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St. Augustine's Church in Panglao
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Spain’s
might as a superpower and conqueror may have long faded into oblivion but the
landmarks and monuments she had put in place in many parts of the world have
endured, very much like Christianity which she had deeply ingrained in the
hearts, minds and souls of peoples whose nations she had conquered. In the
Philippines, the churches, shrines and other religious landmarks that were
erected during her reign have become part and parcel of our country’s
historical and cultural heritage.
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| Facade of Loboc Church |
Carved into each landmark is
a thousand and one tales of courage, triumphs, aspirations, frustrations,
doubts and sacrifices of our ancestors. That is why this history buff and
adventure junkie always makes it a point to gravitate towards these houses of
prayer, not only to worship God or go on a pilgrimage, but also bask in the
beauty of these treasure-troves of architectural and artistic rarities—all
living testaments of a faith that has stood the test of time.
In Bohol, the Spanish Crown’s
long years of control are indelibly etched in every brick, wood and steel that make up the sacred
sanctums found in nearly all of the province’s forty-seven municipalities.
Going on a pilgrimage of sorts to these churches has long been an obsession and
I feel so blessed that such has slowly turned into reality over the last
decade, with me shuttling to and fro the island for at least four times. Here
then is the second installment of my two-part blog on God’s heritage houses in
Bohol:
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Most Holy Trinity Church in Loay
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The church’s white structure,
which looked resplendent even in antiquity, has two facades: the older is
decorated with low relief while the newer one was reinforced in concrete and
completed during the last century. With bated breath, I entered, walking towards the altar and retablo.
Colonnaded and domed in Neoclassical fashion, the magnificent retablo contains
a graphical representation of the Holy Trinity, with God the Father seated on
the right, God the Son on the left, and God the Holy Spirit in the form of a
dove above them. Wow, it was a marvel quite unlike any of the other churches
I’ve seen so far in Bohol!
Looking up, I found what I wanted
to see. Like most of the sacred sanctums in Bohol, the church’s ceiling is
decorated with trompe l'oeil of biblical scenes where the two-dimensional
painting is made to look like three-dimensional. I surmised it was another
handiwork of prolific church painter Ray Francia. Above the main entrance is a
choir loft and adjacent to it is a grandiose pipe organ that was added in 1841,
which, according to one parishioner I asked, still plays great music. Loay’s
old church is simply awesome inside and out!
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St. Peter the Apostle Church in Loboc
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Loboc Church.
Before embarking on a cruise along Loboc River, which count among cleanest and
greenest rivers in the country, I first paid a visit to one of the town’s most
prominent landmarks: the Church of St. Peter the Apostle. Originally built by
the Jesuits in 1602, this Baroque-styled house of the Lord, dubbed as Bohol’s
second oldest church, stands near the town plaza and the river which has been
made famous by those flotilla of floating restaurants where tourists can dine
while basking in the beauty and serenity of the winding river’s verdant
surroundings.
The original
structure of the Loboc Church, however, was reportedly reduced to ashes,
prompting the construction of another one in 1638 near the same site. This
time, it was made of stronger materials.
When the Jesuits were expelled from the
country in 1768, the Augustinian Recollects took over and completed the
unfinished structure, adding a porticoed façade with an imposing frontage, a free-standing
belfry that’s across the street from the church, a mortuary chapel, the heavy
buttresses and a unique three-storey convent seamlessly integrated into the
Jesuit-initiated edifice, which now houses the Museo de Loboc.
The architectural and
cultural treasures found in this exquisite church are simply stunning—a relief
of St. Ignatius in polychrome stucco hidden behind the Neoclassical main altar;
an awe-inspiring retablo and two
Baroque side altars; an elegant-looking pulpit on the right side facing the
main altar; ceilings adorned with spectacular frescoes dating back to the 1920s,
which were done by Ray Francia (again!) and his partner, to name a few.
