Crashing waves wreck Luna’s famed 400-year-old ‘Baluarte’

LUNA, La Union — The remnants of the Luna watchtower known as “Baluarte,” a historical landmark often visited by tourists, was destroyed by crashing waves in Barangay Victoria, here, at the height of the onslaught of typhoon “Lando.”

From afar, the 5.6-meter tall structure now sits on the shore like a partially eaten slice of cake with its broken pieces lying around it.

Built during the Spanish era, the Luna watch tower is also listed as a national treasure by the National Historical Institute (NHI) and a preserved building by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP).

The Luna Tourism Council said the Baluarte was a fortress used for defense by the Spaniards to spot the approach of pirates who, in their day, tormented Pangasinan villages.

Luna Mayor Victor Marvin Marron lamented how a big portion of the 400-year-old watch tower had been collapsed by strong waves spawned by Lando’s fierce winds.

For centuries, the weather-beaten structure made of bricks stood there split in the middle and leaning at a 20-degree angle.

Over time, Marron said, it had been swallowed by eroded soil and pebbles but still withstood generations until Lando came along.

The local government is already coordinating with the NHI for the possible rehabilitation of the wrecked national treasure.