Restoration of Paoay church pushed

MANILA, Philippines - The Ilocos Norte provincial board is pushing for the restoration of the more than three centuries old Paoay Church to maintain its status as one of the world’s heritage sites.

The board, in a recent resolution, said the restoration and retrofitting of the church in Paoay town, also known as Church of Saint Augustine, is needed to boost the province as a premier tourism destination in the north.

Completed in 1710, the church, known for its distinct architecture highlighted by the enormous buttresses on its sides and back, has been recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a World Heritage Site since 1993.

Bernard Joseph Guerrero, a Philippine-based UNESCO World Heritage Sites researcher, said the church’s present state can be easily destroyed by natural calamities if immediate action to enhance its structural integrity is not taken.

He said that UNESCO may delist the church from its rosters of world heritage sites if the government does not abide by the international body’s rules and regulations on how to manage a world heritage site.

The church, he said, should be retrofitted not only to boost tourism, but “it is our responsibility to the world to take care of (it),” being a world heritage site.