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St. Vincent Ferrer Church in Maribojoc
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Maribojoc Church. From Balilihan, my guide took me to another
awe-inspiring house of God found in the town of Maribojoc. I’ve been to this
coastal town once to visit its renowned tourist landmark, the Punta Cruz
Watchtower, many years ago. But it was my first time to explore its church
named in honor of the town’s patron, St. Vincent Ferrer. Completed in 1816
after nearly two decades of work, the Baroque-styled coral stone church
features a simple façade embellished with thin pilasters and niches with the
icons of saints, including a bas-relief of the patron saint.
Entering the
cruciform church, I was dazzled to see three Neo-Gothic retablos with delicately carved traceries and finials of gilded
hardwood adorning the sanctuary. Its main
altar has an image of the Blessed Trinity and bas-reliefs of the life of Mary
Magdalene. Its ceiling is made of metal and painted with liturgical motifs (by
Ray Francia, I guess). Unlike other churches, the convent is located behind the
church rather than at its side.
From the looks of it,
the Maribojoc Church is one of Bohol’s best-preserved churches, having been spared
from the havoc wrought by the last two world wars and many natural calamities
that have hit the island. Much as I wanted to linger to take snaps of its
interior, I had to go earlier than planned since a funeral service was about to
begin when I came in. I later took this as a sign that a revisit should be done
at some future time.
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St. Augustine's Church in Panglao
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Panglao Church. Right after exploring
Hinagdanan Cave in Panglao Island, my guide and I proceeded southwest to visit another
awe-inspiring house of prayer. Named in honor of the town’s patron saint, St.
Augustine, the church is snugly nestled on a vast plain facing a sprawling plaza
with its back turned away from the seashore. Panglao Church, as it is often
called, is a must-see for anyone visiting Bohol. Built in 1894 but completed in
the 1920s, it replaced an older Jesuit-built church that was reduced to ashes
in the mid-1880s.
I’ve
already seen this sacred sanctum of the Augustinian Recollects during my second
visit to Panglao, but it felt like it was my first time maybe because I had a
faint recollection of what it looked like then since I went there at
night. Before going in, I took numerous
shots of its façade as well as the plaza near it. Soon, an overcast sky hovered
over the church so I decided to momentarily call off the shoot.
Cruciform in shape, St. Augustine Church’s grand
façade boasts of a portico with three arches and fancy Corinthian capitals.
Inside, the massive stone house of prayer dazzles visitors with its three
richly carved retablos. The main retablo features the icon of the town’s
patron, occupying the upper center niche. Over the main altar is a hexagonal
dome whose ceiling is painted with an impressive mural of the Blessed Trinity
surrounded by eight divisions of angels.
Just above the nave
is a stunning mural of the Seven Sacraments painted on the ceiling all the way
to the choir loft at the main entrance of the church, which, at first glance,
reminded me of the Baroque churches in Europe that I’ve seen in pictures. The church’s
original marble flooring also looked spectacular.
A few steps away from
the church, facing the waters of Bohol Sea, is a five-storey, octagonal
watchtower said to have been built around the 1850s. Covered with a pitched roof
made of what seemed like tiles, it is reportedly the tallest of its kind in the
country. Numerous cracks, however, have started to mar the surface of the lofty
structure. I’m afraid that any strong quake hitting the island could send this
landmark crumbling down to pieces. The watchtower indeed currently needs to be
restored immediately if only for its historical and cultural heritage.
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St. Joseph the Worker Cathedral
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Tagbilaran Church. Not to be missed when you’re Bohol is the
church found just across the town plaza and the provincial capitol in
Tagbilaran City which I’ve visited on many occasions. Better known as St.
Joseph the Worker’s Cathedral, this house of the Lord was named in honor of the
patron saint of laborers. The present-day structure of the Tagbilaran Cathedral
replaced a smaller church built by the Jesuits which was razed to the ground by
a fire in 1798. The reconstruction was said to have taken place between 1839 to
1855.
Crossing the street
from the plaza, I headed towards the cathedral one late afternoon during my
latest escapade in the island. As always, I found myself in awe of this church
founded by the Jesuits and later administered by the Augustinian Recollects.
