Maria Cristina Falls in Iligan City and the MSPC Pastoral Conference

From October 20 to 23, Archbishop Garcera, the incoming CBCP President, invited me and two of my confreres from the CBCP Secretariat to accompany him to the 18th Mindanao-Sulu Pastoral Conference (MSPC) held in Iligan City. It was an extraordinary experience to witness firsthand the life of the Church in Mindanao—home of the country’s pioneering Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs)—as it now seeks to deepen synodality in its pastoral practice and way of being Church.

Each diocese sent ten delegates, composed of the bishop, a number of  priests and religious sisters, and lay leaders. During one of the breaks, we took the opportunity to visit the Maria Cristina Falls, a landmark long associated with Iligan City, which is also known as the "City of Majestic Waterfalls." Providentially, one of the delegates was a former plant manager of the Agus Hydroelectric Plants, a series of six plants running from Lake Lanao down to the Maria Cristina Falls, where the Agus VI and VII Hydroelectric Plants are located.

We learned that the Maria Cristina Falls had only reopened to visitors last August after having been closed since March 2022, with access limited to ten visitors per day, coordinated through the Iligan City Tourism Office.  On the day of our visit, one of the turbines was under repair, and because of our scheduled visit, the flow of water cascading down the falls was temporarily increased. Normally, since much of the water is diverted to the turbines, the volume of the falls is reduced.

Aside from viewing the falls from the designated vantage point, our host also took us inside the hydroelectric plant, where he explained how power is generated from the tremendous energy of the flowing waters—a fascinating encounter with both the beauty of creation and human ingenuity.

The gushing water in the foreground comes out from the turbines, which produce electricity, as the water is diverted from the falls themselves. 

The control room of the Agus VII Hydroelectric Plant

Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel
Iligan City, Lanao del Norte

Bp. Rapadas, the bishops of Iligan giving his talk about BEC during the MSPC Pastoral Conference

With Fr. Romil Baring, CSSR, the Chaplain assigned to the Mindanao State University (MSU) in Marawi City which is the main campus of MSU and Msgr. Ramonito Torres the Vicar General of Marawi. After visiting the Maria Cristina Falls we proceeded to visit the MSU. 

The residence and Chapel of the chaplaincy of the Mindanao State University in Marawi. 

Fr. Romil with the help of students of MSU prepared lunch for us at the Chaplaincy. 

Some of the destroyed buildings, remnants of the Marawi siege in 2017.

There were still some galvanized sheets on the roof the last time I visited the destroyed Cathedral of Marawi. 

A carved okir, which is a Maranao inspired art can still be seen on both sides near the altar.