Stretching along the western edge of the Philippine archipelago between the Sulu Sea and the South China Sea directly facing the central and southern coast of Vietnam, the island province of Palawan holds not only world-renowned limestone karsts and coral reefs but also one of modern Southeast Asia's most moving chapters of humanitarian sanctuary. Driving thirteen kilometers north from downtown Puerto Princesa City along the North National Highway into Barangay Santa Lourdes near Honda Bay, travelers pass beneath a traditional Vietnamese archway into Viet Ville (Lang Viet Nam) and the serene mango-shaded grounds of Phap Vien Pagoda (Chua Phap Vien).
Growing out of the historic Philippine First Asylum Camp (PFAC) that sheltered more than forty thousand Vietnamese boat people near Canigaran Beach from 1979 to 1996, and established as a permanent village in 1996 under the pastoral protection of the Philippine Catholic Church and local Palawan authorities, Viet Ville stands as an enduring monument to compassion across borders. Here, a traditional Vietnamese Buddhist temple with upturned dragon eaves and a white outdoor shrine to compassionate Avalokitesvara stand peacefully beside a Catholic chapel honoring Our Lady of La Vang, while the nearby village kitchen keeps alive the fragrant Vietnamese noodle soup known across Palawan as Chaolong.
ISakyamuni Buddha, the White Shrine of Compassionate Avalokitesvara, and Buddhist-Catholic Brotherhood in Exile
Stepping through the gateway of Phap Vien Pagoda inside Viet Ville reveals the intimate, heartfelt architecture of a traditional central and southern Vietnamese village temple recreated on Philippine soil. Inside the quiet one-story Main Buddha Hall, a gilded statue of Sakyamuni Buddha sits in lotus meditation upon the central altar, flanked by bodhisattva images, ancestral tablets, and memorial plaques dedicated to fellow countrymen and women who perished at sea during the perilous boat journeys of the late 1970s and 1980s. Directly in front of the temple porch, framed by tropical palms and bougainvillea, stands a luminous white open-air statue of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva (Quan The Am Bo Tat) holding the willow branch and vase of pure nectar.
For thousands of Vietnamese refugees who drifted for days or weeks in fragile wooden boats across stormy waters before being rescued off the coast of Palawan, chanting the name of Avalokitesvara (hearkening to the cries of the world, as taught in the Lotus Sutra and the Great Compassion Mantra) and praying to Our Lady of La Vang were the twin spiritual lifelines that sustained hope against despair. As soon as survivors reached safety in Puerto Princesa and were welcomed by hospitable Filipino fishermen and soldiers, their first communal act alongside building bamboo shelters was to raise an altar of thanksgiving to the Buddha and the Virgin Mary.
What makes the spiritual landscape of Viet Ville in Santa Lourdes deeply inspiring is the seamless brotherhood between Buddhism and Catholicism within a single twelve-hectare community. Just a short walk down the shaded village lane from Phap Vien Pagoda stands the Viet Ville Catholic Chapel, enshrining Christ and Our Lady of La Vang. Even though the entire Viet Ville land purchase and housing project in 1996 was spearheaded and funded by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines under Jaime Cardinal Sin and the Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Princesa, Church leaders gladly dedicated prime land inside the settlement for Vietnamese Buddhist families to build Phap Vien Pagoda and practice their ancestral Dharma freely.
The Dharma title Phap Vien (meaning Garden of the Dharma or Sanctuary of the Teaching) reflects the core Mahayana insight of the Heart Sutra: wherever human beings meet suffering with loving-kindness (metta), compassion (karuna), and mutual aid, that ground becomes a pure land of awakening. Throughout the years of displacement, the morning and evening temple bell at Phap Vien offered emotional healing for families separated from their homeland while instilling gratitude toward the Filipino host community.
At the same time, the coexistence of a Vietnamese Buddhist pagoda and a Catholic chapel sponsored by Philippine bishops exemplifies authentic interfaith solidarity: placing human life, shelter, and freedom of conscience above all sectarian boundaries.
