Parish of San Joaquim (San Joaquin, Iloilo)

July 2, 2009 by admin  
Filed under Churches, Southern Iloilo

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Fifty three kilometers from the city of Iloilo, is a town with one of the most beautiful sea coast in the Visayas – San Joaquin, Iloilo. Historically, the town was formerly called Suaraga.

Beside the famous beach resort and magnificent houses seen along the way, there are two ancient architectural masterpieces that graced this place — the century-old cemetery and the house of God.

The victory of Spanish soldiers under the leadership of General Leopoldo O’Donnel against the force of the crowned prince of Morocco, Milley Abbacas in the infamous Rendicion d’ Tetuan or the Battle of Tetuan is immortalized in the façade of the San Joaquin Church, making this house of worship the only church in the whole country with a touch of militarism. The men on foot and horses are shown breaking the defense of moors before buttress tower and date palms.

Fr. Tomas Santaren’s patriotism brought about one of the architectural masterpieces in the island of Panay. It is said that the church is half-way finished when the news of the triumph reached the country. The priest was the master architect and was assisted by a Spanish Engineer, Don Felipe Diez. Skilled masons, famous sculptors, celebrated painters and craftsmen from Spain and Mexico were contracted to build the massive Baroque structure.

However, this picturesque citadel is a product of literally sweat and blood of the natives over a century ago. The Spaniards employed forced labor among the townsfolk. Coral stones were quarried from the mountains of Igbaras. The one responsible for the quota of sillar (a lime stone or rock shaped into a rectangular tube of a given dimension), lime, gravel, sand and lumber is the head of barangay or village. If unmet, natives would face lashing depending on the amount of unfilled quota. Palmeta of hitting the palm of the hand with a wooden paddle was a means of punishment for light offenses. Furthermore, people who can afford, pay for the finished sillar from the stone cutters in order to fill their quota.

Natives excavate the stone or rocks from Magurampao, Malagting, Bugnayan and Igcadlum and let the expert cutters shaped them. The finished products are the carried by bamboo rafts and pulled along the littoral of Punta Talisayan.

Even women and children were not exempted; they were subjected to haul gravel and sand from the adjacent shore. They were paid with steel needles (which were scant then), threads and other useful household articles.

During Muslim invasion, the church was used as fortress. While men fought bravely outside the doors, women hid inside. When the Japanese occupied the Philippines, the church was also used as an evacuation center of the San Juaquiños. However, on the 29th of January, 1943, the guerilla leader of Panay, Col. Macario Peralta ordered to set all houses and the church in town on fire – it explained the soot that can still be seen in the pediment.

The 1948 earthquake caused the tower of the church to topple down.

The national government declared the church a historical landmark in 1974. The National Historical Institute shouldered all the expenses in the restoration and reconstruction of the church in 1982.

The patron saint is St. Joaquim and the annual parish fiesta falls on the 16th of August.

Built in 1892, the cemetery of San Joaquin is made of coral stones. In this final resting place, a baroque style gate with a statue of Jesus that stands on top literally welcomes visitors with open arms. The place is also guarded by two angels in each column standing on each side of Christ. Furthermore, sculpted heads of two cherubs and a skull representing death marks the entrance of the cemetery. A 20-stepped stairway supported by balustrade led into a small chapel (now closed) where once believed funeral masses were performed.

Tags: baroque churches, Churches, Iloilo, San Joaquin Church, Southern Iloilo

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