Date		Historical Account
1998 June to October		Ms. Verna Mamicpic-Alih joked with parish priest Fr. Oscar Calunod about the dilapidated condition of the church – that he would be the first one to die when the creaky dome over the altar would collapse.
1998 November		Fr. Calunod showed Verna a blueprint for the repair of the convent. When asked why the convent first and not the church, he replied that the convent is more famous of the 2 structures, and more ‘touristy’. Verna suggested to hold in abeyance the repair of the convent while seeking help in repairing old buildings; that she had read that a special type of architect is needed when undertaking repairs of old buildings.
1998 December		Fr. Calunod and Verna decided to write to the National Historical Institute (NHI) as this government office was responsible for declaring the San Isidro Labrador Church and Convent as “landmark structures”.
1999 January		Verna brought the draft of the letter to the NHI for Fr. Calunod. By then, there was a change in parish priests. Fr. Casiano Salac, Jr. replaced Fr. Calunod. A lot of time was spent explaining the whole plan to Fr. Salac. On the 3^rd week of January, Fr. Salac signed the NHI letter and to ensure delivery of the letter, Perry Mamicpic, a staff employee in Congress, hand-delivered the letter to the NHI office. A copy of this letter was furnished to Cong. Orlando A. Fua, Jr. who endorsed the parish’s request for assistance in the repairs of the church and convent.
1999 February		Verna began requesting Fr. Salac to call a meeting of some Lazi residents to discuss plans to restore/repair the church and convent structures. She impressed upon him that he, as parish priest, and Verna could not handle a restoration project alone and that a committee could greatly assist him in the planning, fund-raising, and communication to proper government and non-government agencies as well as key individuals. Fr. Salac indicated that he needed more time to think about it.
1999 March		Verna wrote a letter of inquiry to Architect Augusto Y. Villalon regarding the condition of the church and convent. Arch. Villalon emailed his response right away, advising that a letter be written to the NHI. Arch. Villalon’s email introduced Verna for the first time, to the term “conservation architecture”. Fr. Salac received his copy of the NHI’s reply to Cong. Fua’s endorsement of the project. Verna reminded him about the need to form a committee to assist him in this project. Again, he said he needed more time to think about it. In a 2^nd email, Arch. Villalon suggested that a letter be written to the National Commission on Culture and Arts (NCCA) for advisorial assistance. A letter was prepared for Fr. Salac to sign. In mid-March, Faisal Alih, Verna’s son, suggested that she write to his U.P. Professor, Architect Rene Luis S. Mata, then curator of the Intramuros Administration. Verna emailed her letter to Arch. Mata who then forwarded the email to Rev. Fr. Milan Ted D. Torralba, Exec. Secretary of the Permanent Committee for the Cultural Heritage (PCCH) of the Church of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). Fr. Torralba quickly responded and gave very detailed advice, foremost of which is that it would be best to form a foundation to gather all the various groups attempting to repair the church and convent. He explained that this foundation be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to achieve legal status, especially in fund-raising. Fr. Torralba also advised that a letter be written to Bishop Leopoldo Tumulak, President of the PCCH/CBCP. Verna then approached Diocesan Bishop Angel Lagdameo to seek his permission for a foundation to assist the Lazi parish priest. Bishop Lagdameo was most receptive and happy that parishioners are keen in preserving the church and convent in Lazi.
1999 May		Arch. Mata sent an email that gave ‘lessons’ in restoration and conservation. His response dealt on the technical aspects of restoration. Fr. Salac finally mailed the letter to Dr. Jaime C. Laya, chair and CEO of the NCCA, Intramuros, Manila. Received May 25^th letter from Mr. Virgilio S. Almario, NCCA Executive Director, informing Fr. Salac and Verna that the letter to Dr. Laya had been endorsed to the Committee on Monuments and Sites (CMS). Verna reminded Fr. Salac about the need to form a committee.
1999 June		On June 2^nd, received a letter from Arch. Villalon, vice-Head of the CMS-NCCA, informing us that they approved our request for technical assistance and that a trip will be scheduled to inspect the church and convent. The NHI sent Arch. Arnulfo F. Dado, History Researcher II and his assistant to do the architectural assessment of both structures. Arch. Dado presented their findings to the members of the Parish Pastoral Council (PPC), Fr. Salac and Verna. The morning the NHI architects left, Verna met with Lydio Ligutom, Celicia Arcamo, Dunedina Arcamo and Teofila Q. Dumam-ag. The group listed down 30 Lazi residents to be invited to an organizational meeting tentatively set for July, 1999. It was agreed that the organization would be a foundation per the advise of Fr. Torralba. Lydio later met with Fr. Salac and explained to him the importance of having a committee to assist in the restoration project. He presented Fr. Salac with the names of those to be invited to the organizational meeting. Fr. Salac agreed and signed the invitation letters.