Historical records of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Center for Assistance to Displaced Persons (CADP) of the Philippine Catholic Church document that in July 1979, following the rescue of hundreds of Vietnamese boat people near the Nido oil platform and western Palawan reefs, the Philippine government and the Western Command (WESCOM) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines established the Philippine First Asylum Camp (PFAC) near Canigaran Beach adjacent to the Puerto Princesa airport. Unlike fenced detention camps elsewhere in the region, PFAC became famous internationally as an open, humane community where Vietnamese residents were permitted to fish, farm, study, and operate small businesses in town alongside local Palawenos.
Between 1979 and 1996, more than 40,000 to 50,000 Vietnamese refugees passed through PFAC Palawan (many subsequently transferring to the Philippine Refugee Processing Center Memorial, Morong, Bataan prior to third-country resettlement). When UNHCR formally closed PFAC on June 30, 1996, roughly 1,000 to 2,000 remaining refugees who had not yet been cleared for overseas resettlement faced the threat of forced repatriation. Refusing to allow them to be sent back against their will, Jaime Cardinal Sin of Manila, Bishop Pedro Arigo of Puerto Princesa, and Sister Pascale Le Thi Trieu raised funds to acquire twelve hectares of rolling land at Kilometer 13 in Barangay Santa Lourdes, founding Viet Ville in 1996 complete with over two hundred cottages, a Buddhist pagoda, a Catholic chapel, and community livelihood workshops.
First-time visitors who walk through the quiet lanes of Viet Ville today and see many unoccupied cottages sometimes assume that the 1996 village project failed. In reality, the quietness of Viet Ville is the direct result of its humanitarian success: because the Philippine Church and government granted the remaining refugees safe haven at Viet Ville from 1996 onward, subsequent humanitarian resettlement initiatives in the early 2000s (including the U.S. ROVR program and sponsorship drives in Canada, Australia, and Europe) enabled nearly all Viet Ville families to reunite legally with relatives abroad or relocate to Metro Manila. Today, local Filipino caretakers and a few remaining Vietnamese-Filipino families maintain Phap Vien Pagoda, the chapel, and the restaurant as a living historical memorial.
IIFrom the Canigaran Shore in 1979 to the Founding of Viet Ville in Santa Lourdes in 1996
The story of Viet Ville and Phap Vien Pagoda began on the open waters of the South China Sea in the late 1970s, when small timber fishing boats carrying families from southern and central Vietnam reached the western shoals of Palawan. Guided ashore by Palawan fishermen and Philippine Navy patrols, the exhausted arrivals were greeted on the beaches of Puerto Princesa with warm rice, fresh coconuts, and remarkable neighborly kindness.
Within the seaside compound of PFAC at Canigaran during the 1980s, refugees built a vibrant Little Vietnam: Buddhist monks and laypeople erected the original Phap Vien Pagoda while Catholic priests and parishioners built a church, alongside schools, clinics, bakeries, and noodle stalls. When the seaside camp closed in 1996, that spiritual and cultural heritage was carefully transplanted thirteen kilometers north to the hillside of Santa Lourdes at Viet Ville.
- July 1979Establishment of the Philippine First Asylum Camp (PFAC) at Canigaran, Puerto PrincesaThe Philippine government, WESCOM military authorities, UNHCR, and the Catholic Church open the Palawan asylum camp to shelter Vietnamese boat people rescued in the South China Sea.
- 1980sFlourishing of Buddhist and Catholic spiritual life and cultural exchange in Puerto PrincesaOver 40,000 Vietnamese refugees pass through PFAC over seventeen years, building a Buddhist pagoda and Catholic chapel while introducing Vietnamese pho, banh mi, and agriculture to Palawan.
- June 30, 1996Closure of PFAC and humanitarian intervention by the Philippine Catholic ChurchAs international camp funding ends, Jaime Cardinal Sin, Bishop Pedro Arigo, and CADP advocate with the Philippine government to allow remaining Vietnamese refugees to stay safely in the country.
