Diocese of Mati still torn on how to rebuild damaged rectory
MATI CITY, Philippines (MindaNews/8 January)— Engineers working with the Diocese of Mati will be meeting by month-end to determine whether the 13-million-peso, three-story rectory of San Ignacio de Loyola will be retrofitted or demolished as recommended by local authorities following a succession of earthquakes, the latest of which occurred Wednesday, January 7.
Parish priest Ronie B. Orellianida said the Diocese’s Bishop Abel C. Apigo has not yet reached a decision and will wait for the engineering assessment following the January 30 dialogue at the diocese’s Clergy House in Mati City.
Parish coordinator Berogene V. Padada said engineers who have inspected the damaged building have different recommendations. But the Municipal Engineering Office (MEO) has recommended tearing down the building. MEO officer-in-charge Engr. Prisco Jr. F. Balaba noted that the rectory has remained unsafe for occupancy since the October 10, 2025 earthquakes.
“If we retrofit the rectory, it’s a huge labor. It’s like reconstructing because there is a major structural damage,” Balaba said.
An MEO inspection document revealed evidence of compression-crushing failure on the main concrete structural members.
The MEO has not received official communication from the parish or the diocese regarding the recommendation.
Orellianida said they have consulted a private engineer who said retrofitting the damaged rectory will cost approximately 5.6 million pesos as some of the materials would have to come from either Manila or Cebu.
The parish priest said 5.6 million pesos would “go a long way” toward building a larger, more modern two-story rectory.
Orellianida said the damaged building’s original foundation was intended for only two stories, but a former parish priest decided to add a third floor due to lack of sufficient guest rooms.
But the priest acknowledged that adding a third floor with large water tanks installed above it may have also added more stress on the building’s foundations.
“I think, even if the retrofitting is done thoroughly, given that it’s already cracked, the integrity (of the foundation) is already lost,” the priest said in Cebuano.
The parish priest said that he favors demolishing the rectory for safety reasons although he understands the sentiments of parishioners. Parishioners had requested the provincial government to delay the demolition of the building citing the need for a place for the traditional early morning Misa de Gallo.
For parishioners, the damaged rectory was a result of years of collective labor, donations, and shared sacrifice.
Construction of the building began in October 2020 through bayanihan, according to a parish coordinator Padada said. Parishioners contributed some 15 million in cash, construction materials, and volunteered labor, while others supported the project by preparing food and accommodating workers during construction.
Although unfinished, the parish used the building for meetings, choir practices, and temporary lodging for visiting church workers. The parish had planned to complete the building but the October earthquakes halted construction.
In an interview with MindaNews last January 8, Parishioner Rose Caumanday, a resident of Barangay Guza, said she remembers helping carry construction materials and preparing meals for the workers.
“We all wanted to see it finished,” Caumanday said in vernacular.
Parishioners have again started collecting donations for reconstruction, with the Diocese of the Immaculate Conception of Pasay raising P151,000 sent to the parish, according to Padada.
The funds were raised without prior solicitation and were intended for the building, regardless of the final decision of the Diocese on whether to demolish or retrofit
In the meantime, masses and parish activities continue to be held around the damaged structure, with volunteers maintaining regular services despite limited space. (Razl EJ Teman and Alyssa Ilaguison / MindaNews)
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