Earthquakes claim not just lives but also centuries of built heritage

As midnight approached on Sept. 30, a powerful earthquake jolted the Philippines.

- By JOEL VIVERO RICO, FPIA, UAP

Measuring 6.9 in magnitude and striking at a shallow depth of just five kilometers, the tremor was recorded by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS). It violently rocked the northern parts of Cebu, as well as areas of Iloilo and Bacolod. Preliminary estimates indicate that approximately 37,000 individuals were affected, primarily in Region VII, with Bogo City, Medellin, and San Remigio among the hardest hit. As aftershocks continue to ripple across the region, that number is expected to rise.

One of the most immediate and visually striking consequences of the quake was the damage sustained by the heritage structures, the most vulnerable—particularly Spanish-era churches and ancestral houses, commonly built using large adobe (volcanic tuff) blocks, and aged timber. Among the severely affected were the Shrine of Santa Rosa de Lima and the Daangbantayan Church in Bantayan. Damage also extended to civic buildings from the American colonial and postwar periods, as well as to some relatively modern constructions.

Destructive earthquakes in history

As an architectural historian, I cannot help but recall some of the destructive seismic events that have altered both the physical and cultural landscape of the Philippines. The archipelago's vulnerability to earthquakes has repeatedly claimed not just lives but also centuries of built heritage.