Parish Church of San Raymundo de Peñafort (Rizal, Cagayan). Formerly known as Malaueg, the site was an important mission to the peoples of what is now Apayao and was built in the 1600s by the Dominicans in the foothills of the Cordillera. The people in the area still speak Malaueg, a language spoken only in this district but is related to Ibanag. Throughout the church grounds one find shards of blue and white porcelain. As in Maragondon, the rough stonework belies the early technology of that time. The retablo is a composite of parts from earlier baroque altarpieces. Though Cagayan province may have bigger churches and other ruins, Malaueg - now Rizal - definitely possesses the most character, and its ruins are the most enigmatic.

TOWN OF RIZAL

Rizal is Cagayan's epic town where Ybanag legendary figures Biuag and Malana, were said to have fought their epic battle for supremacy over the hands of a beautiful "maginganay" by hurling each other volleys of uprooted trees and live cattle.

Know as Malaueg, its name dates back in the early 1600s when Spanish conquistadores exploring the Itawes found themselves on a plateau. Feeling very thirsty, they drank the water from a brook which their nature guide called "ueg." One of the Spaniards became ill after drinking and called the brook "malo ueg" (meaning bad or Evil River).