Bells toll in remembrance of 2013 Bohol quake

BOHOL RUINS In this photo taken in 2013, sections of Saint Peter the Apostle Parish church in Loboc town, Bohol, crumble as the province is struck by a 7.2-magnitude earthquake. Loboc’s church, the second oldest in the province, and the town’s river are major tourist attractions in Bohol. —TONEE DESPOJO / CEBU DAILY NEWS

TAGBILARAN CITY — For 33 seconds on Friday, October 15, bells that date back to the 1800s, pealed at the St. Joseph the Worker Cathedral in this city to commemorate the eighth anniversary of the 2013 Bohol earthquake.

Parish members rang the bells manually, pulling on long ropes in the church’s tower at 8:12 a.m. — the exact time the deadly tremor shook Bohol on Oct. 15, 2013.

Memories of that 7.2 magnitude earthquake continued to echo to this day, said those attending Friday’s event.

“Memories are never forgotten,” said Jay Barace who visited the graves of his relatives who died during the quake in Antequera town.

Each year since then, the province honors the memory of those who died and the resiliency of those who have rebuilt their lives after the disaster.

The 2013 earthquake killed at least 222 people, damaged infrastructures and churches, and displaced thousands of people in the province.

Tagbilaran Bishop Abet Uy presided over a Mass at the St. Joseph the Worker Cathedral and called on the people to believe that God is present even amid sufferings.

“Even in a violent earthquake, God is in control and has not left us,” he said.

EDV