1999 July		The meeting took place on July 19^th at the 2^nd floor of the convent. Of the 30 invitees, 24 showed with 5 others who asked to join the meeting. The other 6 gave no reason for not attending. After Verna’s presentation of the plan to restore the 2 structures, the Parish Pastoral Council president questioned the ‘validity’ of this meeting since the PPC’s permission was not sought ahead of time on the ground that the “PPC is the policy-making body of the church.” Not knowing anything about the PPC as an organization, Verna made no comment. A 2^nd question was on the area of money – that there was a previous attempt to repair the convent; that there was money raised through donations; that the money disappeared and no repairs were made to the convent. Verna picked up after this question and said, “The past attempts to repair the church and convent were not a total failure.” Everyone present howled. She continued, “It was not a total failure in that we can learn from those attempts and avoid those errors that may lead to failure in this present endeavor. The matter of funds handling is very important, therefore we must carefully select the officers of this new foundation to ensure success.” A follow-up question was asked, “What assurance can you give us that this time, the project will succeed?” Verna replied, “The only assurance I can give you is this: For as long as we restore this church and convent buildings for the glory of God and His Son, Jesus and not for our own personal glory, then we will succeed. Please remember that when we restore the church and convent we are doing this for the glory of God, the glory of Jesus Christ, and not for our own personal glory. And if we all cooperate in this project, success is already assured.” Moved by Mr. Galileo Lee Jumawan and duly seconded by the majority to vote on the issue of forming a foundation or not by simple raising of the hands. Approved with 23 votes in favor and 6 abstentions to form a foundation to undertake the repairs and restoration of the Lazi church and convent. The body further approved to adopt the name: SIQUIJOR HERITAGE FOUNDATION. Naming the incorporators then followed. A few were nominated but the majority volunteered to be incorporators. The following incorporators (who will compose the Board of Directors) were elected: Alih, Verna, -Treasurer Arcamo, Celicia Dumam-ag, Teofila -Secretary Fua, Ophelia -Vice-chair Gumalo, Chester Jumawan, Salvacion -Auditor Ligutom, Felipe -PRO Ligutom, Lydio -Chair Looc, Jovenioso (representing the PPC) Marchan, Ivan Ondo, Myrna Sumagang, Carlos Spiritual adviser: Rev. Fr. Casiano O. Salac, Jr.
1999 August		First meeting of the Incorporators/BOD with Fr. Salac. Verna presented a draft of the Articles of Incorporation and discussion followed. It was agreed to revise the draft incorporating the resulting suggestions and that a 2^nd draft be given to the BOD before the September meeting to give them ample time to review it. Discussion then followed on how much each incorporator can contribute towards raising the required PhP 50,000.00 seed money for non-stock non-profit foundations. In its regular Session on 17 August 1999, the Sangguniang Bayan of Lazi unanimously approved Resolution 99-29: “A Resolution Officially Recognizing the Siquijor Heritage Foundation, Lazi, Siquijor, as the sole coordinator to undertake the repairs, restoration and preservation of the Lazi Church and Convent.” Presiding officer of the Sangguniang Bayan was Vice-Mayor Alfredo Tan (now deceased).
1999 September		The incorporators started to pay their share of the incorporation seed money as part of the requirements for accreditation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. We then continued to polish the Articles of Incorporation and later the By-Laws of the Foundation. 09 September - received letter from NHI Chairman Dr. Pablo Trillana III furnishing us a copy of the proposed Program of Work and the Rough Cost Estimates, based on the architectural assessment by Architect Arnulfo Dado, who came to Lazi in June 1999. We submitted a copy of the NHI proposal to the Committee on Monuments and Sites of the NCCA through Fr. Ted Torralba and Architect Jojo Mata. Both of them advised us to use the NHI cost estimates as basis for raising funds.
