Quirino | Getting to Know Cabarroguis and the Province

The Quirino Provincial Capitol   The province of Quirino in Cagayan Valley, named after the former and sixth president of the Philippines E...

The Quirino Provincial Capitol

 

The province of Quirino in Cagayan Valley, named after the former and sixth president of the Philippines Elpidio Quirino has often been overlooked and misplaced as a destination. Maybe because they are in a land-locked area between three provinces of Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela and Aurora and no direct access on the main national roads or flights. This makes Quirino quite interesting alternative destination. “What’s here? What can we see and do?” Are just about some curious queries unraveled on our recent visit. But before any exploration, we made our way to Cabarroguis, the province’s town capital.

Inside the Provincial Capitol

In and Around the Capitol

Quirino province is young, having gained independence from Nueva Vizcaya in 1966. From our walks around Cabarroguis, we could see the rural rawness of the town that usually remote towns feels like. Yes large portions of the landscape is rugged with plenty of greens still but there are signs of development here and there bringing in some promise of what’s ahead in this province.

We visited the Quirino Provincial Captiol which was only a short walk from Capitol Plaza Hotel and Restaurant, where we stayed in town. It’s prominent dome overlooks the Capitol Sports Complex. The lobby centrepiece, under the dome lines, is a bust of the former president Elpidio Quirino.

We also visited the Governor’s Cottage, a beautiful residence usually reserved for government officials and special meetings. Overlooking the property is an area they are developing as a wakeboard park. The town is marketing itself as an active adventure and sports area, their motocross track have already been a major venue for motocross events.

A higher vantage point and Former president Elpidio Quirino’s bust

The Governor’s Cottage

The master bedroom

Neat pavillion at the Governor’s Cottage

More on the province OTOP and how to get to Quirino on the next page…

A vendor selling fossilized flowers

Fossilized Flowers, Tilangit and Tubikoy

We came in town when there was a Paskohan at the Capitol Sports Complex ground and one of the booths there showcased these colorful flowers where we found out were Fossilized Flowers made from alibangbang leaves (or butterfly leaves). They consider these craft as the town’s OTOP (One Town One Product) which they largely export to Europe. It’s quite meticulous process as well. The smaller ones are harder to make and are more expensive. These flowers can last for more than a year. A fitting accessory for events or a simple house decor.

If you ask me, there are a couple of interesting products that could pass as OTOP. Their Tubikoy, a rice cake from a delightful mix of tupig, bibingka and tikoy. The other one is their Tilanggit, a dried tilapia danggit version of the province. It is worthwhile to look for these delicacies when in town.

Tubikoy (left) and Tilanggit (right)

Getting Into Cabarroguis Quirino

Land travel makes most of the access to Quirino province. From Manila, several bus lines like Five Star and Northern Luzon Bus line ply the Manila-Quirino route daily. An alternative is to take the aircon buses taking the Manila-Santiago (Isabela) route. From Santiago terminal there are jeeps to Cabarroguis and other towns like Diffun, Aglipay (for Aglipay Cave) and Maddela.

From Baguio, NA Liner and KMS ply the Baguio-Quirino route daily.

By Air, the nearest airport is Cauayan, Isabela which is 1.5 to 2 hours away by land.

Fossilized flowers made from butterfly leaves

The smaller the flower the harder to make