While the restoration efforts are still in its final stages, St. John the Baptist Church, the oldest church in the province of Catanduanes suffered major damage during the onslaught of the Super Typhoon Rolly.
Portions of the roof were blown off when the year’s strongest typhoon made its first landfall in the town early Sunday morning.
Known to many as Bato Church, the structure was also declared as the province’s heritage site. It was constructed in the latter part of the 16th century, at the time when Spaniards introduced Catholicism to the natives and established parishes and built churches.
The church was built with mortar and coral limestones designed to withstand the strong storms that pound the island yearly. It has also stood the test of time, even the violent typhoons and earthquakes.
In 2018, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) through the General Appropriations Act 2019 (GAA) allocated around P8.6 million for the second phase of the restoration of the church in hopes to restore its image back to its “original glory.”
But at the height of the wrath of the monstrous typhoon in the island province, the church was among the heavily devastated structures, as it was situated in Bato town, identified as the typhoon’s ground zero.
The actual damage is yet to be estimated.
The Catanduanes provincial government said around 90 percent of infrastructure in the province was damaged in the first landfall of typhoon Rolly.
Though the town of Bato reported zero casualties, more than 2,000 houses were totally destroyed, while over 3,000 houses were also partially damaged.
Four barangays also remained isolated.