1999 December		Mr. Jovenioso Looc, president of the Parish Pastoral Council was no longer interested in joining the fledgling Siquijor Heritage Foundation, Inc. He was no longer attending meetings. With his dropping out from the committee, the PPC no longer had a representative in the foundation.
2000 January		Ana Marie Harper’s column in the Phil. Daily Inquirer mentioned Dr. Laya’s & the NCCA’s plan to help 25-30 churches in conserving their structures. Verna emailed Fr. Ted asking if writing to Dr. Laya would help the NCCA decide to include the Lazi church and convent.
2000 February		Fr. Ted (who by now, along with Arch. Mata, have become Verna’s advisers and email friends) advised her to go ahead and write Dr. Laya. Although the Lazi church and convent was already in the preliminary list, writing to Dr. Laya and the NCCA would strengthen the votes for inclusion in the list. Meantime, the fledgling Siquijor Heritage Foundation continued to raise funds to reach the required seed money.
2000 May		Mrs. Luz Fuentes, Mrs. Belleza Taroc, Miss Ester Alaya-ay and Miss Freda Vios accepted the invitation to join the Foundation as incorporators. However, after this meeting, Miss Vios declined due to her work which was outside of the Province of Siquijor.
2000 July		Dr. Laya of the NCCA wrote to Bishop Lagdameo of the Diocese of Dumaguete informing the Bishop that the NCCA team visit to the Lazi church and convent will take place in August, 2000. Vicar General and Diocesan Administrator Monsignor Julito Cortes and Lazi Parish Priest Fr. Salac called Verna for a meeting at the Diocesan Chancery. Msgr. Cortes endorsed the letter to Verna for appropriate action as Fr. Salac will be on leave in August. (By this time, Bishop Lagdameo was elevated to Archbishop of Jaro, Iloilo). Dr. Laya wrote: "The church of San Isidro the Farmer in Lazi, Siquijor has been strongly suggested by architects and art historians for its age, architectural uniqueness and the relative completeness of the building and its contents." Verna met Fr. Torralba for the first time in the Bishop’s Palace, Diocese of Tagbilaran, Bohol. Verna discussed with Fr. Ted the draft of the Articles of Incorporation and By-laws of the Foundation. Verna also visited the Alburquerque museum for ideas for a future ecclesiastical museum in Lazi as well as a visit to a heritage building owned by the Tagbilaran City Government where a diorama presenting a brief history Bohol and archeological artifacts were on display.
2000 August		Email from Fr. Ted: “Congratulations for making it to the top 20 churches!” Although the NCCA team still had to visit Lazi to do its evaluation, our San Isidro Labrador Church and Convent was already assured of inclusion in the list of 25 churches for the NCCA assistance. A letter was sent to Dr. Laya requesting the NCCA team visit be postponed to September when parish priest Fr. Salac will be back. Email from Arch. Mata: “The NCCA has given your heritage structures very high marks. Authenticity is very important.”
2000 September		Fr. Salac returned from his month-long pilgrimage to Rome. He visited some heritage sites in Rome where restoration is on-going. Campaign for donations from within the province continues. The campaign team is composed of: Lydio Ligutom, Celicia Arcamo, Verna Alih, Luz Fuentes and Teofila Dumam-ag who would alternate days with Ester Alaya-ay. In our first campaign sortie, Vic Monte, Jr. and Chester Gumalo joined us. Vehicles were provided by Celicia Arcamo, Lydio Ligutom and Vic Monte. The Foundation paid for the gasoline and lunch.
2000 October		NCCA team visits on the first week of October. The team was composed of Prof. Esperanza Gatbonton, Prof. Regalado "Ricky" Trota Jose, Miss Hannah Parado, Inquirer columnist Ana Marie “Bambi” Harper, and Mr. Presciano Yabao, NCCA photographer. The team was accompanied to Lazi by Verna. During supper at the San Isidro Labrador Parish Convent, Prof. Gatbonton, author of the book "A Heritage of Saints", invited 2 members of the Foundation and Fr. Salac to attend the NCCA workshop in November at their office in the Intramuros, Manila. Prof. Gatbonton further said that this workshop will be of great help to the Foundation and others involved in restoration of the Lazi church and convent. Verna requested if her son Faisal could join the workshop with Verna paying for the registration fee. When Prof. Gatbonton was informed by Prof. Ricky Jose that Faisal is an architecture student of Conservation Architect Mata and that this workshop would be an introduction on conservation architecture for Faisal, Prof. Gatbonton did not hesitate to say yes.
