Taal church at center of war between art, expansion
THE CENTURIES-OLD Taal Basilica in Taal, Batangas, stands tall amid a feud over expansion plans by the priest in charge of the church. MARICAR CINCO/INQUIRER SOUTHERN LUZON
TAAL, Batangas—A centuries-old Catholic church here, famous for its Baroque architecture and trompe l’oeil (deceives the eye) painted ceilings, is at the center of a lingering battle between art and the church’s need for more room.
Renowned glass sculptor
Ramon Orlina had asked the court here to permanently stop all construction at the St. Martin de Tours Basilica, popularly known as the Taal Basilica, spearheaded by the parish priest, Msgr. Alfredo Madlangbayan.
Both parties, accompanied by their legal counsels, had presented evidence in a pretrial hearing at the Taal Regional Trial Court (RTC). Judge Juanita Areta, of Branch 86, set the start of the hearing in February next year.
“We will fight them. I will not take it sitting down,” Madlangbayan told the Inquirer in an interview.
The structure being questioned in the case is a one-story events venue outside the basilica. The construction of a 280-square meter events hall started last year but it was ordered stopped by the Taal RTC in November 2013. A temporary restraining order was issued based on the petition of Orlina.
“It’s been a year already. We don’t have a place where meetings could be held. Just imagine a church without a hall for meetings and seminars,” Madlangbayan said.
It was Orlina who called the attention of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) in October 2013 to the changes made at the basilica since Madlangbayan was installed in 2010.
Among these are the re-painting of the altar in shades of gold and the construction of an arcade, eight vendors’ stalls, a small ossuary, bird coops and a small fountain around the church yard.
In a visit on Monday, the Inquirer saw a Church worker painting a pipe organ, which according to him was installed in the balcony just this month.
The Taal Basilica, erected in 1575, was declared a historical site hence its preservation and supervision are under the NHCP.
All renovations and constructions done by Madlangbayan, however, did not have the permission of the commission.
“It won’t be a problem to me if these, like the arcade, have been historically there, but they weren’t. They even used (the type of) blocks in an attempt to make (the arcade) look quaint,” Orlina said.
Orlina was also apparently not pleased with the three columns of ossuary, which according to him “looked like toilets” and some other paintings on the church ceiling which he called “ugly.”
The NHCP, between October 2013 and July 2014, had thrice written Madlangbayan and ordered the church to suspend all construction and development work.
In its Nov. 21, 2013, letter, NHCP chair Dr. Maria Serena Diokno said the events hall was “inconsistent with the historic integrity of the church whose site and structure have long been declared a national historical landmark. The structure reduces the open space typical of the historical church site and an essential element thereof.”
Resident Liza Espiritu said “many parishoners” supported Madlangbayan’s projects which “are beautiful and are drawing more tourists” to Taal.
But Orlina, an architect by profession, said the priest should have instead “retrofitted” the structure to ensure the old building’s integrity.
“These people who wanted us stopped claim that we are destroying culture and the arts,” Madlangbayan said. “But the church is primarily built for faith, not for art’s sake.”
The priest said the funds for the unfinished events hall came from people’s donations and cost them “millions” already.
“They cannot ask me to demolish it. Do they think of me as crazy?” he said.
