The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) has recommended to the Roman Catholic Territorial Prelature of Batanes to faithfully reconstruct the 19th century church of Santa Maria de Mayan in the town of Itbayat, Batanes, following heavy damages it incurred during the twin earthquakes in 2019.

Measuring 5.4 and 6.0 magnitudes, the earthquakes of 27 July 2019 rendered the said church unusable, with major structural defects.

In a statement sent to this writer, NHCP through its chair Regalado Trota Jose said that as agreed with the stakeholders, the church will be rebuilt following its design as documented in Julio Gonzalez’s 1966 book, The Batanes Islands.

Gonzalez was a Dominican priest who documented the province while the product of his documentation, the book, was published by the University of Santo Tomas Press.

“In view of previous assessments and the findings of this latest inspection, the NHCP recommends the reconstruction of the said church, on the condition that the architectural design of the facade and belfry strictly adheres to the traditional Ivatan architectural style as documented in archival photographs published in The Batanes Islands by Julio Gonzalez,” said Jose.

“Moreover, all masonry debris from the damaged structure shall be reused and incorporated into the new construction,” he added.

The NHCP’s latest inspection was conducted on 12 March this year, with them noting the structure was in a bad state and that needs to be torn down. The church was completely demolished last month.

Findings

In the said inspection, NHCP personnel led by Jose, also conducted a meeting with local stakeholders and informed the latter of their findings.

The findings included a halved belfry with its lower part “largely collapsed” and the rubble from the coral stone material “largely mechanically unstable.”

Jose said the latter involved powdering, loose stones and deterioration.

“The remaining masonry walls showed major cracks extending along several sections, with wide areas of vegetative growth, spalling and significant piaster loss,” he said.

Important property

The church was marked by the NHCP in 2008, making it a presumed important cultural property under the 2009 heritage law and a Grade II cultural property under Republic Act 11961 which amended the former in 2023.

As such, among others, it is entitled to government funding for protection, conservation and restoration and priority protection against modification or demolition.

It is not yet clear however if its reconstruction will be funded by the government through the NHCP.

A Dominican legacy, the church of Itbayat was first built of solid wood by Fr. Vicente Araujo, OP during his tenure as parish priest from 1855 to 1859. Fr. Manuel Blasco laid the foundation of the stone church, made of coral stone, in 1872. He also raised these walls the following years. Fr. Cresencio Polo carried on the works, which was completed in 1888 during the term of Fr. Manuel Blasco, OP, as parish priest. The completed church was 35 meters long and seven meters wide.

Prior damage

Prior to its completion, the church was partly damaged by a typhoon, damaging the woodwork at the ceiling and portions of its stone walls. Its convent was a work of Fr. Blasco who originally built it of wood with posts made from kamagong or velvet apple tree (Diospyros blancoi). Later on the 20th century, renovations were made on the facade and belfry.

The topmost layer of the belfry was filled in while the austere two-level facade was modified to look like a single wall topped by finials.