21 of 25 earthquake-damaged churches in Tagbilaran restored -- CBCP official

Seven years after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit Bohol province, a church official reports that 21 out of 25 churches in the Diocese of Tagbilaran have already been restored, according to a post on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) website.

Fr. Milan Ted Torralba, executive secretary of the CBCP's Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church, said the repair work for the other four churches will be completed next year.

The restored churches are in the towns of Baclayon, Alburquerque, Loay, Dimiao, Dauis, Panglao, Cortes, Valencia, Garcia-Hernandez, Tubigon, Balilihan, Corella, Clarin, Calape, Lila, Sikatuna, Catigbian, Sevilla, Sagbayan, Batuan, Tagbilaran.

Meanwhile, the churches whose restoration works are ongoing are in the parishes of Loboc, Maribojoc, Loon and Antequera.

The repair work, he added, was delayed due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Torralba said the original plan was to complete the work on all earthquake-damaged churches in time for the 500th anniversary of Christianity in the Philippines next year.

He added that 11 of the 25 churches were covered by the government’s national calamity-related reconstruction and restoration program for structures declared as national cultural treasures, national historical landmark and important cultural properties.

US bishops also sent aid to churches that are not in the list of heritage structures and did not receive government support.

Nine churches in the Talibon diocese were also damaged by the 2013 earthquake, but all of them are restored now. -- BAP, GMA News