port Terminal at 9:05 A.M. It was at the port that we eat much the chicken and pork barbecue and the puso rice. Then, at exactly 9:45 A.M. we left Naval boarding our chartered van heading to our next tourist destination – the Limasawa Island.

The toilet facility of the P2,500 cottage

The P500-rental cottages with common comfort rooms

The Diving Shop offering diving equipment and services

The J17 UP Bridge at the background

The open cottage that can accommodate 20 people for P1,000 rental

An upclose photo of the J17 UP Bridge

A photo of the cottages taken from the J17 UP Bridge

Last group photo in Sambawan island

Capturing the view of Tingkasan Island while on board the boat heading for Naval

Passenger motorized boats docked at Naval Port Terminal

A photo of Boning, our boatman with CP No 09464009849

For the resort's reservation for accommodation, you may contact in advance Mr. JC Manuel in his mobile phone at 09264104866.

DALUTAN ISLAND

Location: Almeria Municipality, Biliran Province, Region VIII, Philippines

The breath taking scenery taken from Dalutan beach line

Note: This is a part of my May 2 - 8, 2015 Samar-Leyte-Biliran-Mactan-Cebu Trip which includes: Capul Island, San Antonio Island, Dalutan Island, Sambawan Island, The Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Shrine, Ciriaco Hotel, Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, Other Calbayog tours, San Juanico Bridge, MacArthur Landing Memorial National Park, Limasawa Island

Dalutan Island is a pristine white sand beach island shaded by overhanging trees which include the tropical coconut trees. It is 45 minutes motorized boat ride from the sea port of Naval. The total stretch of the scenic 2,783 feet (848 meters above sea level) -Mount Panamao Mount which ranks 723rd highest mountain of the Philippines can be captured here.

Tropical coconut trees abundantly grows in the island paradise

Dalutan is just one of the islands of Biliran where vacationers can enjoy. Others include: Higatangan, Capinahan, Maripipi and Sambawan.

Trees give substantial shade in the island

Visitors should bring with them food, water and camping equipment for there is nothing in the island but few open hut cottages. However, it is quite rewarding that the island is a place where one can enjoy fishing, camping, trekking, scuba diving, snorkeling, photography, painting, team building activities and even simple family gatherings.

The open cottages for rent

We visited this island just to experience how it feels to be there as we were rushing to reach Sambawan island. But if given the chance, I would to love stay here for a day. Overnight here is not allowed. It closes at 5:00 P.M.

The breath taking blend of colors of the sky, sea and the white sand

We are lucky enough that we landed here at 3:00 P.M. nobody was around to charge us for the entrance fees which is suppose to be P20 for adults and P10 for minors. Rental for big cottages is pegged at P200 and the small ones are at P150. These rates are subject to change without prior notice.

Small open hut cottage at P150 day rental

It is highly recommended that no one should travel to/from here beyond 5:00 P.M. most especially during bad weather as the sea becomes turbulent. As we noticed, late afternoon travel here is not advisable as the sea starts to become rough until night time. Mornings are the best to visit the place and leave there at 5:00 P.M.

The legendary Mount Panamao at the background as taken from Dalutan Island

See also the Sambawan post for other related information on going to this place.