Not just belfry, but whole basilica

NOT just its  damaged belfry but other parts of the  274-year-old Basilica del Sto. Niño along Osmeña Boulevard will be rehabilitated.

A  conservation plan will be ready by March, and will identify areas in  the basilica complex,  including its arches, that need work.

Fr. Harold Rentoria said the Agustinians will   present the master plan to  Cebuanos  as part of their  campaign to solicit help to fund the rehabilitation works.

Updates on the reconstruction were given in a press conference with Augustinian priests led by basilica rector Fr. Jonas Mejares, OSA, and architects Melva Java and Escuela Taller.

Experts said they prefer to use  traditional methods of rebuilding  with some minimal modern technology.

A team  is   drafting a design that is very close to how the church looked when it was built by the Spaniards in the 18th century.

“There is a continuous study on how to construct the belfry,” said Fr. Bentoria, chairman for the Commission on Augustinian Culture and Heritage.

He said experts from Spain and Japan will assist.

“We don’t have references on how it was made so we have to ask  experts because it was constructed by the Spaniards and we don’t have the archives,” Bentoria said.

“We are inclined to follow traditional construction materials and methods,” Java said.

She said each stone crushed by the 7.2 magnitude earthquake “has a story”.

“We need to find the role of each stone,” she said.

Since extracting  coral stone from the sea is now prohibited by environment laws, the team may use limestone and cast stones which is commercially available

Fr. Rentoria  said debris from the fallen belfry was transported for safekeeping to the Augustinian’s House of Prayer in  Mohon, Talisay City .

Architect Michael Manalo, director of Escuela Taller, said engineers are assessing the belfry’s structural integrity to see if they can  restore the “lantern-like” structure weighing 7.9 tons at its top.

“If they say that the structure is still okay, that will guide us on how to reconstruct it,” he said./  Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac with Senior Reporter Marian Z. Codilla