Church, Capitol work to preserve churches

CEBU, Philippines - For the first time in the country, the Church and the Cebu provincial government will work in preserving at least 52 historical churches in the province.

Carlito Puno, director of Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral Museum and chairman of Cebu Archdiocesan Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church, visited Governor Gwendolyn Garcia yesterday to hand over a memorandum of agreement.

The MOA, signed by Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, speaks of the rights of the provincial government to coordinate with the Church in preserving churches in Cebu.

Puno said they have initially recorded 52 Spanish and American colonial churches in Cebu.

“We want to put markers in these churches for people to protect them,” Puno said.

Among these churches are Santo Niño Basilica in Cebu City, the oldest being founded under the Spanish regime in 1565; San Pedro Y San Pablo Parish in Bantayan, founded in June 1580, and Nuestra Señora Virgen Dela Regla in Lapu-Lapu City, founded in 1584.

The governor welcomed the idea, saying they are arranging a meeting with Palma.

“This will be a good thing because the local government and the Church will now work hand in hand in the preservation and possibly restoration of these precious heritage structures. We can see a closer monitoring of these churches,” Garcia said.

Garcia said once a parish plans any renovation of a church, the plan must first be approved by a committee that both the provincial government and the archdiocese of Cebu may soon create.

The governor plans to have the official signing of the MOA on August 27 in Dumanjug. She chose the place as they plan to renovate the town’s San Francisco De Assisi Parish, whose bell tower is already tilting. The church was founded in March 1854.

“We can understand the difficulty of the commission has faced because they are not always around to monitor these churches,” Garcia said.

Garcia said there’s a need to preserve the churches in Cebu.

“We are losing our churches,” Puno also said.

Garcia said they also plan to start a seminar on heritage restoration in October.   - (THE FREEMAN)