You probably wouldn't think that there would be a shrine to Jose Rizal in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya; much less think that it was built by a foreigner who looked up to Jose Rizal (and the other heroes in Philippine history). But guess what.?! There is such a shrine in Bayombong!!!!
Built by a Mahmoud Asfour (a naturalised Filipino), who the locals fondly call Jordanian. The site features the second largest statue of Jose Rizal. Made out of a mixture of bronze and composite fibreglass. The entire statue weighs 1.2 tons, while the base weighs 1.3 tons. The statue has a height of 16 metres, housed in a 12-storey structure.
The shrine sits on a hillside property (7.3 hectares), in Barangay Casat, which looks out to hectares of rice fields. The shrine's grounds also has what was once a manicured garden, and obelisk (10 metres in height; with the history of Nueva Vizacaya written on it), a helipad, what looked like a clubhouse of sorts and a fountain.
A bit of background on Mahmoud Asfour, he was the former vice president of Citibank International and a former official of the International Monetary Fund.
The reason behind his great love for the Philippines stemmed from the time his car broke down in the middle of the Saudi Arabian desert and was stranded for a whole 2 days (without any food and water), before the Gulf War. He was rescued by a Filipino truck driver who was the only one who stopped to help him and brought him to the nearest hospital.
He settled and rooted himself in Nueva Vizacaya, eventually marrying his wife, a Filipina. He was granted Filipino citizenship in July of 2005. He had made many charitable works and helped locals put up businesses. In a way he wanted to repay the kindness that was given to him by one of our kababayans all those years ago. The Rizal Shrine in Bayombong is just the icing on top of the very large cake of good deeds in his life.
The site also features other heroes (16 to be exact; busts), such as Andres Bonifacio, Apolinario Mabini and Ninoy Aquino to name a few. All of which are a mix of bronze and composite fibreglass.
The sad part is that the entire shrine's grounds are littered with trash and graffiti. There is really a lack of respect in general among the younger generations. What makes it sad it that they tend to deface things that should be considered sacred to our culture. And lack the honouring those who have fought so hard for them to enjoy the (simple) freedoms they have today.
I guess that's what you get if you allow just about anyone to go to a place for free, sadly. How I wish we could keep places (and things in general) like these NICE....
The Rizal Shrine in Bayombong Nueva Vizcaya is located at:
Barangay Casat, Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
*about 3 kilometres from the main highway/downtown area
If you're commuting, any bus that heads to Cagayan Valley passes through Nueva Viazcaya. For those who are driving, take the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and take the Sta. Rita exit.
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