Ilo-ilo | Miag-Ao Church

Miagao Curch
Miagao, Iloilo

The Facade, Miagao Church

The Philippines is one of the countries with hundreds of historical churches.
The Baroque Churches of the Philippines is a collection of four Spanish-era churches in the Philippines, which was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1993.

The collection is composed of the following:
-San Agustin Church in Manila
-Santa Maria Church in Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur
-Paoay Church in Paoay, Ilocos Norte
-Miagao Church in Miag-ao, Iloilo

There are still numerous Churches in the Country that were given priority status and 5 of those are already an Official Tentative Sites for inclusion in the collection of The Baroque Churches of the Philippines.

-Loboc Church of Loboc, Bohol
-Boljoon Church of Baljoon, Cebu
-Guiuan Church of Guiuan, Eastern Samar
-Tumauini Church of Tumauini, Isabela
-Lazi Church of Lazi, Siquijor

Facing just in front of the Church

Miagao Church is located just in the heart of the town of Miagao, Province of Iloilo. The town is also one of the only two members of the UNESCO World Heritage Cities located in the Philippines, the other being the Historic City of Vigan.

It is called the "Onion Capital of the Visayas".

Coconut Symbol, "Tree of Life"

Its unique color is due to the materials used in constructing the church, adobe, egg, coral and limestone.

A mizture of adobe, egg, coral and limestone that made up the Miagao Church

The construction of this church began in 1787 and was completed in 1797. It served as fortress against Muslim Raiders. In 1898, during the Revolution, the church was destroyed but was rebuilt. It was damaged by fire in 1910 and was badly damaged again by Earthquake in 1948. Restoration work began in 1960 and completed in 1962.

Baroque Romanesque architectural style

I really love how I made this picture so afternoon-ish, though it was just 2 in the afternoon when i got there.

With One of the Church's Altar Boy

As I was taking photos of the Historical Church, I saw this boy roaming around the premise. Surprisingly, He is one of the Church's Altar Assistant. Approachable and kind boy who I will never hesitate to meet again once I had the chance to revisit the place.

With Miagaowanons

Well, I just  love having conversations with locals, taking pictures and having some laughing moments with them, for me, they are my Guardians.

How To Get There!

There are several bus companies operate in Miagao. Buses that ply the Iloilo-Antique, Iloilo-Caticlan via San Jose, and Iloilo-Manila routes pass by the municipality every day but Jeepneys serve the Miagao-Iloilo City route more frequently than buses.

From Iloilo City take a jeepney bound to San Joaquin or Miagao. These jeepneys generally pass by every 10–20 minutes so catching a jeepney is not a problem. 

If you're in the City Proper, ride a jeep bound to Miagao near the market, locals call it "Super" and this  takes about 45 minutes and fare is just 40.00.

Visiting this place is not expensive, a 150 pesos will do once you're in Iloilo City. 90 pesos for jeepney fare and 60 pesos for your snack. cheap, right?

Miagao Church
Visited: April 04, 2016