In Batanes, Itbayat’s 137-year-old church torn down for rebuild
TUGUEGARAO CITY—After standing for nearly a century and a half, the historic Santa Maria de Mayan Parish Church in Itbayat, Batanes, has begun to crumble—this time not to earthquake or typhoon, but to demolition crews preparing the ground for a new house of worship.
The tearing down of the 137-year-old structure paves the way for the construction of a new church on the same site after six years of delay, following the resolution of concerns earlier raised by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).
Located in Barangay Santa Lucia, the heritage Roman Catholic church—widely known as the Itbayat Church under the Territorial Prelature of Batanes—was first built in 1853 and completed in 1888. It was heavily damaged by a magnitude 6 earthquake on July 27, 2019, which killed nine and injured 60. Supertyphoon “Leon” (international name: Kong-rey) in October 2024 further destroyed its roof and walls.
Some locals welcomed the decision, noting that a new church would soon rise in its place, while others mourned the loss of its cultural and historical value, Gonzales added.
“Indeed, the demolition has finally begun,” Catholic devotee Kynch Lynn Gonzales said in a private message, adding she was happy that a new church would soon rise on the site.
The Prelate of Batanes did not specify yet the cost of building the new church. It will be patterned after the old church and will be built through donations.
Larger worship space
Another parishioner, Nilda Salengua-Garcia, said the community “deserves a larger worship space” instead of the small temporary chapel built from donations.
The church’s history traces back to a wooden structure built between 1853 and 1858. Originally dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, construction of a stone church began under Dominican priest Fr. Manuel Blasco in 1872 and was completed in 1888.
Plans to demolish the quake-damaged church were initially set for May 2023 but were delayed by legal and heritage issues.
The NHCP later declared the structure beyond restoration, and the Prelature of Batanes submitted a new design and development plan, which the NHCP and NCCA have since approved.
The island of Itbayat, the country’s northernmost municipality about four hours by boat from the provincial capital Basco on Batan Island, is about 840 kilometers from Metro Manila and closer to Taiwan, which is just 156 km away.
The residents of the island, which is often visited by typhoons, also have to deal with frequent shortages of commodities and fuel because of the difficulty in bringing in goods during bad weather.
