Ilocos Norte to restore Paoay church
03/16/2011
GMA News
Ilocos Norte province officials are planning to restore the ancient Paoay Church (St. Augustine Church), one of Ilocos region’s major attractions.
Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos wants the project to make the province the country’s “northern gateway," a report of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said.
“We have a lot of potential tourist attraction to be developed, enriched and appreciated, and to be enjoyed," the CBCP news site quoted Marcos as saying.
Paoay Church is currently a property of the Diocese of Laoag, Ilocos Norte, and is part of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's World Heritage List.
The CBCP said its renovation may boost tourism in the towns of San Nicolas and Currimao and the cities of Laoag and Batac.
Marcos said architect Felino Palafox was tapped to design a tourism plan that would consolidate Paoay’s existing infrastructures surrounding Paoay Church like the plaza, the ruins of the Catholic convent and the frontage of a state-run university.
“Tourism is the largest industry in the world, bigger than oil," Palafox said when he agreed to come up with a tourism design for Ilocos Norte.
A commercial arcade, which would feature the town’s unique products, along a stretch of the road lining the Paoay Church will also rise to generate more tourist activities.
The construction of Paoay Church was started by the Augustinian friars in 1694.
Led by Fr. Antonio Estavillo, it was completed in 1894 and was re-dedicated in the same year.
During the revolution in 1898, its coral stone bell tower was used by the Katipuneros as an observation post. – VVP, GMA News
Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos wants the project to make the province the country’s “northern gateway," a report of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said.
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| Back of Paoay Church by Neil Gratuita (Flickr.com) |
“We have a lot of potential tourist attraction to be developed, enriched and appreciated, and to be enjoyed," the CBCP news site quoted Marcos as saying.
Paoay Church is currently a property of the Diocese of Laoag, Ilocos Norte, and is part of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's World Heritage List.
The CBCP said its renovation may boost tourism in the towns of San Nicolas and Currimao and the cities of Laoag and Batac.
Marcos said architect Felino Palafox was tapped to design a tourism plan that would consolidate Paoay’s existing infrastructures surrounding Paoay Church like the plaza, the ruins of the Catholic convent and the frontage of a state-run university.
“Tourism is the largest industry in the world, bigger than oil," Palafox said when he agreed to come up with a tourism design for Ilocos Norte.
A commercial arcade, which would feature the town’s unique products, along a stretch of the road lining the Paoay Church will also rise to generate more tourist activities.
The construction of Paoay Church was started by the Augustinian friars in 1694.
Led by Fr. Antonio Estavillo, it was completed in 1894 and was re-dedicated in the same year.
During the revolution in 1898, its coral stone bell tower was used by the Katipuneros as an observation post. – VVP, GMA News
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