Exploring the Church of Tumauini

TUMAUINI, PROVINCE OF ISABELA

28 December 2015

I had been travelling to various places to see old churches, buildings and monuments. 

I could not deny that when it comes to Heritage, there are two places that I love the most and kept on visiting - the Ilocos Provinces (Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur), home to more than a dozen of old churches, monuments and buildings.

Since then, I never had the chance to see what my home province Isabela has to offer as far as Heritage is concerned.

While I was browsing the internet I noticed from another blog site an old church in the town of Tumauini in Isabela. I noted some unique features of the church such as - the material used to build the church (red brick) and the cylindrical bell tower.

Since then, I planned to visit Tumauini to explore the old church.

I decided to travel to Tumauini early morning on the 28th of December 2015 during my Christmas break to finally see the church first hand.

From my hometown in Echague, Tumauini is approximately 93 kilometers away going further north. I took a bus bound for Tuguegarao at 0745H.

According to historians, the first church made of nipa and other light materials was built by the Dominican priest Francisco Nuñez in 1707, and dedicated to Saint Matthias. Tumauini became an independent parish from Cabagan in 1751. 

The current church was built under the auspices of another Dominican, Domingo Forto, in 1784 and later continued by the priest Antonio Herrera in 1788. In constructing the church, Forto hired artisans from as far south as Pampanga. It was completed in 1805.

The church was damaged during the Second World War; a faithful reconstruction program followed, with undamaged parts of the church building retained.

Travel time from my hometown Echague to Tumauini is approximately an hour and forty five minutes. 

The church is located near the Pan-Philippine Highway at the town center. I reached the town of Tumauini at 0905H and then walked towards the church.

From the highway, I easily spotted the church with its towering belfry.

As I approached the church, I immediately noticed the cylindrical bell tower painted with white color and the contrasting church facade made of red bricks.

According to Wikipedia, The San Matias Parish Church (Spanish: Iglesia Parroquia de San Matías), commonly known as Tumauini Church, is a Roman Catholic church in the municipality of Tumauini, Isabela, Philippines within the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ilagan.

The church, known for its brick Baroque-style architecture, was declared a National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum of the Philippines. Together with the churches of Boljoon, Guiuan, Loboc and Lazi, the Tumauini Church has been considered for the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List since 2006 under the collective group of Baroque Churches of the Philippines (Extension).

When I arrived at the church, there was a wedding and the plaza was full of vehicles. 

As the wedding was just about to start, I immediately proceeded inside the church to see the interior and took few shots. One thing that I always looked for inside an old church is the pulpit. In the case of the church of Tumauini, the pulpit might had been destroyed previously as it was no longer inside the church.

I have not seen any old photo of the interior of the church taken before the WWII though and so I was assuming that there used to be a pulpit inside.

There are two chapels at both sides of the church and attached to the church.

To access the bell tower, one has to climb up the circular stairway made of iron and then pass-through a narrow concrete bridge that connects the church to the bell tower.

 

I'm not also sure of this is the original entrance of the bell tower as most of the bell towers that I had seen has the entrance at the bell tower itself.

 

I did not attempt to climb the bell tower anymore as it was locked at that time.

As the wedding ceremony started, I stepped out of the church and explored the exterior. Two distinct architectural features visible are the red bricks on the church facade with intricate design (very detailed) and the cylindrical bell tower. The historical marker also specified the uniqueness of the cylindrical bell tower (the only of its kind in the Philippines).

 

I was impressed at the details of the red brick design - the red color stands out in contrast to the white color of the bell tower.

 

 

I waited for the vehicles to vacate the plaza as the wedding ended to have a good shot of the church facade. I left the church for a while and walked towards the town center for an early lunch. I landed at a newly built SaveMore market as there was no food court yet at that time.

At 1100H, I walked back to church and by then the plaza was empty and there I marveled at the grandeur of the church facade.

 

 

I also had a chance of exploring the interior even longer as the church was empty already.

