Church restoration Historical commission tells parishes: Work with us

The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) is requesting parishes overseeing churches that were destroyed in last year’s earthquake to coordinate their restoration plans with them.

“We don’t want to end up regretting our hasty decisions,” NHCP Chairman Maria Serena Diokno said in a stakeholders’ meeting at the Pilgrim Center of the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño last week.

The NHCP is still in the pre-restoration process and has yet to make actual restoration work. “We really need to study well the structures. I’m asking for understanding and support in this endeavor. I’m not prepared to sacrifice the long term for the short term,” Diokno said.

The pre-restoration phase includes data collection through laser scanning of walls, a new technology used by the commission to determine the extent of damage in the walls.

Other processes will include soil boring tests and sinkhole testing to ensure that the heritage structures stand on firm ground.

Data collected will be used in drafting a detailed engineering plan.

The second phase of the restoration work will include pooling together of local and international technical and structural engineering experts to present and discuss the results of the work done in the first phase.

A master restoration plan shall then be crafted to contain guidelines on how to go about the restoration process. The master plan will be used as basis for specific restoration plans for each of the affected sites. This is targeted be done by September or a month before the anniversary of the Oct. 15 temblor. The third and last phase will be the actual restoration works.

The restoration process is being implemented by the NHCP and the National Museum. The NHCP is handling all heritage sites in Cebu and a few churches in Bohol. The rest of the sites in Bohol are under the National Museum.

Diokno said the national government has approved an initial budget of P650 million for the heritage site restoration in Cebu and Bohol for this year, P120 million of which is for the pre-restoration phase.

The national government also committed at least P500 million in the 2015 budget for heritage restoration of all areas affected by different natural calamities for the year 2013.

Heritage sites under the NHCP’s restoration in Cebu are the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño, the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral and the churches in Carcar, Sibonga, Dalaguete, Argao, Boljoon,

Bantayan and Samboan. Other heritage sites included are Fort San Pedro, Museo Sugbo and the Magellan’s Cross.

In Bohol, the sites include churches in Baclayon, Dauis, Loay, Tubigon, Carmen, Inabanga and Talibon. Of these, only four already have winning bidders – the the Magellan’s Cross, Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, and the churches in Dauis and Loay.

During the meeting which was attended by representatives from different parishes in Cebu, the NHCP also received some recommendations on what other churches and heritage sites may be included in the restoration projects funded by the national government. Among these site are:

Pardo Church in Cebu City and the churches in Dumanjug and Ginatilan. The heritage sites Casa Real Argao, Campo Santo Cemetery in Argao and the Magellan’s monument in Mactan were also proposed for inclusion.