Paoay Church: UN heritage site up for restoration

LIFE is bound to change for residents

of Paoay, Ilocos Norte, since the St.

Augustine Church, or what is

popularly known as Paoay Church,

has been inscribed in the World Heritage List of the United

Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

As part of that list, the church would be protected by the

Unesco World Heritage Convention, an international law signed

by 112 countries.

The church, which was

completed in 1710 after 16

years of construction,

would undergo

restoration under the

auspices of Unesco.

The Paoay Church is

''internationally

acknowledged as one of

the most unique examples of Filipino architecture from the

Spanish period,'' says Augusto Villalon, Unesco commissioner

for cultural heritage.

Villalon says the church's architecture is an example of the

blending of Filipino, Chinese and Spanish cultures that is

unique to the Philippines.

A master plan will be drawn up to govern the development of

the church and its surrounding area.

Architect Rene Mata, project director, says the plan will protect

the church from the ''encroachment of uncontrolled

development.''

''Nobody can just put up any high-rise building around the

church unless we follow the rules and regulations of the master

plan,'' he said during a seminar-workshop on the restoration of

the church held in Paoay last month.

The plan will also regulate the flow of tourists in the town.

Guidelines will be formulated by the National Commission on

Culture and the Arts, National Historical Institute, the Paoay

municipal government and the Paoay parish church.

Mata said the townfolk would be crucial in preserving the

church. He said the church's maintenance would be the

responsibility of those who own it as nobody else would do it.

They would first do research and documentation in preparation

for a scientific restoration, he said.

The residents will also have to prepare for the possible effects

of tourism on their town. According to a workshop material

provided by Villalon, a World Heritage listing has been proven

to bring in tourists.

''Paoay must prepare for the increase in tourists by

strengthening its heritage architecture and the special Paoay

culture. If Paoay loses its character and becomes like any other

generic town in the Philippines, its unique charm will be gone

forever with its tourist market,'' Villalon, vice chair of the NCCA

committee on monuments and sites, said.

Establishments surrounding the church are bakeries, sari-sari

stores, mini-groceries and small carinderias (eateries) selling

empanadas, a native delicacy.

Like any endeavor, problems also beset the plan to preserve the

Paoay Church.

According to Mata, among the problems they are facing are the

lack of funds for the restoration and inadequate archival records

describing the church's original appearance and the town's

involvement in the plan. The latter is their biggest problem, he

said.

Mata said they were planning to talk with town elders to gather

data on their recollection on the church's appearance and its

role in the community.

Like going to heaven

''Nagpintas idi kua. Kasla agpaypayso nga inca idiay langit

(It was so beautiful then. When you're inside the church, it was

as if you were really destined for heaven),'' said Feliza Dumlao,

an 82-year-old Paoaye?a, said.

Recalling how the altar of the St. Augustine Church looked like

when she was young, Dumalo said the ceiling's color was

sky-blue and it was painted with clouds.

Dumlao, a cantora or church singer, said the communion rails

on both sides of the altar should be restored. The steps of the

altar used to have silver candle holders on its sides, she said.

Pastora Tabije, 79, also said there were steps leading to the

crucifix on the altar. ''The steps were like terraces,'' she said.

Tabije is a sister of a former parish priest in Paoay. She can still

recall the church designs because it was during her brother's

stay that the church's roof was replaced.

The statue of St. Augustine, she said, used to stand on the

former site of the crucifix.

Dumlao and Tabije said the modifications of the altar were

ordered by former first lady Imelda Marcos.

''Pinagbalbaliwan ni First Lady Imelda Marcos idi Cristo Rey

(The First Lady Imelda Marcos changed its design during the

Cristo Rey feast),'' Dumlao said.

Cristo Rey is the Christ the King celebration held on the last

Sunday of the liturgical year, usually in November.

Tabije said her brother-priest had a shouting match with the

men hired by Marcos who were trying to remove the posts from

the altar.

However, during the seminar-workshop on the church

restoration, it was learned that the posts were not original

structures but were put up during Tabije's term to support the

roof.

Old-timers also recalled that bats had lived inside the sacristy

where one could smell guano (bat droppings).

'Earthquake Baroque'

Based on the nomination dossier submitted to Unesco, the

church is considered as the most outstanding variant of the

''earthquake Baroque.''

In the description and inventory, Jorge Gazanco, an expert of

the International Committee on Monuments and Sites, was all

praises for the Filipino and Chinese craftsmen, architects and

priests who built the church.

''These were men of God, not architects, who could only rely on

memories of Baroque churches seen in Spain or Latin America

when giving instructions to build Philippine churches,'' he said.

''Thus, intentionally, these friar-builders and their native

craftsmen reinterpreted the European Baroque to establish a

peripheral Baroque style, deceptively Western in appearance

but totally Philippine in spirit and context,'' he added.

The construction of the church began in 1694 and was

completed in 1710. It was commissioned by the Augustinian

friars.