The 50 guests from different places in the Philippines will visit the tourist spots of Ilocos Norte and the first destination of our 3 days tour is the Paoay Church or also called ST. Agustine Church which is a world Heritage church that built of coral blocks and stucco-plastered bricks, the architecture is a unique combination of Gothic and Oriental. You can easily notice this church because it was already an old structure outside and I think it is the oldest church only in Laoag City but the entire Philippines. The construction of this Paoay church was started in 1694 by Augustinian friar Father Antonio Estavillo, and it was completed in 1894. Paoay church is a prime example of Earthquake Baroque architecture, which is the Philippine interpretation of the European Baroque adapted to the seismic condition of the country.
A few meters away is the coral stone bell tower which served as an observation post of the “Katipuneros” during the Philippine revolution and again by the Guerillas during the Japanese occupation in World War II. The inauguration ceremonies were held on February 28, 1896, just three years before the expulsion of Spanish rule in the country.
During an excavation inside the church in 2000, a prehistoric human skeleton and fragmented ceramics were discovered and are now on display at the National Museum. According to historians, the bell tower also served as a status symbol for the locals. The bell would ring more loudly and more times during the wedding of a prominent clan that it would during the wedding of the poor. In the year 1992, the church is nominated to the UNESCO’s World Heritage list and was officially inscribed in 1993.
Compared to its still magnificent exterior, the Paoay Church looks austere and stark inside, with but a few old images of saints and a simple wooden cross at the altar that it is hard to imagine now how it looked like a hundred years ago. Only on Sundays does the Parish enjoy quite a number of worshippers. It is sad to note that on any other day, except for an intermittent busload of Taiwanese tourists, the church suffers from the lack of patronage.
Bombay the former name of Paoay and originally located at the village of Callaguip along the coastal shores of the South China Sea, now a barrio of Paoay.
Check out our 2nd destination in Laoag City, the Sand Dunes. Don’t forget to like the Facebook page of Travel Ta Bai.