The National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) allocated additional funds for the second phase of restoration and site development of the iconic centuries-old Campanario de Dumaguete in the southern province of the same name.
The secondary allocation is worth slightly over US$105,000.
Monsignor Julius Perpetuo S Heruela, head of the Committee on Church Cultural Heritage of the Diocese of Dumaguete, expressed gratitude to the NMP for taking on the arduous task of restoring the bell tower to its closest original state.
Heruela said: “The diocese, headed by Bishop Julito Cortes, is thankful to director Jeremy Barnes of the National Museum, for their painstaking and thorough research in digging up additional photos, information, and other materials needed for an accurate restoration of the bell tower.”
The second phase of the project covers 180 calendar days and will include more restoration works and site development.
The restoration initiative began last year with an initial funding of nearly US$1.5 million.
A symbol of a people’s faith
The bell tower is not just a Spanish era attraction, but is symbolic of the people’s faith, heritage, and history, as it has withstood centuries of challenges, natural or man-made, he added.
A pre-construction meeting featuring updates on the bell tower restoration project was held by NMP officials in Dumaguete on Thursday, 7th August.
Attendees included members of the heritage committee as well as representatives from the city government and the provincial tourism office.
During a recent virtual briefing, architect Benjamin Empleo Concepcion, NMP’s project-in-charge, said the restoration project is already 91.4 percent complete.
Concepcion remarked: “The restoration was stalled in the past months after the contractor and NMP experts found new information that impacted the original plan, triggering further research on the tower.”
Built in the 1800s, the Dumaguete bell tower was declared an Important Cultural Property by the National Museum before the pandemic.
