At the church ruins, Igbaras, Iloilo

At the grotto of Our Lady
February 12, 2017

The pictures here are taken at the Grotto of Our Lady, right side of the parish church of Igbaras, Iloilo (that is, facing the current church itself). The site used to be part of the altar of the old church that survived American bombs and the scorched-earth policy of the USAFFE at the end of WWII to deny the retreating Japanese troops sanctuary.
The old church constructed in the Spanish era, was no match to West Panay Fault which moved on January 25, 1948, triggering a strong earthquake named "Lady Caycay".

Lady Caycay, the only temblor to have a name, triggered fissures on the ground which looked like it was scratched by a giant chicken. "Caycay" is local for "scratch".

The Spanish-era churches of Igbaras, Oton, San Miguel and Maasin crumbled  beyond repair in its aftermath. 

 Jaro Archbishop Jose Ma. Cuenco, reported that on Panay Island alone, 17 churches were destroyed by the quake. Oton church was a complete wreck while half of the belfry of the Jaro Cathedral toppled.

 The epicenter of Lady Caycay lies between Aniniiy and Dao (Tobias Fornier) towns both in Antique Province.

 The old Igbaras church, elders say, was so massive it can contain the entire present church.


Panay was still recovering from WWII and there were no tall buildings yet to test the strength of Lady Caycay.

 West Panay Fault stretched from southern Panay up to Aklan. Incidentally, the site of the Jalaur Multi-Purpose River System II, a mega-dam to be built in Calinog, Iloilo worth P11.2 B, is just 1 kilometers from the Fault.

 Quack scientists, ignoring opposition to the dam for the risks it may expose people to, peddle the yarn the mega-dam is so designed that "only a terrorist attack can destroy it".



 In that case, then, the Grotto of Our Lady in Igbaras may give them not only peace of mind, but also a saecular enlightenment that the huge cost (foreign debt) for the dam might just evaporate when the West Panay Fault moves.

 (At the moment, corrupt people still occupy the top posts of the Duterte administration who, like their predecessors, are just salivating at the huge kickbacks the mega-dam promises.)









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