After years of restoration and reconstruction, the Sta. Cruz Parish Church in Maribojoc, Bohol was officially handed over to its local community.

The Church Complex of the Parish of the Holy Cross and Diocesan Shrine of San Vicente Ferrer, more known as Sta. Cruz Parish Church or Maribojoc Church is one of the most hard-hit heritage structures in the province of Bohol in October 2013.  Days after the catastrophic 7.3 magnitude earthquake, the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP), together with the other concerned government agencies, organizations, and stakeholders conjointly worked on planning and putting up the “National Heritage Reconstruction Program for the Visayas Region”, which aimed for the restoration and conservation of the affected century-old religious and architectural structures in the region, including the Maribojoc Church.

The Maribojoc Church Complex which consists of a stone masonry church and convent, side plazas and a stone stairway at the back of the church, is a declared National Cultural Treasure due to its outstanding historical, cultural, and artistic value making it highly significant cultural property of the nation.  Its declaration justifies the government spending and prioritizing for its restoration and reconstruction.

Eight (8) years since the 2013 earthquake, the concluding event finally took place.  A mass and the turnover ceremony were held at the Maribojoc Church on Sunday, December 12, 2021.  Gracing the event with their presence were His Excellency Jorge Moragas Sanches, the Ambassador of Spain to the Philippines, and Archbishop Charles John Brown, the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines.  President Rodrigo Duterte on the other hand was represented by his adviser on Streamlining of Government Processes, and a former Mayor of the town of Maribojoc, Secretary Leoncio Evasco.  Also in attendance were Bohol Governor Arthur Yap and Congressman Edgar M. Chatto, who both delivered their messages during the program.

The liturgical dedication of the Maribojoc Church and Diocesan Shrine and Pontifical Mass was officiated by Most Reverend Bishop Alberto S. Uy, with Bishop Brown as Homilist.  After the mass, NMP Director-General Jeremy Barns led the ceremonial turnover though his speech.   In his speech, DG Barns described the ceremony as a four-fold event – the returning of the reconstructed church to its people, the nearing completion of the Bohol Heritage Task Force and the Bohol-Cebu Heritage Recovery Program in partnership with the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), the marking both the turnover and the culmination of the recovery and restoration program in the presence of the Apostolic Nuncio and the Ambassador of Spain, and most importantly is the message of hope, especially this Christmas season, as embodied by the turnover ceremony.  He also highlighted some milestones of the reconstruction project and ended his message by expressing his gratitude to all the stakeholders that have been part of the eight-year project.

As a response, a message of acceptance and gratitude was given by Bishop Uy, representing the legal owner of the church, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tagbilaran.  It was then concluded with the signing of the Certificates of Turn-over and Acceptance and the Unveiling of NHCP Marker.

The night before the celebrated event, a welcome dinner was hosted by the NMP for HE Ambassador Sanches and Archbishop Brown that was held at the NMP Bohol Area Museum in Tagbilaran.  A Plague of Appreciation was awarded to the NMP by Bishop Alberto Uy during the dinner.

The NMP expresses its gratitude and honor for the trust given by the people in accomplishing yet another significant realization of carrying out its mission and mandate.  Rest assured that it will continue serving the public and its community in pursuit of a Filipino nation of citizens with pride for their identity, committed to the protection and dissemination of its heritage.

In commemoration of Manlilikha ng Bayan Salinta Monon’s 101st birth anniversary today, the #NationalMuseumPH pays tribute to her contribution in the preservation and transmission of Bagobo weaving heritage. Salinta Monon learned how to weave the inabal from her mother at the tender age of 12. She and her younger sister are the only Bagobo weavers left before her passing in 2009.

In the Bagobo society, the inabal (ikat-dyed woven abaca (Musa textilis) cloth) are considered as symbols of wealth, offerings to deities, and gifts to those who officiate rituals. These finely woven fabrics become ikut or sacred objects when inherited and used as protective charms that guarantee completion of houses. 

