Heritage churches featured in PHLPost's latest commemorative stamps

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) recently released its latest commemorative stamps, featuring nine of the heritage churches in the country.

Postage and Philatelic Department manager Elenita San Diego yesterday said that a list of churches was submitted by the Filipino Heritage Festival to the stamp committee, headed by postmaster general Josefina dela Cruz, who selected the churches that would be featured on the stamps.

The stamps were issued on May 1.

Two hundred thousand pieces of the four-design stamp and 5,000 pieces of the souvenir sheets were printed.

The price for each stamp is P7.

Featured on the stamps are the La Inmaculada Concepcion Parish Church in Guiuan, Eastern Samar that was built by the Jesuits in the early 18th century and further decorated by the Franciscans in the 19th century, and the Parish Church of San Joaquin in Iloilo that was built in the 19th century by the Augustinians.

PHLPost said the La Inmaculada Concepcion Parish is the best preserved church complex in Samar-Leyte.

“The decoration of shells and coral throughout the church complex and especially in the baptistery is a tour-de-force and the only one of its kind in the country.”

The San Joaquin Parish, meanwhile, is described to have a carved pediment, a depiction of the Spanish victory over the Moors at Tetuan.

Also featured are the Parish Church of Nuestra Señora de la Porteria in Daraga, Albay, the oldest existing building in the whole province, built in 1772; the Parish Church of San Isidro Labrador in Lazi, Siquijor province, built in the second half of the 19th century and considered as the best-preserved church complex; and the Parish Church of Santiago Apostol in Betis, Pampanga which has the most beautiful retablo in Pampanga, arguably the best in Central Luzon.

Completing the list are the Parish Church of La Inmaculada Concepcion in Jasaan, Misamis Oriental, said to be a “provincial” attempt to imitate an urban design of the San Ignacio Church in Manila; the Parish Church of Our Lady of Light (Nuestra Señora de la Luz) in Loon, Bohol, which has the elements of an ideal church plan: twin bell towers, a wall-enclosed patio or plaza, a casa parroquial, fortifications, bulwarks, morada and a circular old cemetery; the Parish Church of San Gregorio Magno in Majayjay, Laguna which commands a view of the hilly town and Laguna de Bay in the distance; and the St. John the Baptist Parish in Jimenez, Misamis Occidental which has a richly decorated interior with sculpture, painting and metal work.