St. John the Baptist Church through the Years: Demystifying Albay’s Icon of Faith and Heritage

Abstract

This paper profiled the St. John the Baptist Church in Camalig, Albay, and Tabaco City, Philippines. It assessed the church’s cultural significance as well as the threats, issues, and constraints. This qualitative research adopted the cultural mapping approach of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). It employed ethnography, historiography, and participant observation as methods in cultural mapping. Braun and Clarke’s phases of thematic analysis were applied to reveal the inherent cultural significance. Further, the assessment of cultural significance was based on the Four Fields Value of Important Cultural Property. Findings revealed that St. John the Baptist Church both in Camalig, Albay, and Tabaco City possessed historical, aesthetic, and religious attributes that made the heritage structure profoundly valuable. However, natural calamities and funds for church restoration are the issues or constraints facing the church. This paper recommends that a conservation management plan that will focus on the restoration guidelines, conservation measures, and heritage protection must be adopted to fully protect the St. John the Baptist Church in Camalig, Albay, and Tabaco City. Moreover, the local government unit should conduct a risk assessment and update the hazard plans to mitigate the possible impacts of natural calamities on these heritage churches.