KALANGGAMAN ISLAND, ONE MORE TIME

 Right after the celebration of my 40th sacerdotal anniversary in my home parish in MacArthur, Leyte, my officemates who had come to join the festivities were treated to an excursion to the now world-famous Kalanggaman Island, renowned for its long stretch of white sandbar, crystal-clear turquoise waters on one side, and coral reefs on the other.

The parish priest of Palompon, who kindly arranged the trip for us, chartered two speedboats that reduced the travel time from more than an hour to just thirty minutes. Normally, the regular boat service, which can accommodate a maximum of thirty passengers, waits until it is fully booked before departing.

We left Palo early in the morning and arrived in Palompon after an hour and a half, where breakfast was already prepared for us at the convento. Registration for visitors to Kalanggaman is now done online. It was a beautiful day, and the sea was remarkably calm.

It was a beautiful day, and the sea was remarkably calm.

The long stretch of the sandbar

The crystal clear waters of Kalanggaman. 

At the parish convent with the parish priest, Fr. Aaron Quilaneta. 

A TRIP TO CANIGAO ISLAND WITH THE GK-CFC COUPLES OF LEYTE

Last May 17, the Gawad Kalinga team of Leyte invited me to join them on an overnight excursion to Canigao Island in Matalom, Leyte. I didn’t hesitate to accept, as I was free that day and it had been quite some time since my last visit to the island.

Since it was the weekend right after the elections, the port in Matalom—where one takes a boat to Canigao—was packed with vacationers waiting for their turn to cross. During my previous visit, the jump-off point was a barangay directly across from the island, and only a handful of tourists were around.

Now, the port has been moved to the town proper of Matalom, and the process has been systematized. All visitors must first register at the Tourism Office, where they are assigned a boat that will bring them to the island—and the same boat will also be scheduled to bring them back.

We pitched our tents at the back of the island, right where we were offloaded. I was given a tent of my own. Since the following day was a Sunday, the team asked if I could bring a Mass kit so we could celebrate Mass on the island. As all  of them were members of Couples for Christ, they also requested if they could renew their marriage vows during the Mass—which, of course, was no problem. I was pleasantly surprised when they all showed up for Mass dressed in white at a makeshift altar by the beach. 

 

There were so many vacationers trying to catch the boat to Canigao. It took us two hours of waiting before we were able to board the boat that was assigned to us for the twenty-minute ride to the island.

There were not that many people in the back side of the island. 

A variety of shellfish were being sold on the island. The one shown above is locally known as Sunlutan. Since they had already been removed from their shells, I had no idea what they looked like when still alive.

Bug-atan

Tikud-tikud

Litub

With the GK team couples

All dressed in white for their renewal of marriage vows. 

VILLALON, CALUBIAN LEYTE

 ST. ANTHONY PARISH
VILLALON, CALUBIAN, LEYTE

THE RENOVATION, DESTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION OF THE PALO METROPOLITAN CATHEDRAL

  When I was installed as parish priest of the Palo Metropolitan Cathedral on January 12, 2010, Jose Palma, then Archbishop of Palo, instructed me to prepare the cathedral for the Diamond Jubilee of the diocese. The celebration was scheduled for November 27, 2012—less than three years away. Plans had already been made for a year-long jubilee celebration that would conclude a year later.

In the meantime, however, the cathedral was in urgent need of repairs. By that time, the structure was already rapidly deteriorating. Sections of the ceiling had been damaged, and whenever it rained, water flowed freely inside the church. The last major renovation of the cathedral had taken place in 1995, and the effects of time and weather had already taken a heavy toll on the building.

This is how the Cathedral looked before the Renovation in 2010.

The Cathedral Facade

 

The left wing

The right wing

The main nave of the Cathedral

The ceilings had already been damaged by persistent leaks. Whenever it rained, the janitor had to mop the floor immediately to prevent churchgoers from slipping and falling. Water also flowed down the stairs from the bell tower. In the meeting room behind the altar, the ceilings were likewise destroyed, and rainwater cascaded freely inside.

The state of the roofing of the Cathedral

The first priority was the repair of the roofing system. The contractor engaged for the work was Amis Industrial Development, owned by Victor Amistoso of Manila. He used a proprietary waterproofing and lamination system that he had developed to seal all the leaking portions of the roof. Since most parts of the roofing were still structurally sound, except for a few sections, this method was chosen instead of replacing the entire roof with a new one.

          Archbishop Jose Palma envisioned a general renovation of the Palo Metropolitan Cathedral that would unify the somewhat inconsistent architectural elements that had accumulated over the years. While the plans for the overall renovation were still being deliberated, I was also tasked with completing the construction of the Cathedral Rectory.

In the early morning of the fiesta of Palo on August 6, 2002, the Cathedral Rectory was razed to the ground by a fire that started in the abandoned Chancery building beside it. For the next eight years, the priests of the Cathedral lived in the Sisters’ convent located behind the burned rectory.

At that time, the parish priest, Fr. Stephen Pesado, decided first to construct a function hall on the ruins of the old Chancery. This building, now known as the Archbishop Cipriano V. Urgel Hall (ARCIVU Hall), was completed in 2004. The income generated from its rentals helped finance the construction of the new rectory, which began in 2005 during the tenure of Msgr. Ben Bacierra. Construction continued slowly in the succeeding years, and the project was only halfway completed when I was assigned to the Cathedral.

