By Telly G. Ocampo
Remembering the Bacrai Years!
BACRAI stands for Baclayon Church Restorers Association, Inc. The association was founded 27
years ago, in preparation for the town’s celebration of Baclayon’s 400 years as a parish in 1995.
We were younger and stronger, then. We had Carmen Gatal as our president. The euphoria of Edsa was still in the air during the founding of BACRAI. Fortunately, the NCCA – National Commission for Culture and Arts – was focused on the preservation of cultural heritage and other national treasures. The churches too were into preservation and restoration of the built and cultural heritage from Spain. Since Baclayon is the seat of Christianity in Bohol, we were given a grant by the NCCA but the grant was specifically only to the funding of the technical aspects of the program. Financial funding must come from the community.
So, BACRAI went into fund raising activities for the church preservation programs. We had the goal of raising 1 million pesos. We sent out letters to different parishioners within and outside of the country, and produced one thousand letters all in all with addresses supplied by the 17 chapels and some from our friends. Everything was transparent with every amount received posted on the church doors for people to see. Our treasurer then was Nong Cleofas Ahal. Lo and behold, we raised the the 1 million peso goal and a little bit more.
We also had piso-piso for the greening project with Graciano “Nong lte” Mendez, a retired faculty member of the Bohol School of Arts and Trade (BSAT). We planted banderas espaflolas in different colors as our salute to Spain. It was truly a kaleidoscope of colors. When Nong
lie and his wife went on vacation to visit their children in Australia, Tio Melecio “Meling” Caballo, took over in watering the plants with his barrel of water in his trailer. At that time there was no water connection yet in the church plaza. There was also Paolo from Cambanac that we had to pay for the water concern. That was one of the reasons of the piso-piso. All the rest came from volunteers. Nang Dinay sent in, by boat, 13 Indian tree seedlings to serve
as wind breakers. My Mama Gudning and Taguihon’s Anding Laling chipped in, too. We were fortunate that Mrs. Gardenia Jayag Uy embraced the program. At that time, she was the principal of the Baclayon Central School. The park beside the sea became a national highway after the earthquake. Was it a coincidence that Alvin, Denie and Tony’s son was the mayor at the time of the earthquake?
The stained glass windows of the church came from the countryside development fund of Sen. Raul Roco. The stained glass came all the way from Germany delivered by the son of the owner, Robert Kraut. The glass was paid for by BACRAI but the labor and repairs wee contracted to an accredited contractor.
And now, 27 years after, we have to help in the repair of the roofing of the Kristiya. Typhoon Odette had inflicted a vast destruction on the church complex specifically the museum area and the lmmaculata. People are asking where the other museum objects are???? I had the chance to ask from our amiable parish priest this question durin at the house blessing of my cousin: Lalita Klainatorn. The museum that is opened recently is just phase 1 of the project. It is to be extended to the Kristiya. But alas, there’s a big problem in the roofing of the Kristiya. It has been leaking for several years but nothing has been done about it. It’s a problem inherited by the Msgr. Its wooden beams are partly rotting that these have to be reinforced by steel. The church funds are depleting due to Odette.
Dear parishioners, let’s do the act together again. If we embark on the project of 1 thousand pesos for 2 thousand parishioners, it will be laudable. And we will have 2 million pesos. We call ourselves friends of the Museum. We have to do it now before the term of Msgr. Harolds’
would end and it will be by 2024.
