Cape Santiago Lighthouse: Batangas’ Oldest Beacon

The Point Santiago or Cape Santiago Lighthouse stands as one of Batangas’ most enduring maritime landmarks. Its history reaches back to Spain’s late 19^th-century program to illuminate Philippine coasts for safer navigation.

The order for its construction came under the sweeping Plan General de Alumbrado Marítimo (General Plan of Maritime Illumination), a state project administered by the Inspección de Faros (Lighthouse Inspection) and the Dirección de Obras Públicas (Directorate of Public Works). Spanish engineer Magín Pers y Pers proposed the lighthouse at Cape Santiago in 1887 as part of efforts to improve safety along the Verde Island Passage and to secure approaches to Manila’s busy harbor¹.

The lighthouse is located in Calatagan, Batangas, and officially listed by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP)². Its exact hydrographic position is 13°46.32’ N, 120°39.18’ E, corresponding to the landmark known as Cape Santiago Light (F1936) in the Philippine hydrographic charts³.

The image above is an AI interpretation of the Cape Santiago Lighthouse.

Construction followed swiftly after the proposal. The project was completed and inaugurated on 15 December 1890, when the lighthouse was first lit⁴. Although the exact date of groundbreaking is not specified in the surviving records, the 1887 proposal and the 1890 commissioning frame its timeline convincingly⁵.

In Philippine maritime history, the lighthouse holds great significance. It was one of several Spanish-period coastal lights meant to integrate the archipelago into international trade by providing safe passage to ships traversing the Verde Island Passage, a notoriously busy and perilous sea lane⁶. The NHCP itself recognized this historical importance by installing a historical marker at the site on 12 March 2018⁷.

Several milestones highlight its enduring legacy. On its inauguration day, 15 December 1890, the first beam of light shone across Calatagan’s shores⁸. More than a century later, in 2018, the NHCP formalized its recognition with a marker, while in 2021 the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) initiated restoration works to preserve the structure⁹.

The Cape Santiago Lighthouse is in fact the oldest in Batangas. Its counterpart in Malabrigo Point, Lobo, though also a Spanish-period structure, was not built until 1896¹⁰. On the national scale, Cape Santiago is far from being the earliest Spanish lighthouse, as others had been constructed from the mid-19^th century onwards, but within Batangas it clearly holds precedence^¹¹.

Today, the lighthouse remains listed in official hydrographic records. According to the Notices to Mariners, Cape Santiago Light was recorded as “UNLIT” as of 11 December 2024, yet it continues to appear in the 2025 Lights List of the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA)¹². Despite modern reliance on radar and GPS, visual aids such as lighthouses remain relevant as redundancies in maritime navigation, serving as critical backup systems in case of electronic failure¹³.

By law, the management and maintenance of the lighthouse falls under the jurisdiction of the Philippine Coast Guard, designated by Republic Act No. 9993, the Philippine Coast Guard Act of 2009¹⁴.

As for its construction details, the structure was attributed to Spanish engineer Guillermo Brockman. Built of red brick and lime, it rises as a round tower—an enduring monument to both Spanish engineering and the maritime heritage of Batangas¹⁵.