To fund the renovation of the Cathedral itself, Archbishop Palma decided that all the parishes of the archdiocese would contribute through a monthly quota. Freed from the responsibility of raising funds for the Cathedral renovation, I concentrated on securing resources for the completion of the rectory, which I believed should be finished before the major renovation of the Cathedral could begin.

Seven months later, during the fiesta celebration of August 6, 2010, Archbishop Palma blessed the Parish Office and the private chapel of the new rectory. A month later, on September 5, 2010, he also blessed the dining room, bedrooms, and kitchen. The following month, the long-awaited renovation of the Cathedral finally began.

The half part of the Cathedral Rectory

The finished Cathedral Rectory.

Dining room

Corridor leading the dining room. In the middle of the convento was the ruins of the centuries-old convento which they left as a past reminder. 

Private Chapel

Parish offices

Parish archives

The Archbishop chose the design submitted by Arch. Gervasio Amistoso. It included the construction of a new dome to harmonize with the twin belfries, the enlargement of the canopy over the main entrance, and the opening of two additional doors beside it. The design also called for the installation of mouldings inside the church and in the belfries, as well as the replacement of the ceiling in order to unify the Cathedral’s interior architectural style, among other improvements.

The major reconstruction began in October 2010. The construction of the new dome proved to be the most time-consuming aspect of the project and took more than a year to complete. The windows were also replaced with awning-type windows, while the doors along the main body of the church were repaired and redesigned as two-panel doors that open outward.

The design for the Cathedral approved by the Archbishop.

Work on the dome lasted for more than a year. 

Uniform columns and mouldings were placed around the Cathedral. 

The ceilings were also replaced. 

Construction of a bigger canopy at the front of the church and placing of mouldings at the twin bell towers.

Canopies were also built at the side wings of the church

 

The main door of the Cathedral with a relief of the Transfiguration and the two new doors built beside it. 

The main nave of the Cathedral

The baptismal font near the door of the Cathedral.

Four confessional boxes were built.

 The right wing

 The left wing

 Entrance to the sacristy

 The Gallery of Saints at the back of the left side wing of the Cathedral

The gallery at the back of the Altar

The new road fronting the Cathedral

The carved Stations of the Cross were refurbished with gold plating, and the titles of the stations were carved directly onto the panels, replacing the meditations that had previously been painted on plywood. New pews were added, and the benches along the side wings were redesigned to match those in the main nave.

Four air-conditioned confessionals were installed, and a baptistery was constructed near the main entrance. A gallery of saints, together with a space for votive candles, was also added. Chandeliers were installed along the main nave to match those already hanging in the side wings.

The sacristy was likewise renovated, and a new bishop’s sacristy was created by converting the Burabod Chapel located across from the old sacristy. A new cathedra was installed in time for the installation of the new archbishop, John F. Du, in May 2012. A new altar table and lectern were also put in place shortly before the celebration of the Diamond Jubilee.

To complete the renovation, a new road was constructed at the end of the Sacred Heart Plaza in front of the Palo Metropolitan Cathedral, creating a new approach to the Cathedral so that visitors could immediately appreciate the grandeur of its newly renovated façade upon entering the grounds.

The entire renovation was completed in time for the Diamond Jubilee celebration of the diocese on November 27, 2012.

 THE DIAMOND JUBILEE OF PALO AS A DIOCESE

November 27, 2012

Most Rev. John F. Du, Archbishop of Palo seated on his cathedra. 

Cardinal Vidal was the main celebrant. 

The former Archbishop, Most Rev. Jose Palma of Cebu was the homilist.

The Diamond Jubilee celebration was well attended by bishops from all over the country, as well as by representatives from every parish of the archdiocese. The Cathedral was filled to capacity. Those who could not be accommodated inside were seated in tents set up in front of the Cathedral, where LED screens were installed so they could actively participate in the celebration.

The archdiocese was about to close the year-long Jubilee when Super Typhoon Yolanda struck. On that fateful day of November 8, 2013, the powerful storm—packing winds of more than 300 km per hour—blew away the dome and ripped off the roof of the entire Cathedral. The Cathedral Rectory was also badly damaged, and the ARCIVU Hall was totally wrecked.

In less than a year after its renovation, the Cathedral was once again devastated, even more severely than before.

DESTRUCTION CAUSED BY SUPER TYPHOON YOLANDA

Only the statue of the Sacred Heart fell on its face while all the other statues stood in place inside the retablo and the niches on the side wings. 

What remained of the Dome.

The Cathedral Rectory

The ARCIVU Hall

It was a blessing that no one died of those who were evacuating at the destroyed ARCIVU Hall. Abp. Du was also caught in the ARCIVU Hall during the rampage of the storm.

THE CATHEDRAL RECONSTRUCTION

The Our Lady of Hope of Palo Chapel which is connected to the Cathedral. 

The image of Our Lady of Hope of Palo was carved by Willy Layug. It depicts the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus extending a rosary to a distressed child, symbolizing the victims of Typhoon Haiyan. The image stands on a globe surrounded by waves, an allusion to the devastating typhoon.

This image was blessed by Pope Francis during his visit to Tacloban City in 2015.

The Palo Cathedral today after the renovation.