Iconic centuries-old Dumaguete belfry restoration on schedule

RESTORATION PROJECT Architect Glenn Enrique Balangkig explains the ongoing restoration of the Spanish-era belfry in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental during a stakeholders’ meeting on Tuesday (Oct. 29, 2024). The National Museum of the Philippines has allocated P9 million for the restoration and site development of the watch-tower/belfry, an Important Cultural Property. (PNA photo by Mary Judaline Flores Partlow)

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines — The restoration and site improvement project of the iconic centuries-old watchtower-belfry in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental is moving ahead as scheduled.

Msgr. Julius Perpetuo Heruela, head of the Diocese of Dumaguete’s Committee on Church Cultural Heritage, said in an interview that the project, which started in September, is about 11 percent complete and is scheduled for completion in about six months.

He said the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) has allocated P9 million for the project, which includes not just the structural restoration but also the development of the site on which the Spanish-era bell tower is situated.

The original watch-tower of the St. Catherine of Alexandria Parish was built in the early 1800s to guard the fortified church against marauders.

Its top two tiers were added in 1867 to convert it to the Campanario or belfry of the church.

Heruela said based on historical records, the Spanish-old heritage structure is considered the oldest bell towers in Negros Island.

Because of its “exceptional, cultural, artistic, and historical significance to the country,” the NMP declared it an Important Cultural Property.

During its recent first stakeholders’ meeting here, members of the NMP-Dumaguete team said work is still being done on the outside of the belfry, such as setting up scaffolding, putting back in place limestone slabs, clearing vegetation growth, and scrubbing black deposits causing discoloration of the structure’s surface.

Architect Glenn Enrique Balangkig said the materials to be used in the restoration are either the same as the original or something closer to the original.

Structural restoration will commence soon after the public toilets and the grotto that are attached to the belfry will be removed, Heruela said.

Some changes have to be considered regarding nearby structures before the site development as it appears that the city government owns the property nearby where a water tank is built, he added.

Meanwhile, on the sustainability of the heritage structure, Heruela said the diocese and the city government will be working together for the maintenance of the belfry once the restoration project is finished and turned over by the NMP.