BACOLOR, Pampanga ? Residents here sorely missed television?s miracle boy Santino, his priests-guardians, the scheming Mayor Enrique and especially, Bro.

Even then, these characters and the ABS-CBN teleserye hit ?May Bukas Pa,? which was shot almost entirely in this town ravaged by Mt. Pinatubo?s eruptions in 1991, are still admired here with ?lots of deep gratitude,? said Fr. Jesus Manabat, Bacolor parish priest.

?May Bukas Pa? revolved around Santino, a boy abandoned by his mother and raised by priests in a monastery in the town of Bagong Pagasa (New Hope). Santino?s interaction with Jesus Christ, whom he calls Bro, led him to inspire and change the lives of people in his town.

The production, which ran for a year and which aired its last episode on Friday last week, gave additional earnings to residents here and filled the town with hope, he said.

Manabat said the shoot started in the town on January 15, 2009.

Choice of location

He said the production team chose Bacolor as the site of the fictional town Bagong Pagasa for a variety of reasons.

The architecture of the church of San Guillermo (St. William the Hermit) with the signs of destruction left by Pinatubo?s 1991 eruptions and lahar onslaught in 1995 and Bacolor?s stature as the former capital of the Philippines might have attracted the production team to the place, he said.

When the team visited on December 15, 2008, he said the church had undergone major repairs.

?The ruins were maintained. I have to consider the heritage value of the structure to make it an appropriate place for the town?s museum,? said Manabat.

Bacolor gained more attention when it was featured on the ABS-CBN morning show, ?Umagang Kay Ganda.?

Before that, the church was the most photographed landmark in the town because it was the only structure that survived the lahar onslaught in 1995.

Manabat agreed to make the church the location of the teleserye?s monastery, convent and house of the character Father Jose only after Archbishop Paciano Aniceto gave the nod.

The production staff agreed to comply with the church?s guidelines on the use of the compound.

?The one important question was, ?What will be the face of Bacolor?? Over time, it turned out to be the façade of the church,? he added.

The entrance doors are actually the choir lofts before lahar claimed half of the 500-year-old church.

Manabat said the Parish Pastoral Council managed to get rental fees for every taping.

The money went to pay for loans for previous renovations, he said.

Several families, like the Martinezes, rented out their homes, said Mayor Romeo Dungca.

The owner of a canteen which was used as a rice store maintained by the couple played by Arlene Muhlach and Ogie Diaz was able to buy the lot through the rent paid to him, said former Board Member Nilo Caballa, a native of Bacolor.

The use of the town hall extension, however, was rent-free, said Dungca.

?The local government did not charge a centavo. It was our way of thanking Ms. Gina Lopez for doing a six-month feeding program in the town,? he said, referring to the help provided by the ABS-CBN Foundation.

Caballa, whose house is across the church, said more tourists, local and foreign, trooped to the town to watch the shooting or attend church services.

Students made field trips to Bacolor during taping dates. On those days, the church would have 300 to 500 visitors, he said.

The parish-run souvenir shop made good sales on those days, said Manabat.

No extras were hired from Bacolor but vendors, about 30 of them, sold Bacolor delicacies like ?tamales, puto seko? and ?suman.?

?We earned enough to buy food for the day,? said Marlene de Jesus of her sales. The production also hired a caterer in the town.

Some village watchmen received allowances for helping in crowd and traffic control, said Caballa.

?Santino made Bacolor popular,? Manabat said.

Among the main crowd-drawers was the spot on the left side of the altar. That?s the meeting place of Santino, played by child actor Zaijan Jaranilla, and Bro, the Jesus Christ character.

?We?ve got positive and negative returns but it is happiness that dominates these,? said Manabat.

Income

Manabat said ?May Bukas Pa? also gave Bacolor and its people ?psychological income.?

?The screen name of Bacolor was Bagong Pagasa. It gave the people a sense of pride. Bacolor also drew attention overseas because of The Filipino Channel. The show is an affirmation that Bacolor has risen,? Manabat said.

For Manabat, the teleserye gave viewers a time to reflect on their faith.

Now and then, the writers sought him for guidance on issues of faith.

Dungca said ?May Bukas Pa? was a ?welcome treat? for Bacolor, especially those made weary by the disaster.

?They felt that Bacolor has been roused from sleep. It is returning to life,? Dungca said.