 

I loved the detailed design of the red bricks at the facade and interior of the church.

While exploring the church, I noted three things:

1. The need for restoration. Some of the bricks at the facade of the church had cracked exposing the inner wall component of the church.
2. Restoration following the original design/ornate of the original bricks.
3. Improvement of the Plaza on both cleanliness and orderliness.

I was able to spot easily the restored portion of the church with the plain wall in contrast to the highly-decorated red bricks (original wall). This is evident on both interior and exterior walls.

 

For me this is important to be considered by the church administrators knowing that the church was listed as part of the tentative list of additional churches to be included as UNESCO World Heritage Site under Baroque Churches of the Philippines.

 

I enjoyed exploring the Tumauini Church. I was impressed at the details of the red bricks design and the cylindrical bell tower.

I left Tumauini at 1159H.

DIOS TI AGNGINA, TUMAUINI!

--o0o--

Rediscovering Dingras Church

Dingras, Ilocos Norte

22 December 2015

On the 22nd of December 2015, I traveled to Laoag City from Pagudpud. It was a two-hour bus ride. I left Pagudpud at 0830H and reached Laoag City at 1035H.

From the bus terminal, I took a jeep from near the capitol building bound for Paoay. I reached the town of Paoay at 1115H and checked-in at a place few steps away from the Paoay Church.

At 1200H, I went back to Laoag City and took a jeep bound for Dingras. I reached the town at 1515H. I alighted at the municipal hall of the town near the church.

From the highway, I immediately noticed the imposing grandeur of the restored facade of the church. It's beautiful.

I remembered the last time I visited Dingras, the church was still on a major restoration. What impressed me the most was the way the facade was restored. The old bricks from the original facade wall were used on the new facade.

Ruins of Dingras Church
Photo source: http://museoilocosnorte.com/wp-content/gallery/dingras/dingras_church_1.jpg

Church Buttresses

Also, the ornate of the old facade was also restored. It's not completely a new wall after all. I moved in front of the restored facade and gazed at the grandeur of the church for nearly an hour. I was happy to see it that way. It was a job well done for the church admin, the people of Dingras and the PGIN. I spent sometime taking photos of the church.

After exploring the church, I had a chance to explore the old house of Josefa Llanes Escoda which is a new tourist spot located near the church plaza and facing the municipal hall at the other side of the highway.

I love the ambiance of the restored old building and spent sometime inside siting on a chair looking at the windows made of polished Capiz shells. 

I left Dingras at 1800H and traveled back to Laoag City. See also Dingras Church Restoration.

-o0o-

Rediscovering Pagudpud, Paoay and Dingras

Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte

21 December 2015

It was three long years since my last visit to the touristic province of Ilocos Norte. I was so excited again to see the place and rediscover the historic province.

In particular, I planned to see three major sites: The Wind Mills, Paoay Church and Convent and Dingras Church. With this plan, I considered staying in the province for three days.

From Manila I traveled to Pagudpud on the night of the 20th of December 2015. Travel time from Manila to Pagudpud is approximately twelve hours.

I left Manila at 2130H on board luxury bus bound for Pagudpud. Since it was a holiday, the bus terminal was crowded with passengers who were escaping the metropolis at that time.

When I reached the town of Burgos, I was amazed at the gigantic wind mills along the highway and many more scattered in the area. These wind mills are the newly installed units. I was assuming there are more or less than a hundred units installed and operational already.

At 0930H, I was at the bus terminal waiting for a tricycle to bring me to my accommodation. I checked in at a budget hotel. Then I asked the tricycle driver to move me around the wind farm by 1000H.

I started to explore the wind farm at 1030H. I visited the Bangui wind farm first and I noticed many cottages at the site. These cottages weren't there yet during my first visit to the site. According to the tricycle driver, the cottages are meant for tourists - there is a tourist information center, several souvenir shops and even accommodation. It was windy and cold at that time.

