Baclaran, Quiapo churches ‘structurally safe’ vs quakes

Should an earthquake hit Metro Manila, devotees who regularly attend Mass at Baclaran and Quiapo Churches—two of the most popular churches in the metropolis—need not worry as both are structurally sound.

This was the assurance given on Wednesday by church officials in the wake of the 7.2-magnitude quake that left scores dead and centuries-old churches either damaged or destroyed in Bohol province.

Baclaran Church, officially called the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help in Parañaque City, just underwent a thorough inspection early this year and was declared structurally sound, according to Fr. Victorino Cueto, the church rector.

“The structure is OK. We just had it checked a few months ago. Everything was checked, including the ceiling and wiring,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

The just as popular Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, Manila, was also inspected in August for earthquake fitness, said its rector, Msgr. Clemente Ignacio.

He had earlier announced that the church has hired a full-time engineer to regularly check the structural integrity of the stone church which was built in 1864. It was reconstructed in 1929 after it was gutted by a fire.

Ignacio said that based on the physical and historical checkup carried out on the building, “the structures of Quiapo Church are OK.”

Two of the most prominent churches in the Archdiocese of Manila, Baclaran and Quiapo churches draw more than 100,000 devotees every Wednesday and Friday.

On the other hand, Manila Cathedral which is the seat of the archdiocese has been closed to the public since February 2012 to make way for major repairs after cracks were found in key parts of the structure.

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle ordered its closure after a study showed that some of the columns and beams in the cathedral did not meet the standards set by the 2010 National Structural Code of the Philippines.

Tagle announced earlier this month that they were looking into reopening the cathedral in December after the completion of the repair work.