Manila priests to learn to detect cracks in churches

MANILA, Philippines – Officials of the Archdiocese of Manila said yesterday they are contemplating giving their priests pointers and basic information on detecting cracks in their respective churches to help determine if the building is due for structural rehabilitation.

“Maybe we could give a crash course to our priests on what to look for, such as cracks, the nature of cracks” in the churches, said Fr. Carlos Reyes, who is also a civil engineer.

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle announced the temporary closure of the Manila Cathedral after they discovered structural defects.

When asked if they would have their engineers inspect the other churches, Tagle said, “I am still catching my breath…I have only been here (as Archbishop of Manila) for almost two months and we already have these major (developments)…We will take this on one at a time.”

He added that he would also consider Reyes’ opinion.

The archdiocese decided to close the Manila Cathedral, which is also called the Manila Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica and Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, last Feb. 7 to give way to the rehabilitation of the church.

Reyes said there were critically important structure members such as columns and beams that do not comply with the standards set by the National Structural Code of the Philippines’ 2010 edition.

Another finding was that the cathedral sits on soft soil and needs grouting cement on the soil to avoid liquefaction, which is when the soil turns to liquid and becomes almost like quicksand. This would be most felt during an earthquake.

In studying the condition of the structure, they bore four holes near the four corners of the cathedral and discovered that two of the holes have “potential liquefaction material.”

They also need to strengthen the super structure during the retrofitting, officials said.