- 1996 to 1997Founding of Viet Ville and construction of Phap Vien Pagoda in Barangay Santa LourdesOn a 12-hectare hillside at Km 13 North National Highway, more than 200 cottages are built alongside Phap Vien Buddhist Pagoda, the Catholic Chapel, and the Viet Ville Restaurant.
- 2000s to the presentOverseas family reunification and preservation as a Palawan heritage landmarkFollowing the successful resettlement of most residents to the United States, Canada, Australia, and Manila in the 2000s, Phap Vien Pagoda and Viet Ville remain open as a cherished historical and culinary landmark.
How Vietnamese pho and French baguettes became Puerto Princesa's signature dish, Chaolong. Few stories illustrate cultural gratitude more warmly than the culinary legacy left behind by the Vietnamese community of Palawan. During the 1980s and 1990s, local Filipinos visiting the refugee camp and later Viet Ville fell in love with the fragrant slow-simmered beef bone noodle soup (pho) and crispy wood-fired French baguettes (banh mi) prepared by Vietnamese cooks. Over time, Palawenos affectionately gave the dish the name Chaolong, pairing sweet-savory anise-spiced beef broth and rice noodles with garlic-buttered Vietnamese baguettes. Today, Chaolong houses stand on nearly every major street in Puerto Princesa, keeping the memory of Palawan's Vietnamese neighbors alive in daily island life.
IIICurved Vietnamese Temple Eaves, the White Avalokitesvara Garden, and the Village Layout of Santa Lourdes
Unlike grand metropolitan temples such as Seng Guan Temple, Manila, the architecture of Phap Vien Pagoda and Viet Ville touches visitors through its earnest, handcrafted simplicity. Built in 1996 by Vietnamese refugee carpenters and masons using local Palawan timber, brick, and concrete, every curved roof corner and lotus pedestal was shaped from memory to evoke the village temples and country chapels of Vietnam.
Set across twelve gently sloping hectares in Barangay Santa Lourdes, the settlement is organized like a quiet rural commune: near the highway stands the traditional arched entrance gate and the open-air timber pavilion of the Viet Ville Restaurant, while tree-lined footpaths lead up the hillside to the Buddhist temple, the Catholic chapel, and the former residential lanes.
Painted in warm cream and gold with a red roof featuring traditional Vietnamese upturned corner eaves and twin dragons flanking the Dharma wheel on the ridge, the main hall enshrines Sakyamuni Buddha and memorial tablets for departed boat people.
In the sunlit forecourt of the pagoda stands a serene white statue of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva (Quan The Am) upon a lotus pedestal, where returning former refugees and visitors offer incense in thanksgiving for safe passage across the sea.
A short walk from the Buddhist pagoda stands the village Catholic chapel crowned by a modest belfry cross and a shrine to Our Lady of La Vang, honoring the interfaith harmony and Catholic Church patronage that made Viet Ville possible.
Fronting Kilometer 13 of the North National Highway is a tiled Vietnamese gateway leading to a spacious timber dining pavilion displaying archival photographs of PFAC, a traditional brick bread oven, and kitchens serving authentic Vietnamese dishes.
Beneath mature mango, jackfruit, and coconut trees planted by Vietnamese families in 1996 stand rows of modest cottages and stone wells that sheltered the final thousand refugees prior to their third-country resettlement.
| Feature | Historical and architectural specification | Verified source |
|---|---|---|
| PFAC Camp period | Operated from July 1979 to June 30, 1996 at Canigaran, sheltering over 40,000 Vietnamese refugees | UNHCR Philippines Archives, Wikidata Q7126925 |
| Founding of Viet Ville | Established in 1996 on a 12-hectare hillside site in Barangay Santa Lourdes, Puerto Princesa | Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Princesa and CBCP records |
| Sacred structures | Phap Vien Pagoda (Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist), Avalokitesvara Shrine, and Catholic Chapel | Puerto Princesa City Cultural Heritage Survey |
| Key humanitarian patrons | Jaime Cardinal Sin, Bishop Pedro Arigo, Sister Pascale Le Thi Trieu, and AFP Western Command | Center for Assistance to Displaced Persons (CADP) chronicles |
| Location address | Kilometer 13, North National Highway, Barangay Santa Lourdes, Puerto Princesa City, 5300 Palawan | Puerto Princesa City Government |
IVThe Lie of the Land
Viewed on a map of the South China Sea and the Philippine archipelago, both Palawan Island as a whole and the hillside site of Viet Ville in Barangay Santa Lourdes embody the geomantic form of a protective natural breakwater cradling storm-tossed travelers. Below is a reading of the site's terrain and orientation through the library's traditional landform framework.
