MY MOST recent trip to Bohol, March 19-26, was refreshing.
Yes, it did me a lot of good – a trip good for the soul. Like paying my last respects to an old aunt – Auntie Lucy Marante, sister of my grandmother Fermina Quezon Marante-Sales, who passed away at the ripe age of 94; meeting a friend from high school – Meg Raynaldo; reuniting with elementary classmates Lulu Manlupig, Jessica Caumeran, and Isabel Peñaflor; driving to the new Bohol Airport called Bohol-Panglao International Airport which is situated in the municipality of Panglao (presumably the reason why Panglao is included in its official name); sojourning in the quaint home of my favorite cousin Donna Balagot in Valencia, Bohol (I have fond memories in House Balagot); visiting the graves of my parents at Victoria Memorial Park; checking the restored Dauis Church; and driving leisurely around the towns of Bohol. It was such a pleasant trip; totally good for the heart!
The Dauis Church, also called the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption, is located in Poblacion, Dauis, in the island province of Bohol. Dauis is just 12.4 kilometers away from Tagbilaran City via the Dauis-Panglao Road. It’s very near the capital city of Tagbilaran and the trip is refreshing considering that you will drive through the sea, haha! Literally, since the road cuts through the Tagbilaran Strait.
The church was badly damaged by the 7.2- magnitude earthquake that hit Bohol on Oc. 15, 2013. Now, I was in Bohol during that shattering earthquake so I can appreciate the output of the restoration work. Truly commendable! Kudos to the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) for spearheading the project and ensuring that the delicate restoration work is done by experts. Yes, experts!
According to news, all structures assigned to the NHCP are already restored while NMP is still reconstructing a handful, mostly churches.
“NHCP-supervised restoration work in Baclayon, Dauis, Tubigon, and Loay are 100-percent complete,” said Fr. Milan Ted Torralba, head of the Commission for Cultural Heritage of the Church of the Diocese of Tagbilaran.
“They were restored as if the earthquake did not occur. No scar is visible on the church fabric,” he further explained.
I fully agree with him. I was genuinely impressed and pleased to see the restored interior of the Dauis church, its façade, the church structure, and the watchtower. I also saw the façades of the Alburquerque and Dimiao churches. They are also restored. Great work!
On a side note, in my next Bohol visit, I will make sure to climb and check the restoration work done on the Balilihan watchtower.
Why Balilihan? Because the watchtower is located on a hill right at the back of my grandparents’ home!
I even entertained the idea that a portion of the hill is owned by my grandparents, thus, we owned the watchtower, haha! Kids and our selfishness.
I used to climb the stairs going up the watchtower top while I was a kid visiting my grandparents during Christmas and summer vacations. I had special memories of the place. Then when I had my kids one fine December day in 2008, I also brought them there.
Of course, their memory is comparably different from mine. They appreciated the view from outside; mine was climbing inside where I can see the town view.
According to NMP literature, as a National Cultural Treasure, the Balilihan Watchtower is one of the declared Bohol watchtowers with architectural and engineering structures with notable historical and cultural significance.
A four-story quadrilateral tower built in 1840, the original watchtower used to stand at a strategic position on a hill (there you go!) and was valuable for guarding the Abatan River during the Spanish Colonial period. (I didn’t actually see the river when I was a kid. Strange.
However, I was probably not looking for it at the time.) The watchtower is the only one of its kind located inland (I agree. All the rest were constructed and standing beside the sea.) and portrays works of art in the form of scroll decorations and floral designs at the arched opening, as well as the carved corbels supporting the wide overhangs of the hip roof, and the remaining sheathes of cut corals which used to cover the whole tower walls, NMP further said.
In my next Bohol trip, I will make sure to visit all the watchtowers.
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT
A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people. – Mahatma Gandhi
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For comments, you may reach the writer at belca.87@gmail.com./PN
