Basilan has two capitol buildings. The new one stands in Lamitan City, the capital since 2017. The transfer of capital was owing to the fact that Isabela City, the provincial capital from 1975 to 2017, was not part of the then Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and was hence being regionally administered from Zamboanga. The same remains true to this day of the Bangsamoro Region.

The old capital was named after Queen Isabela II of Spain, whose name was lent to the Spanish military fortress that used to stand on the site of the old capitol, Fuerte Isabel Segunda. The name of the fort was made the name of the municipality, and eventually city, where it stood. The old capitol building was then built over the site of the former fort.

Vibrant in different shades of blue, the old capitol building features distinctive Islamic architecture, reminiscent of its counterparts in Sulu and Tawi–Tawi.

There was nothing much to see and do in the old capitol since it was already past business hours when we arrived. We hence settled for one of the things we do best: pictures!

It was a short visit in the old capitol ground which in no way runs short of historical significance. From being an old fortress of colonial powers to being a seminal ground for the development of self identity, the old capitol building did not lose its relevance despite the transfer of capital. The history it cradled through centuries helped in defining Basilan: torn by a past of strife but united in the collective dream to a brighter life.

Time did it again—making itself unfelt, allowing us to immerse fully in the experience before us. Without realizing it, the old capitol building would be our penultimate destination in the island of Basilan. The sun would set soon enough, and a day has already passed in the Treasure Islands, the land of the Yakan, while we were standing on the hallowed grounds of the old fort.