Examining the macro-geography and mountain backing at coordinates 9.8056 degrees north, 118.7583 degrees east, the long, narrow island of Palawan stretches over four hundred kilometers from southwest to northeast like a sheltering arm facing the eastern waters of the South China Sea. At Kilometer 13 in Barangay Santa Lourdes north of downtown Puerto Princesa, the twelve-hectare compound of Viet Ville and Phap Vien Pagoda rests on the gentle eastern foothills descending from Mount Beaufort (rising over 1,000 meters in Palawan's central mountain spine to the west and northwest). This forested mountain ridge provides a solid Black Tortoise backing (Xuanwu) that blocks western monsoon gales and feeds pure underground springs and warm mineral waters across Santa Lourdes.
In terms of Bright Hall vista and water embrace, the terrain slopes gently eastward toward the calm, island-dotted waters of Honda Bay on the Sulu Sea just two kilometers to the east-southeast. Ringed by coral islets and sandbars that break open-sea swells, Honda Bay acts as a tranquil Outer Bright Hall (Wai Mingtang). Backed by Mount Beaufort and facing the sheltered bay, the hillside of Santa Lourdes provided a peaceful haven where maritime tempests gave way to stillness, allowing displaced families to rebuild their lives and shrines in security.
VHomecoming Pilgrimages of Former Boat People, Ullambana Memorial Rites, and Vietnamese-Filipino Fellowship
Even though most of the Vietnamese families who once lived in PFAC and Viet Ville now reside in North America, Australia, Europe, or Manila, Phap Vien Pagoda remains a sacred place of return. Throughout the year, former refugees, their children and grandchildren, and travelers visiting Palawan stop at Kilometer 13 to light incense, offer prayers for those lost at sea, and thank the people of Puerto Princesa. The table below outlines the principal observances associated with the sanctuary.
| Date | Calendar system | Observance | Spiritual and cultural activities at Phap Vien Pagoda and Viet Ville |
|---|---|---|---|
| First days of the 1st lunar month | Traditional Lunar Calendar (Vietnamese Tet) | Lunar New Year Prayers for Peace and Vietnamese-Filipino Gathering | Remaining Vietnamese-Filipino families and local caretakers tidy the pagoda and chapel, offer fresh flowers, fruit, and incense before Sakyamuni Buddha and Avalokitesvara, and share traditional Tet dishes with neighbors in Santa Lourdes. |
| 15th day of the 4th month and 15th day of the 7th month | Traditional Lunar Calendar | Vesak (Buddha's Birthday) and Ullambana Memorial Prayers for Boat People | Visiting overseas Vietnamese Buddhists and former camp residents gather at Phap Vien Pagoda to chant the Lotus Sutra and Heart Sutra, dedicating merits to ancestors and those who perished at sea during the refugee exodus. |
| Month of May and August 13 | Roman Catholic Calendar | Marian Devotions and Feast of Our Lady of La Vang | Local Catholic parishioners and visiting Vietnamese Catholics pray the Rosary at the Viet Ville Chapel in thanksgiving for the pastoral protection of the Philippine Church. |
| June 20 and annual reunion visits | Gregorian Calendar | World Refugee Day and PFAC-Viet Ville Homecoming Missions | Delegations of former Palawan refugees return from abroad to offer incense at Phap Vien Pagoda, visit the historic Canigaran shore, and donate scholarships and medical aid to local schools in Puerto Princesa. |
Lighting a stick of incense in gratitude on a tropical island. Standing quietly in the courtyard of Phap Vien Pagoda under the shade of mango trees planted thirty years ago, watching incense smoke rise before the white statue of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, visitors experience a profound sense of human connection. On this island more than a thousand kilometers across the sea from Vietnam, strangers in distress were met not with hostility, but with open hands and enduring friendship.
