Restoration at its finest | Bohol, Philippines

It's getting colder in Cebu and after our back-to-back Strategic Planning at a private resort owned by the Aboitiz family last week and technical training for our Project this week, I finally have a few minutes to sit down and write once again. 😁

Today we're going to explore another tourist destination in Bohol. To begin with, it's not really a tourist destination; it's a church. I was still in college when a strong earthquake (Magnitude 7.2) struck Central Visayas including the Province of Bohol which led to the total destruction of the facade as well as the bell tower of Baclayon Church or also known as La Purisima Concepcion de la Virgen Maria Parish Church or simply Church of the Immaculate Conception.

It was my second time visiting the church and I passed by here a few times already on my way to Anda back in 2018. The church doesn't look so massive compared to other Catholic churches I've seen before but what made this church special can be traced back in 1717, the year it was constructed.

According to Guide to the Philippines, Baclayon church is 'a declared National Cultural Treasure and National Historic Landmark' as it is considered as one of the oldest coral churches in the country. As mentioned, the church's construction started in 1717. I've read here that in order to finish the church it required 200 native forced laborers to look and bring coral stones from the sea and millions of eggs where egg white were extracted.

It was disheartening to learn that after the earthquake, the church looked almost impossible to build again. You can look it up in the internet. That's why when I saw it again last month, I couldn't believe how amazing the restoration went.

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