2000 November 6-11		Lydio Ligutom, Verna Alih and Faisal Alih participated in the NCCA's "Orientation Course for Heritage Site Supervisors" held at the NCCA Building, in historic Intramuros, Manila. Lecturers were conservation architects, Rev. Fr. Torralba on the theological basis of church heritage conservation, geologists, botanists, chemists, and archaeologists. This course gave the Foundation's 3 representatives the theoretical basis in undertaking the restoration and conservation of the San Isidro Labrador church and convent, as well as the NCCA’s designated Heritage Site Supervisors for Lazi.
2001 January		Finally, the incorporators reached the required Php50,000.00 per SEC regulations for registration. Pertinent papers were sent to the Cebu office of the SEC. Unfortunately, the incorporators had not known that the amount was increased to Php100,000.00. The papers were returned to Verna Alih. In the January monthly meeting, most incorporators increased their contribution. Annual dues contributed toward the increase in the Foundation’s funds but we were still short of the financial requirement. Campaign for donations continued.
2001 April		Holy week saw Verna and Faisal Alih at the San Isidro Labrador Convent. Assisted by some members of the Siquijor Heritage Foundation, they cleaned the church heritage articles—vestments, candelabra (both brass and wooden), few paintings for display during the Holy Week, etc. This was the beginning of the San Isidro Labrador Church Museum. Visitors for their Holy Week ‘visita iglesia’ were given brief explanations by Verna and Faisal. One of the visitors who came was Mrs. Tetta Baad from Cebu City. A lengthy explanation was given to Mrs. Baad about the restoration project. She returned the next day to interview Fr. Salac, after which she gave a donation towards the restoration project.
2001 June		Third Sunday of June, Mrs. Baad came with Mrs. Tonette Pañares, curator of the Southwestern University Museum. Mrs. Pañares gave a brief lecture to the Foundation members on the importance of a museum. Under Mrs. Pañares direction, the Foundation members rearranged the museum display on the open space of the 2^nd floor of the convent to make it more pleasing to view. With this ‘museum’, the Foundation then decided to collect a minimal entrance fee for its maintenance.
2001 July	BOD members Celicia Arcamo, Ester Alaya-ay, Luz Fuentes, Belleza Taroc, Verna Alih, and Lydio Ligutom represented the Foundation in the 1-day seminar at the Southwestern University Museum while Fr. Salac represented the San Isidro Labrador Parish. The group met Dr. Pablo Trillana, chair of the National Historical Institute and followed up the Foundation’s request for technical assistance for the restoration project.
2001 September	Fr. Salac as parish priest of Lazi, and Verna, representing the Foundation participated in the Training Course on Ecclesiastical Records and Archives” in Cagayan de Oro City, September 24-27. This course was conducted by the Bohol Heritage Development Foundation, Inc., the Society of Ecclesiastical Archivists of the Philippines, and supported by the NCCA. This training was on another aspect of heritage conservation—the ecclesiastical documents, sacramental books, and other records. The most important lesson learned was about the use of computers in preserving church heritage records. After this training, Verna prepared a program for encoding the sacramental books. Unfortunately, the parish of Lazi does not have a computer for the use by the parish secretary.
2001 December	Issues brought by some parishioners to the attention of Bishop John F. Du last November concerning the restoration project were shared by Lydio Ligutom. The body then approved the preparation of “Frequently asked Questions (FAQs)” based on the issues/concerns some parishioners brought to Bishop Du. It was further agreed by the Foundation members that distribution with discussion will be done through the different church-related organizations—the PPC, Knights of Columbus, Catholic Women’s League, and others.
2002 January	Fine-tuning of the draft of the FAQs, with target date for distribution and discussion in February. Requests to the different church related organizations to discuss the objectives of the Foundation in their February meetings will be sent out within January. Finally, the incorporators reached the required Php100,000.00 seed money. Some of the pertinent papers had to be redone due to lapse in the dates, i.e. 2002 community tax certificates, and repeat signatures on certain pages, LandBank certification of our deposit.
2002 February	The BOD members joined the meeting of the Knights of Columbus, Couples for Christ, Catholic Women’s League, and the Parish Pastoral Council. Since all church related organizations, and chapel presidents are members of the PPC, the Foundation BOD decided that we will no longer do the information dissemination activity with other church related organizations. This was Fr. Salac’s last meeting with the PPC prior to his reassignment to another parish. Our application for a foundation status was finally submitted to the SEC through contact person Miss Agnes Francisco of Cebu RTK Marketing, Inc. Architect Ed Castro of the NCCA came to do the architectural assessment of both church and convent. The architectural assessment is the 3^rd requirement of the NCCA prior to actual restoration work.