 

I was surprised to learn that there are three wind farms operational in the area already. Before there was only Bangui. Now, there are Burgos and Pagudpud wind farms.

From Bangui, I moved to Burgos and find a nice spot along the highway to take a shot of the scattered wind mills. I enjoyed the scenery and took several shots of the nice landscape.

From Burgos, I moved to the Blue Lagoon. I was surprised to see the developments in the area. A long zip line is now operational from atop the hill down to the Hannah's Beach Resort. Different resorts have also occupied the entire stretch of the white sand bar and there were constructions ongoing at that time. 

 

 

At 1500H, I had a late lunch at the cafeteria near the Hannah's Resort.

I left the place at 1630H and moved to Patapat Viaduct. It was drizzling at that moment so I decided to get back to my accommodation after taking a few shots of the winding highway sandwiched between the high mountains and the sea.

When I reached my accommodation, I was lucky to see the beautiful sunset with the Burgos wind farm at the foreground.

The scenery was so nice.

Rediscovering Dingras

22 December 2015

Ruins of Dingras Church
Photo source: http://museoilocosnorte.com/wp-content/gallery/dingras/dingras_church_1.jpg

On the 22nd of December 2015, I traveled to Laoag City from Pagudpud. It was a two-hour bus ride. I left Pagudpud at 0830H and reached Laoag City at 1035H.

From the bus terminal, I took a jeep from near the capitol building bound for Paoay. I reached the town of Paoay at 1115H and checked-in at a place few steps away from the Paoay Church.

At 1200H, I went back to Laoag City and took a jeep bound for Dingras. I reached the town at 1515H. I alighted at the municipal hall of the town near the church.

From the highway, I immediately noticed the imposing grandeur of the restored facade of the church. It's beautiful. I remembered the last time I visited Dingras, the church was still on a major restoration.

What impressed me the most was the way the facade was restored. The old bricks from the original facade wall were used on the new facade. Also, the ornate of the old facade was also restored. It's not completely a new wall after all.

 

I moved in front of the restored facade and gazed at the grandeur of the church for nearly an hour. I was happy to see it that way. It was a job well done for the church admin, the people of Dingras and the PGIN. I spent sometime taking photos of the church.

After exploring the church, I had a chance to explore the old house of Josefa Llanes Escoda which is a new tourist spot located near the church plaza and facing the municipal hall at the other side of the highway.
 

I love the ambiance of the restored old building and spent sometime inside siting on a chair looking at the windows made of polished capiz shells. 

I left Dingras at 1800H and moved back to Laoag City and then back to Paoay.

Rediscovering Paoay

23 December 2015

I reached Paoay at 2010H from Laoag City. At that time, the church facade and side walls had been illuminated with warm light.

After fixing my things at my accommodation, I immediately moved to the plaza with my camera and tripod. Taking photos at night of old structures nicely lit is one of my favorite photo moments.

 

A lighted scroll mark at the plaza ground was lighted making it very visible at dark.

The building at the right side of the plaza (facing the church) that was under construction when I last visited the place is now a souvenir shop and a food court.

On the 23rd of December, I moved around the Paoay church and explored the old convent that used to be in ruins and currently being restored at the time. The PGIN is transforming the building ruins into another tourist site in Paoay.

By the time of my visit, half portion of the old building had already been covered with a metal roof supported by metal columns and trusses. I was so happy to learn that the old convent ruins will be resurrected soon and will no longer be just a ruin.

 

I left Paoay at 1700H and traveled back to Laoag City and then later traveled to my hometown in the province of Isabela.

While waiting for the bus, I took the chance to move around and took photos of the Sinking Bell Tower and the Plaza.

 

 

As always, I had a busy yet enjoyable and relaxing quick trip to Ilocos Norte. I always look forward to see this place again as PGIN continue to restore old buildings and improve the province as a whole.

AGYAMANAK, APO ILOCOS NORTE!!

--o0o--