The façade of the St. Martin de Tours basilica in Taal town, Batangas province, was damaged when an earthquake hit on April 4.—RICHARD REYES
The damage left by this week’s 5.5-magnitude earthquake on the St. Martin de Tours Basilica, popularly known as the Taal Basilica, left churchgoers anxious, but the parish priest believed there was little chance for the 161-year-old structure to collapse.
Even so, Msgr. Alfredo Madlangbayan said something had to be done to ensure that the church “stays as long as time allows.”
“The danger of collapse is farfetched, but it is better we do (something about it) now,” Madlangbayan said on Friday.
The quake, with an epicenter in Tingloy town in Batangas, hit the province on Tuesday night, causing minor damage on buildings, houses and other structures.
The Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) said they had yet to fully assess the cost of earthquake-related damage.
Public attention was focused on the basilica after portions of its facade cracked and fell off. The group Concerned Taalenyos for Heritage Preservation and Patrimony (CTHPP) also raised concerns over the church’s structural integrity and public safety.
Earthquake
According to Madlangbayan, the quake caused four chunks from the church facade, the biggest about a meter long, to come off. As one block fell, it hit and damaged a cornice.
“(The damage) was considerably big although that was not part of the church in that sense, (as it was) the facade,” the priest said in a telephone interview.
It was not the first time that an earthquake struck the basilica, a government-declared national historical landmark.
According to the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), the church, first erected in 1575, was ruined by the 1754 eruption of Taal volcano. It was rebuilt after a year, only to be destroyed by an earthquake in 1849.
The present structure with its Baroque architecture and Trompe-l’oeil painted ceilings was built in 1856.
“We’ve been calling for its retrofitting even before the Bohol [earthquake],” CTHPP convenor Lino Atienza said, referring to the 2013 Bohol province quake that severely damaged centuries-old churches on the island.
Renowned sculptor Ramon Orlina said church funds should have gone to retrofitting instead, when he asked a local court to stop Madlangbayan’s renovation projects, among these the repainting of the altar and construction of an events’ center
in 2013.
Drop in bucket
Batangas Gov. Hermilando Mandanas said the province would set aside P1 million for the “repair and reinforcement” of the basilica.
But Madlangbayan said this amount was a “drop in the bucket,” considering the NHCP’s recommendations to conduct a digital scanning of the building for possible retrofitting of the church.
According to Madlangbayan, church officials will set up a committee to supervise the retrofitting after Holy Week although workers have started fixing the facade.
He said the earthquake did not stop the holding of Masses in the basilica. Church officials, he added, expected the usual surge of pilgrims to Taal during the Holy Week.