Samboan church: Restoration works nearing completion

CEBU, Philippines - The restoration works for the St. Michael the Archangel Church in the southern town of Samboan, which was damaged by the magnitude 7.2 earthquake in 2013, is finally nearing completion.

Marivic Calderon, chairperson of the town’s Tourism and Heritage Council, told The FREEMAN that the contractor hired by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) is now working on the church’s buttresses which recently showed signs of stress. The NHCP provided P10.9 million fund for the restoration project.

St. Michael the Archangel Church is one of the oldest Spanish-built churches in Cebu, which façade was made of coral stones. Its restoration is only one of the several other projects that the commission has funded after disasters hit the Visayas in the recent years.

NHCP’s projected budget for the retrofitting procedure of churches was estimated to be between P5 million to P10 million.

According to Calderon, the Samboan church was among those that sustained cracks following the powerful earthquake that struck Bohol and Cebu in October 2013. But Calderon clarified that even before the Bohol quake, the church already have cracks from another tremor that originated in Tayasan town in Negros Oriental in 2012.

Samboan, which is roughly 150 kilometers south of Cebu City, is directly facing Negros Oriental province. She said the damage was further aggravated by several typhoons that came after.

“Sa Negros nga earthquake, ni-crack na na siya unya pagkahuman kung mag-crack gani, so mo-intrude ang water. Mao nga mo-expand, then mag-contact, expand, contract, especially after sa series nga mga bagyo,” she said.

Despite the cracks on the structure, Calderon said the church officials continue to hold masses within, explaining that it is only the belfry tower that needed immediate attention. The belfry tower is connected to the main church structure. After the quakes, the tower reportedly listed by 30 degrees.

Calderon said that since then this part of the church has been off limit to the public.

After making its own assessment, the municipal government reported to the provincial government which in turn showed the report to the officials of the Archdiocese of Cebu and eventually to the NHCP.

A team of NHCP architects and engineers conducted a survey to determine the nature of work needed to repair the affected structures. Calderon said the NHCP team came to their town at least five times since the first quake.

Separately, Stephen Kelley of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization also went to Samboan and other towns in Cebu and Bohol where historical and heritage structures have been damaged.

Calderon said the town is thankful for these organizations for looking after the welfare of the local tourism structures, especially since the LGU is not capable of funding the rehabilitation works by itself.

She also said the funding directly came from the national commission and was not coursed through the LGUs and the archdiocese. — /FPL (FREEMAN)