2002 March-April	Flurry of questions from SEC regarding our application as a foundation. SEC made several suggestions/advice to fine-tune further our Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws. All the following up of our application was done by Miss Francisco who willingly assisted us and refused to accept any remuneration for her efforts. April also saw the installation of Rev. Fr. Victor A. Fontejon as parish priest of Lazi. The Foundation’s first meeting with Fr. Fontejon took place during the BOD’s regular meeting on the 3^rd Sunday. The foundation was fortunate to have the presence of Bishop Du in this meeting.
2002 30 May	Finally, SEC approved our application for a foundation on May 30, 2002 with SEC Registration No. C200200567. With BOD approval, bank deposits were duly transferred to the name of the Siquijor Heritage Foundation, Inc. Pre-SEC approval, the Foundation’s funds deposited in the LandBank-Larena branch was under the name of Verna Alih In-Trust For the Siquijor Heritage Foundation. Herewith is the list of incorporators comprising the SHFI Board of Directors as registered with the SEC: Ester B. Alaya-ay Verna M. Alih, treasurer Celicia L. Arcamo Teofila Q. Dumam-ag, secretary Ophelia A. Fua, vice-chairperson Luz M. Fuentes Chester O. Gumalo Salvacion L. Jumawan, auditor Felipe P. Ligutom, PRO Lydio M. Ligutom, chairperson Ivan Y. Marchan Vicente O. Monte, Jr. Myrna B. Ondo Carlos C. Sumagang Belleza M. Taroc Foundation President (Lazi Parish Priest): Rev. Fr. Victor A. Fontejon
2002 July	Ester Alaya-ay, Verna and Faisal Alih represented the SHFI in the one-day Visayas Regional Forum conducted by the CBCP Permanent Committee for the Cultural Heritage of the Church. This was held in the Conference Room of the Archbishop’s Palace, Jakosalem Street, Cebu City. Main address was given by Vatican Archbishop Francesco Marchisano who is the President of the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church.
2002 September	With newspapers carrying reports of looting of heritage churches in the Visayas, we all agreed with Fr. Fontejon’s request that the heritage articles on display be returned to the padlocked room for safekeeping. With this we suspended the collection of an entrance fee.
2002 November	Rev. Fr. Victor Fontejon and Faisal Alih participated in the Technical Orientation of Restoration/Conservation Methods and Techniques at the San Andres Parish, Masinloc, Zambales, November 19-21. This was conducted by the NCCA for the parish priests and technical personnel of the 26 Oustanding Heritage Churches of the Philippines. Both Fr. Fontejon and Faisal shared their training with the SHFI Board in its December meeting.
2002 December	The BOD, in its regular monthly meeting, agreed to conduct a raffle to raise funds for the repair and restoration. It was further agreed that Lydio will canvass for the best price for the printing of the raffle tickets. Target amount is Php100,000.00. It was unanimously approved that the draw date for the raffles will be on 11 May 2003. Faisal and Verna were tasked to design the raffle ticket. Distribution of ticket stubs will be through the BOD and the Parish Pastoral Council.
2003 February	Printing of raffle tickets were completed. A master list was made prior to the distribution of tickets. But because of the March raffle draw of the St. Joseph Seminary College, the distribution of the raffle stubs was postponed.
2003 April	Finally, ticket stubs were distributed first week of April. The response was so encouraging. Chapel presidents, presidents of church-related organizations, the PPC officers helped a lot in the distribution of ticket stubs. And of course, the active selling by the members of the SHFI Board.
2003 May	Engr. Kaimo arrived Lazi 09 May to do the structural assessment of the church and convent. This is preparatory to the formulation of the Detailed engineering Studies (DES) which is the last requirement prior to actual conservation. He and his assistant returned to Manila morning of May 11. Finally, the raffles draw was held after the 8-9 a.m. mass on 11 May. The drawing of the winning tickets was done on the church’s entrance steps. Drawing of the winning numbers was done by parishioners who witnessed the raffles draw. Net income from the first fund raising activity was Php 66,404.00.
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Historical Account