Manlilikha ng Bayan Salinta Monon is known for the quality of her work and the intricacies of her designs. She had mastered one of the most difficult and favored designs, the binuwaya (crocodile). Her meticulousness in weaving enabled her to easily identify the designs, as well as the weaver of a particular piece at a glance. Upon receiving the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan in 1998, she helped establish the School of Living Tradition in Bansalan, Davao del Sur, where she taught the art of weaving to the younger generations in her community.

In 15 January 2021, President Rodrigo Duterte signed Proclamation No. 1076, declaring 12 December 2020 to 11 December 2021 as the “Centennial Year of Manlilikha ng Bayan Salinta Monon” for her unwavering dedication and commitment to her craft by fully demonstrating the creative possibilities of Bagobo inabal at a time when such art was threatened to extinction. A sample of her work is exhibited at the upgraded Manlilikha ng Bayan Hall, National Museum of Anthropology and her backstrap loom will be displayed at the Hibla ng Lahing Filipino featuring Lumad Textiles at the Eastern Northern Mindanao Regional Museum in Butuan City. 

#MuseumFromHome

#ManlilikhaNgBayan

#GAMABA#SalintaMonon

Text and poster by the NMP Ethnology Division and NCCA GAMABA Executive Council

© The National Museum of the Philippines (2021)

Cover photo featuring façade and location map (A. Arciaga III, 2021)

In our #MuseumFromHome series, this week’s feature of our #BuiltTraditionThursday is the San Pedro Bautista Church Complex, formally the Basilica Minore de Santuario de San Pedro Bautista, founded by Franciscan missionaries to the Philippines in the late 16th century.

The San Pedro Bautista Church Complex traces its origins to a convent and chapel made of nipa and bamboo, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Montecelli, located on a site granted to the Franciscan missionaries on the 17th of February, 1590. This land grant was facilitated by Governor Santiago de Vera in the name of King Philipp II of Spain. The original chapel was quickly replaced by a wooden structure in 1593, then by a stone structure of adobe (volcanic tuff) in 1599. The stone structure was damaged in the Limahong Uprisings of 1639, and summarily reconstructed in 1699 and dedicated to newly beatified Blessed Pedro Bautista, through the donation of Don Tomas de Endaya, a general and regidor of Manila.

The church complex is extraordinary for having been the residence of San Pedro Bautista, for whom the complex takes its current name, at its foundation, when he was elected Custos or Superior of the Franciscan missionaries to the Philippines. Extant in the complex, situated under the sanctuary of the original church is a cave wherein San Pedro Bautista himself designated as a personal place of prayer and contemplation. The many distinctions of the church led to its elevation as a Minor Basilica through his Holiness Pope Francis, on September 14, 2020, making it the second church of such recognition in the Diocese of Cubao.

Currently, the church complex comprises of the parish church, the convent, and training and accommodation venues for the Franciscans. The parish church is oriented on a northeast to southwest axis with the main entrance at the northeastern terminus. It features a rectangular plan of around 50 meters in length and 20 in width, with a single nave characteristic of early Filipino Christian architecture. The main altarpieces feature three Baroque retablos on a raised platform at the southwestern end. The convent and its open areas are adjacent to the southwestern side of the church proper and includes the Patio de San Francisco, the central courtyard of the complex. The convent and courtyard feature brick and cut stone masonry, with some sections remaining exposed and un-plastered as an enduring showcase of the structure’s craftmanship.

At present, the church complex is in a good state of conservation and maintenance, as both the parish church and convent have retained their distinct architectural characteristics through its prolonged use. The Minor Basilica as a whole is also a declared Important Cultural Property of the National Museum of the Philippines, as an acknowledgement of its cultural and historical significance and its standing as an exemplification of Philippine built traditions.

Text and illustrations/photos by Ar. Armando Arciaga III, AABHD