Iloilo | Old Churches Of San Joaquin, Miag-ao & Molo

San Joaquin Church

After 2 hours we reached the town of San Joaquin in Iloilo. The century old church of San Joaquin is one of a kind. The façade of church has the militaristic motif. From San Joaquin we hop a bus to the nearby town of Miagao. The Santo Tomas de Villanueva church is one of the 4 baroque churches in the UNESCO’s Worlds Heritage list. Built between 1787-1797 and served as fortress against Muslim invaders. Its fabulous bas-relief sandstone façade depicts St. Christopher strolling through a tropical forest of coconut palms and papaya trees with baby Jesus.

After exploring Miagao church we boarded a bus bound to Iloilo City. It’s raining that afternoon that weren’t able to pass by the Molo church. We left our backpack at City Dorm and stroll around the city. Most of the old buildings in Iloilo were restored. 

The streets were filled with locals and tourist enjoying the Dignayang festivities. We had seafood overload for our dinner.

Miag-ao Church

The following day after our short Guimaras trip we have heritage tour at Camina Balay Na Bato in Arevalo. We tried their pancit molo and chocolate de baterol. Afterwards we drop by the Molo Church. A tasty bibingka is a must try when visiting the church.

Molo Church was visited by Dr. Jose Rizal in 1886 because of its biblical paintings and it served as the evacuation center during World War II. The church was damaged during the liberation of the Philippines from Japan and was repaired by Rev. Manuel Alba with the help of the congregation. The church was declared a national landmark by the National Historical Institute in 1992 through the representation of Sir Knight Rex S. Salvilla. It is the only Gothic church outside Manila. 

Molo Church

Before Racky flies back to Manila we jog at Esplanade, had coffee at Madge Café and a delicious bowl of batchoy in Lapaz market.

This is part of my Western Visayas Trip.

Aklan | Antique | Iloilo | Guimaras