Panglao Church in Bohol Philippines

The church of St. Augustin in Panglao was established as a parish by the Jesuits in 1782. The extant church, imposing and awe-inspiring especially if viewed from its right side, stands beside the ruins of an older church, probably from Jesuit times. The ruin’s façade indicate that it may have been Baroque in design. This church was ruined before 1886 and records shows that a provisional church, made of tabigue and wood was constructed.

St. Augustine church is famed for its ceiling murals. Above the nave are paintings depicting the seven sacraments. Above the sacristy are paintings of the patron saint, the Last Supper and the Blessed Trinity.

The Church were also affected when the 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Bohol on October 15, 2013. All efforts in rehabilitation of all the historical churches in the province was then facilitated by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. And as of this writing, the church went fully operational again though construction in some areas is still ongoing.

As it is, the Island of Panglao is currently a major tourist destination with its well-known lovely white beaches, exquisite cuisine, friendly people, and accessibility. This has opened a lot of opportunity for the locals to recover from their lost.

We arrived in the church at noon and decided to look for something to eat. We noticed this restaurant just in front of the church’s main entrance so we decided to try it. The place was so relaxing and you can feel the fresh air from the outside passing through the open spaces just below the ceiling.

Their food looks really delicious and we decided to have grilled tuna and sizzling pork with mushroom gravy. We also had fresh watermelon shake and their house specialty La Familia Milk Shake. Though it takes around 20 mins for our food to arrive, the wait is still worth it. It cost us less than 600 pesos for two people.