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| BISHOP Renato Mayugba leads the groundbreaking ceremony in front of the St. Anne Parish in Piddig, Ilocos Norte. (Lei Adriano) |
By Leilanie G. Adriano
Staff reporter
Piddig, Ilocos Norte—When Father Lorenzo Torreflores witnessed
the closing of baroque-style St. Anne parish church on September 14, 2014, the
parish priest said he got emotional as it was his first time to see an old
church closed due to structural problems and deemed unfit for occupancy.
The residents felt same feeling of the historical town of Piddig as they knew their ancestors had put in their blood, sweat, and tears
to build the 207-year-old church.
But four years later, restoration works began and it includes its bell
tower and perimeter walls as well as retrofitting of buttresses and roofing.
On March 22, Laoag diocese Bishop Renato Mayugba, along with National
Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) representatives and some Piddig
officials led the groundbreaking ceremony and releasing of time capsule for the
church restoration. They projected it for completion in January 2019.
“The church has witnessed so much devastation over the course of time. It’s
now our time to put in our faith to endure and cooperate with one another to
continue the living faith of our ancestors through this church restoration,” Mr.
Mayugba said as he shared that some 200 years ago, the natives of Piddig
constructed the original church, one of them may have been his ancestor as he
also traced his ancestry, incidentally to this town.
As one of the oldest churches in province, Carminda Arevalo, NHCP deputy director
for administration said the restoration is very important in the colorful
history of Piddig, popularly known as the home of the “Basi Revolt”.
Ms. Arevalo likewise assured that the construction firm involved is an
expert in restoration.
In a separate interview, Fr. Carlito “Joey” Ranjo Jr., head of the
restoration committee of the Diocese of Laoag said it took about two years for
restoration experts to study the structure and materials used to determine the
right approach to fully restore the church.
In September 2014, the Laoag diocese closed the St. Anne parish for fear
that it may endanger churchgoers. This emanated from a report of the Piddig
municipal engineer declaring the building as “unfit for human occupancy”; the
official said the wooden trusses were already deteriorating and the church
foundation has loosened over the years.
Piddig, some 21 km from the capital Laoag City, is a former “visita” (a
community with a chapel) of neighboring Dingras town. In 1798, Spanish
officials established Piddig as a town and the Augustinians created St. Anne
parish in 1810.
During the Philippine-American War, a five-member team of Filipino
guerrillas used the church as a base to repel American attacks.
An earthquake toppled the top section of the bell tower on March 19, 1932,
but officials then had the church repaired.
During the World War II, Japanese forces burned the convent and the
sacristy, leading to the destruction of its parish records. In 1965, officials
restored the church’s facade and its interior.
Later, they also repaired the
convent and converted into a parochial school, the St. Anne Academy, church
records showed.
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