Preserved beside the highway in Santa Lourdes, Phap Vien Pagoda and Viet Ville remain a living testament to the compassion of the Filipino people and the resilient spiritual heritage of the Vietnamese diaspora.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Km 13 North National Highway, Barangay Santa Lourdes, Puerto Princesa City, 5300 Palawan, Philippines
- Getting there
- Viet Ville and Phap Vien Pagoda are located right at Kilometer 13 (Km 13) along the North National Highway in Barangay Santa Lourdes, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, approximately 13 kilometers north of downtown Puerto Princesa and Puerto Princesa International Airport, and just a few minutes from the Honda Bay island-hopping wharf. From downtown Puerto Princesa, visitors can hire a local tricycle, taxi, or tourist van heading north along the North National Highway for a 20- to 25-minute ride to the traditional Vietnamese archway on the right side of the highway. The site is very easy to combine with a morning trip to Honda Bay or a day excursion to the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park in Sabang.
- Coordinates
- 9.8056, 118.7583
Today, Viet Ville and Phap Vien Pagoda in Barangay Santa Lourdes form a quiet historical and spiritual compound tended by local caretakers. Visitors should wear modest attire when visiting the Buddhist pagoda and the Catholic chapel, and maintain respectful silence around the altars and memorial plaques. If the doors of the main Buddha hall are closed against tropical rain when you arrive, you may politely ask the staff at the Viet Ville Restaurant near the entrance gate to assist you. Dining at the village restaurant on traditional Vietnamese pho (Chaolong), spring rolls, and wood-fired banh mi directly supports the upkeep of the heritage grounds.
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?Quick Questions
How did Viet Ville and Phap Vien Pagoda come to be built on the island of Palawan?
Between 1979 and 1996, the Philippine First Asylum Camp (PFAC) near Canigaran Beach in Puerto Princesa sheltered over 40,000 Vietnamese boat people. When the camp closed in 1996, Jaime Cardinal Sin and the Philippine Catholic Church opposed forced repatriation for the remaining 1,000+ refugees and purchased 12 hectares of land in Barangay Santa Lourdes to build Viet Ville, complete with homes, Phap Vien Buddhist Pagoda, and a Catholic chapel.
What religious traditions are represented inside Viet Ville in Puerto Princesa?
Viet Ville embodies the harmonious coexistence of Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhism and Roman Catholicism. Within the same village compound stand Phap Vien Pagoda (featuring traditional curved dragon eaves, an indoor altar to Sakyamuni Buddha, and an outdoor white statue of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva) and a Catholic chapel honoring Our Lady of La Vang.
Why do very few Vietnamese families live permanently in Viet Ville today?
Because the Philippine government and Catholic Church granted the remaining refugees safe haven at Viet Ville in 1996, subsequent humanitarian resettlement programs in the early 2000s (such as the U.S. ROVR initiative and family sponsorships in Canada, Australia, and Europe) enabled almost all residents to resettle legally abroad or move to Metro Manila, leaving the pagoda and restaurant as a preserved heritage site.
What is the connection between Viet Ville and Puerto Princesa's famous Chaolong noodle soup?
Chaolong is Puerto Princesa's beloved local adaptation of Vietnamese beef pho noodle soup served alongside crispy garlic-buttered French baguettes (banh mi), first introduced to Palawan by Vietnamese refugee cooks at PFAC in the 1980s and at the Viet Ville Restaurant in the 1990s. It has since become the signature comfort food of Puerto Princesa City.
How can travelers visit Phap Vien Pagoda and Viet Ville when touring Puerto Princesa?
Located right on the main North National Highway at Kilometer 13 in Barangay Santa Lourdes (just 20 minutes north of the airport and right next to the turnoff for Honda Bay wharf), Viet Ville is easily accessible by tricycle or van and is a popular cultural and lunch stop on the way to Honda Bay or the Underground River.