A
historical marker outside spells out the various renovations that the Tagbilaran
Cathedral went through between the 1880s to 1890s. Both its exterior and
interior have been greatly renovated, with the façade given a neo-Romanesque
look. Its lateral walls have also been opened to accommodate the growing number
of Tagbilaran’s devoted parishioners through the years. Apparently, side altars
from an older church were saved because the two remaining in the church are of
vintage 18th century Baroque. The central altar, embellished with symbols from
the Old Testament, appeared to be of vintage 19th century Neoclassical art.
Well-known here and
abroad, Bohol continues to lure free spirits who go there to find the three
“R’s”—rest, recreation and redemption—in the numerous must-sees that the island
province offers. Every now and then, throngs of the bored, the bothered and the
burnt-out seek these three in the beaches of Panglao, the Chocolate Hills of
Carmen, the green river of Loboc and everywhere else that’s part of the whole
package that is distinctively Bohol.
But to this pent-up city
slicker, self-confessed culture vulture and adventure junkie, there’s no better
cure to ennui and exhaustion than hitting every road that leads to this
enchanting island’s beautiful heritage churches. Eating the bread of bohemianism
and drinking the wine of wantonness inside the sacred confines of God’s houses,
I believe, are panaceas to the tired body, the troubled mind and the tortured
soul. For these, I’d be coming back to Bohol to visit the other
churches I haven’t seen. And I’ll keep on doing it as long as my arms, hands,
legs and feet can take me there. :D
In coming up with this post, I’ve referred to the following:
After
having my fill of those natural, historical and socio-cultural attractions, he
told me that the next best thing to explore is Panglao, which is being promoted
as an alternative destination for Boracay. The island also happens to be a
popular take-off point for divers who take the plunge at the nearby islands of
Balicasag and Pamilacan. Since then, I make it a point to drop by Panglao
whenever I’m in Bohol if only to get my share of sun, sea and sand.
After
revisiting the two Spanish churches, I headed straight to the public beach in
Dumaluan where most budget-conscious tourists like me gravitate. Panglao prides
itself with having several kilometers of the finest beaches in the country,
scattered all over its fringes. 
The
more upscale resorts in Panglao, however, are still concentrated in Alona
Beach, where you can do practically anything under the sun. Said to have been
named after former Pinay sexy actress Alona Alegre who shot a film there
allegedly in the nude, its stretch of sparkling white sand is home to several
beach resorts, lodging houses, restaurants, entertainment hubs and dive
centers. 
If
you've had enough of beaches, you can go spelunking in Hinagdanan Cave, one
of the island's natural must-sees. Inside the underground cavern, a great
surprise awaits you. There,
surrounded by several stalactites and stalagmites that protrude out of the earth is a natural
lagoon which will surely lure you to take a dip.
On
my recent visit, I made sure I’d get there when the sun is still up. So,
together with Julius and Eman, our cave guide and shoot director, I returned to
Hinagdanan Cave early in the morning so that I’ll be able to catch the light
penetrating the holes up in the cave’s ceiling. 
Upon
entering the compound where his modest abode is found, I saw some tarps and
other pictures posted on the walls featuring the little man. In minutes, we
were met by one of his sisters who led us to Bayoyoy. Seeing the dwarf up close
and personal, I was suddenly struck with pity for his hapless condition.
Later,
his sister started sharing some trivia about their family. Both their parents
are deceased, according to her. Out of twelve children, six suffered from
dwarfism. All the other five siblings are dead and only Bayoyoy has
survived. Confined to a baby’s stroller,
the dwarf, who stands less than three feet, couldn’t talk nor walk. Now in his
sixties, he feeds on a soft diet composed mostly of milk, oatmeal and cereals. 
Seeing
him didn’t cost me a thing since there’s no entrance fee whatsoever but I
offered to give a few pesos as donation. Any amount would go a long way in
helping the family provide for Bayoyoy’s needs since their only source of
livelihood comes from a small family-owned convenience store. All told, the
Bayoyoy experience proved to be one of the highlights of my return to Panglao.
