Panaw sa Pagtuo app gives virtual tour of Cebu landmarks

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma downloads the Panaw sa Pagtuo app. | CDND Photo / Delta Letigio

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Archdiocesan museums and churches in Cebu are now just one click away.

The Archdiocese of Cebu partnered with Smart Communcations to create a mobile application that would showcase the historical places and churches in Cebu through the “Panaw sa Pagtuo” Mobile Exhibit.

The application, which is downloadable on panawsapagtuo.com, provides a portal to a digital page that will provide information on historical places here.

Once the application has been downloaded either on android or iOS, the user can already scan the QRs of historical places like the Magellan’s Cross and get important information about the landmark.

| CDND Photo / Delta Letigio

“This app turns the device into a companion resource that will tell you the historical and cultural background of the site you visited,” said Father Brian Brigoli, the chairperson of the archdiocese’s celebration of the 500th Year of Christianity (YOC) in the Philippines.

Brigoli said that the app will especially be helpful to tourists who are now restricted from visiting local tourism sites as a result of the pandemic.

Ones accessed, the app will provide visitors a “digital tour” of the landmark, Brigoli said.

Church officials led by Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma graced the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement with Smart Communications that was held on Tuesday morning, September 29, 2020, at the Archdiocesan Museum in Cebu City.

They, later on, gave a preview of the paintings that are found on the ceiling of the church in Sibonga town to demonstrate the use of the app.

Palma said that this innovation is a “great” prelude to the celebration of the 500th Year of Christianity, wherein Cebu will serve as the epicenter of the activities.

It will also give the public the opportunity to virtually access the different churches and museums here and take a look at its treasures that include paintings and other artifacts.

Maria Jane Paredes, PLDT-Smart Communications Group AVP/center head, said they look forward to continuing this kind of a partnership with the Archdiocese to help promote catechism and evangelization into the digital age.

She said that the application was developed in collaboration with the Archdiocese “to maximize the use of technology in providing information to the new generation on the deep and artistic history of the Roman Catholic Church in the country.”

Aside from the application, Smart also launched a 21-video series to provide historical snippets of the Archdiocese of Cebu that will be aired on online platforms like Facebook.

The video series, which will provide information on the history of the Church starting from the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in the 16th century, will be aired on the official Facebook page of the 500th YOC every Saturdays and Sundays starting on October 3 and 4. / dcb