Iloilo is home to many old churches and one these is the church of Dingle, a peaceful town in eastern Iloilo. Like other churches in the province, Dingle Church is of Baroque architecture with its interiors showing features of the Neoclassical style. The parish church of San juan de Bautista is simple yet elegant. It is not lavishly adorned but it is a real beauty. Take a photo of it and you will see.
I have been longing to feature this church in this blog and finally we took a turn to Dingle to visit its wonderful sight like its church.And when we got there, we were not dismayed. It is indeed a nice church and should one of the old churches in Iloilo that a traveler should visit. I felt a little dismayed why it took me so long as a freelance writer to feature and share this church to my dear readers.
Going back to Dingle Church, its main component is limestone and I find it unique. In this part of Iloilo, baked bricks is the most common material as seen in the churches of Santa Barbara, Cabatuan and even of Janiuay. Limestone is more evident in southern Iloilo like that of Miag-ao Church. For this church, limestone was quarried in the mountains of Bulabog-Putian which is now a national park.
Another thing that I noticed with this church is that it only has one belltower. I’m not sure if it is really built like that or it was burned some time in its history. For its facade, it is well decorated given its smaller size compared to other old churches in Iloilo. Its facade aside from statues has a circular stained-glass of saints. In its center is a dome-shaped canopy that I presume to be part of its recent renovations. To be honest, it looks very off-tangent; it is pretty obvious to be a new addition.
So, the next time you are here in Iloilo and have plenty of time to spare for visiting old churches, head to the town of Dingle. Aside from its church, this town is home to the Bulabog-Putian National Park.
Going to Dingle
Going to Dingle is not very accessible especially if you don’t have your own transportation. The town center is not accessible from the national highway going to northern Iloilo or to Capiz and Aklan. You can either take a jeepney to Dingle from Tagbak Terminal or hire a tricycle from the national highway going to Dingle center.
12 Comments
i am a native of this town, i left this town in 1971 to go to mindanao and when i was back in 1983 the old church bells are no longer there. the sound of this bells could reach as far as five to seven kilometers. where are these bells now. they were replaced by a new ones which sound like a tin can.
Hi Rene,
Thank you for dropping by and leaving your comment. I will tried to do little research on the original bells of Dingle church but I can’t find fruitful information. I will ask some of friends ( History people) though if it was destroyed by calamities or by vulgars.
Again, thanks for visiting my blog. Hope to see your future comments here!! Have a nice day Rene!
This could be the church my mother was baptized. I have a copy of the certificate written in spanish that she was baptized 1905 in a Dingle parish. I assume that the church is closed and not an active catholic parish anymore. I am filipino, born in Hawaii and would want to see if there are old church records I could research and find out. On the baptismal certificate it is recorded in book 2, page 172. who would keep and where are the recordsnow, if kept, now?
Hi Jimmy,
Wow, that is very fantastic. I have a degree in History from UP so those old records are wealth to me. Dingle Church is still a parish church and they try to preserve it as much as possible. I’m not sure if they still have a record in Dingle because what I know those old records like way back in early 1900s they are moved to the main church of the diocese like cathedrals. So maybe they are stored in the Jaro Cathedral.
I’ll try to ask around. Thanks again for leaving a comment. I really appreciate it..
Hello! Thank you for featuring our town! I am a native of this town and I am proud of my heritage! Sad to say, our church celebrated it’s 125th anniversary last year with a lot of controversy between the local government and the church. Regarding the records, I remember of browsing over them and reading the handwritten books; I’m sure they are still there! Hope to see more written reviews of our church.. And maybe our town! Check Facebook regarding Explore Dingle. It has beautiful pictures of our town – the caves, the Cry of Dingle, the dam, the lake.
You were right about the addition of the canopy. I’m not sure if it is baroque. There are no rules regarding restorations in the Philippines. It was donated in good faith but they should have stuck with the original structure. There was the bell, it’s gone.. Where ? And I remember the old door, but again, a new one ( im sure its not baroque)replaced it and I wonder what happened to that too… Can you inquire ? Thanks
Hi Marell,
My pleasure. Thank you for visiting my blog and for leaving a comment. Is the dam better now? Last time it was not in good shape but I was able to visit that in college- we even ate our lunch there.
I have another post about Dingle, the National Park. Hope to visit it again.
Thanks again Marell! Come back soon!
Hello! The dam is still there. I dont know who is in charge, but is not given the recognition (in history)it deserves… The hannging bridge too… How many towns in Iloilo have a hanging bridge and a dam? Only in Dingle!
I have seen an old dam that have a museum nearby and tells the story of the dam! It’s not even as grandiose in proportion to the Dingle Dam!! What sad fate our town has….How many people built that dam? Names we will never know…. If the local government is not in charge, what about the provincial? I really dont know…Help?! Thanks.
So it is already repaired after the typhoons? When we went there 2 years ago, it was really in bad shape. I’ll visit again.
🙂