Church of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel

The town’s church was first built in 1789 by Fr. Simeon Vasquez. The present church was started in 1851 and completed in 1877.The church grounds have a good view of Mayon Volcano.

The Baroque-style, 2-level facade

AUTHOR’S NOTES:

Its 2-level Baroque façade has a semicircular, recessed arched main entrance, in varying widths, flanked, on each side, by 3 pilasters (the center one taller and wider than the other two), all mounted on pedestals. These, in turn, are flanked by semicircular arched windows.

A trio of columns

The main entrance with recessed arches in varying widths

The second level has a semicircular arched niche with a statue of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (below which is stamped the year “1877”) flanked, on both sides, by a pilaster and a semicircular arched window.  All throughout the façade are decorative scrollwork while the statued niche has a fleur de lis keystone.  The triangular pediment has a centrally located oculus.

Niche with statue of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel

Detail of decorative scrollwork

The whole façade is flanked by two 4-storey, hexagonal bell towers topped by domes. The two levels are separated by an entablature with a frieze of decorative, alternating diamond and floral patterns which continues around the bell towers.

The modern church interior

The bell tower with Mt. Mayon on its left

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church: Poblacion, 4510 Malilipot, Albay.  Tel: (052) 325 8965 and 558-2379.

Mayor’s Office: Municipal Hall, Poblacion, 4510 Malilipot, Albay. Tel.: (052) 820-7950

Church of St. Lawrence the Martyr

Tiwi’s present church, built in 1829, replaced the town’s original church which was built in 1776,  by Franciscan Fr. Pedro de Brosas at the mouth of a site called Tuytoy (“bridge”) Swamps.  The church was burned by Moro pirates and later abandoned due to its vulnerability to typhoon-induced tidal waves.

The centrally located, square bell tower and triangular pediment

AUTHOR’S NOTES:

The church’s dark, simple but charming façade is dominated by a centrally located, square bell tower, and it’s gently protruding, semicircular arched main entrance, flanked by coupled columns, is topped by a triangular pediment with a centrally located oculus.

Superpositioned coupled columns with pinnacles

Flanking the main entrance are two statued niches and another set of coupled columns capped by pointed pinnacles.  The first level is separated from the triangular pediment by an entablature.

The modern church interior

Church of St. Lawrence the Martyr: San Lorenzo St., Sitio Basag, Brgy. Tigbi, 4513 Tiwi, Albay.  Tel: (052) 488 5107. Feast of St. Lawrence the Martyr: August 10.

Mayor’s Office: Municipal Hall, Poblacion, 4513 Tiwi, Albay.  Tel.: (052) 435-4866.

Along the road opposite the town’s market, our media group made a stopover at the Sinimbahan Ruins, the roofless remains of Tiwi town’s original church which was built, in 1776,  by Franciscan Fr. Pedro de Brosas at the mouth of a site called Tuytoy (“bridge”) Swamps,    The church was burned by Moro pirates in 1846 and later abandoned due to its vulnerability to typhoon-induced tidal waves.

Sinimbahan Ruins

AUTHOR’S NOTES:

All that remains of this single-nave church are the crumbling volcanic stone walls, and the buttresses that support it, and the equally sorry-looking bell tower on the church’s left. The walls are heavily overgrown with foliage and enveloped by roots of banyan (locally called balete) trees which cling to the cracks and crevices of the walls, making the ruins look charming but, actually slowly destroying it.

A child lounging by a church window

Three remaining church buttresses

The interior walls once had a glass-encased, embedded niche which contained human bones but the glass and the bones have long disappeared. The niche seems to have been used as a grilling oven.  Other walls, probably that of the adjoining convent, now form part of a pottery factory.

Remains of the bell tower

An attempt has been made to reuse it as a chapel, evidenced by the presence of a lava boulder altar and an image of the Blessed Virgin hanging on the wall but, probably when there are no services being held (or probably abandoned altogether), the interior is used for other purposes.

The lava rock altar

During our visit, a tricycle and an owner-type jeep were parked inside and a badminton net and a basketball backboard were also installed for recreation.  There were no church pews or other furniture save for two loungers beside the shade-giving walls.

A balete tree slowly making the walls crumble

The niche that once contained human bones

The ruins is listed as a “tourist attraction” in the town but, from the looks of it, neglect, indifference and the corrosive effects of rain and wind will finish what tidal waves failed to totally destroy.  I truly hope that plans for its restoration, similar to that done to the Bancurro Ruins in Naujan (Oriental Mindoro), are in the works.

Part of the church walls used by the pottery factory

A jeep and tricycle parked inside

Sinimbahan Ruins: Brgy. Baybay, 4513 Tiwi, Albay

Mayor’s Office: Municipal Hall, Poblacion, 4513 Tiwi, Albay.  Tel.: (052) 435-4866.

First built, with wood and nipa, by Franciscan friars from 1579 to 1580, the second church, together with the “escuela Catolica,” was built with stone in 1605.  This church was destroyed during the 1814 eruption of Mayon Volcano and was rebuilt with solid blocks of volcanic stones from Mayon Volcano, in 1837, by Fr. Francisco Latoba  and Fr. Manuel Brihuega.

Church of St. John the Baptist

In 1845, Fr. Miguel Barcela built the church façade, the escuela Catolica and the bell tower.  The church was finished in 1848. On November 1987, the church was damaged by super typhoon Sisang, (international name: Nina) losing its roof, ceiling and beams, but was subsequently repaired.

The church facade

AUTHOR’S NOTES:

The church’s first level has a semicircular arched main entrance flanked by superpositioned columns and niches with statues of St. Clare of Assisi and St. Peter the Baptist (San Pedro Bautista).  The second level has rectangular windows of equal sizes. The triangular pediment, above it, has a centrally located niche with a statue of St. John the Baptist, above which is a small oculus.  It is flanked by superpositioned columns and separated from the second level by an entablature.

Plaque installed by the National Historical Commission

The 4-storey, hexagonal bell tower, on the church’s left, has massive bells and a fine view of Mayon Volcano.  During World War II, it served as a lookout for American troops searching for Japanese stragglers hiding in hillside caves.

The 4-storey, hexagonal bell tower

Inside the church is a ceiling painted with some images, chandeliers and burial niches, including a memorial stone honoring a resident who died at the age of 115 years (1797 to 1912).  Its adjacent convent houses a small museum which displays some of the 2,000-year old bones, beadwork, potsherds and other artifacts found from Calabidong Cave.

The church interior

Mayor’s Office: Municipal Hall, Poblacion, Camalig, 4502, Albay. Tel.: (052) 484-1965

Municipal Tourism, Culture and Arts Office: Camalig Tourism  and Pasalubong Center, Brgy. 2, Camalig, Albay.  Mobile number: (0927) 621-3315.  E-mail: camalig_tourism@yahoo.com.

Provincial Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office (PTCAO): Albay Tourism Bldg., Albay Astrodome Complex, Capt. F. Aquende Drive, 4500 Legaspi City, Albay.  Tel: (052) 481-0250 and (052) 742-0242. E-mail: albaytourism@yahoo.com and albaytourism@gmail.com.

How to Get There: Camalig is located 539 kms. from Manila and 14 kms. northwest of Legaspi City.