Municipality of Pilar

Pilar Town Hall

The name Pilar is from the wife of Martin Borinaga, a kapitan of the island, the son of Solferino Borinaga, an eskrima expert who migrated from Leyte in the early 1800.
Pilar is a 5th class municipality with population of 11,941 ( 2007 census ), it is administratively subdivided into 13 barangays:

Biasong, Cawit, Dap-dap, Esperanza, Imelda, Lanao, Lower Poblacion, Moabog, Monserat, San Isidro, San Juan, Upper Poblacion, and Villahermosa.

Pilar Town Hall

Light Tower- Pilar

Pilar Beach

Pilar Pier

Pilar Pier

Pilar Pier

Pilar Pier

Pilar Church

Barangay Cawit Port

 Barangay Cawit is famous for its white-sand shoreline. Visitors flock the beach because it is not privately-owned, which means there are no fees to worry about. Tourists can set up tents on their own near the beach.

Small boats nearby also offer trips to other places within the Camotes Islands. Prices are negotiable.

SOLFERINO "KAPITAN PERONG PAK-AN" BORINAGA


"Soferino "Kapitan Perong Pak-an" Kabigting Borinaga of Pilar, Camotes, banggi-itang eskrimador sa isla sa puting baybayon" (Soferino "Kapitan Perong" Cabigting Borinaga eskrima expert of white beach island).
Solferino "Kapitan Perong Pak-an" Borinaga came from Cabalian, Southern Leyte who migrated to Pilar a tiny islet that is a part of Camotes group of islands northwest of Cebu province. He kept watch of marauding Moro pirates from the mouth of a cave overhanging on a cliff about eight stories high from the shore. This natural formation offered a panoramic view of the horizon and was very well suited as a balwarte (watchtower) because of its strategic location. From the cliff, Kapitan Perong designed an ingenious catapult made of five live bamboo poles carefully selected from among several plants growing in the vicinity of the cliff. The five robust poles were bent to about 45 degrees and tied securely with abaca ropes to sturdy pegs just a few meters from the tip.
Kapitan Perong brandishing his lampirong (Visayan version of Moro barong blade) would "horse" mount at the tip of the bundled bamboo poles and upon his signal to cut loose the harness would be propelled several feet above the air flying like superman with the trajectory precisely aimed at the incoming paraos (Moro sailboats). Landing accurately on the harsha (parao sails) for a soft impact, the element of surprise and seeing a man flying from the air would leave the Moros shocked with very little time to react. Then single-handedly he would finish off all the Moro raiders in the parao with his blinding speed and superior eskrima skills.
This daring display of aerial acrobatics earned him the moniker Kapitan Perong Pak-an (Winged Captain Perong or the Flying Captain Perong). And those who didn’t see the ingenuity of his natural catapult actually believed he had supernatural powers. A flying swordsman leaping out of nowhere scared the daylights out of the Moro raiders and they never came back to pillage the islands of Camotes again.

MORO WARRIORS GEARED UP FOR RAID

Borinaga’s son Martin took over the leadership of the tiny islet of Camotes, which used to be called Isla sa Putting Baybayon (White Beach Island) and renamed it after his wife Pilar. The only living master of Kapitan Perong’s system called Repikada Pegada Eskrima is Yuly Romo who teaches the style as supplementary lessons to Ka’li Ilustrisimo. He inherited the system from his uncle Tatay Anas Romo who acquired it from Emong Urias of Guindulman, Bohol. Emong Urias and his paisano (compatriot) Pedro Cortez once taught close quarters techniques to the late GM Antonio Ilustrisimo. During his youhful exile in Mindanao, GM Antonio Ilustrisimo learned the subtleties of praksyon a technique outside of the original Ilustrisimo family system from both Boholano masters. Tatang never learned "kali" or eskrima from any Moro master in Mindanao according to Master Yuly Romo. That's a serious blow to the Moro myth in the Ilustrisimo system!