Vigan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, stands tall and proud. Watch "Iliw" & learn how it survived the ravages of WWII

 
Every town has a story, a story to lasts the generations.  And Vigan is no exception.  However, this story is of love in a time of war, a time fraught with danger, suspicion and prejudice.  But who knew then that the fate of Vigan-- its families, its beautiful homes, and its history-- rested on the love of two enemies?

In 1941, World War II swept the globe and reached the shores of our islands, along with the Japanese occupation.  A man from Ilocos Sur who was then the Post Master of Baguio City was accused of some crime and jailed by the Japanese.  While in jail, he was frequently visited by his family, including his lovely daughter.  Soon, her pretty daughter captured the heart of the Kempeitai Officer stationed in Baguio.

In 1943, as destiny would have it, the Kempeitai Officer was assigned to Vigan and again, met the pretty daughter of the Baguio Post Master.  And yet, no matter the mutual hatred between their nations, the two became lovers.  Many dismissed it as a relationship of convenience-- a young, pretty Filipina seeking protection for her whole family by giving in to the amorous advances of a powerful Japanese military man.  A love in the time of war, a love between two enemies was never an easy path to take.  But only true love could have pulled them through.

1945.  Elsewhere in the world, the Allied Forces were winning the war and the Japanese Army was forced to retreat.  Somewhere in Vigan, there lived a German Parish Priest.  The Japanese were ordered to retreat from Vigan and leave only destruction behind them.  Who knows what happened on that one fateful night in 1945?  Who knows what pleas and prayers were made in desperate whispers, in numbing darkness?  Who knows what hearts were broken and what promises were made? We certainly never will.  But as the morning dawned over the town, it was clear that Vigan had been spared.  It had escaped total destruction, a misfortune that befell other places like Cebu and the City of Intramuros in Manila.  Vigan was not torched nor bombed; the dead were not left to rot, the living not left to weep.

Declared as UNESCO World Heritage Site, Vigan stands tall and proud; speaking only of triumph and salvation, speaking only of love that conquers all.