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Financial Reports
The historic church of the old town of Camiling, the baptismal place of the Romulos, the Bengzons, the Brillanteses and former Education Secretary Onofre D. Corpuz, went down to ashes on April 13, 1997. That fateful Sunday morning just an hour before twelve noon every resident were filled with fear and anxieties as the big fire churned the 30-foot high century-old church while everyone was doing his Sunday chores and business after the last Mass. Everybody was caught in a frenzy, aghast in disbelief, that the venue of every catholic Camileño' s baptismal, nuptial and Eucharistic events in his or her life was to be gone with the fire.
That was ten years ago. The loss of this monumental edifice that used to automatically bring nostalgic memories of events nurtured with joy, love and friendship and spiritual nourishment moved the gullible soul that is typical of a Camileño. Thus, nary a soul lost a time to move to restore the lost glory of once an immortal temple. Like the Israelites of old, who mourned the ravished ruins of their temple, the Camileños now forget their sorrows to rebuild that burned building, a symbolism of these men and women of their love and devotion to God the Father Almighty.
Led by Rev. Fr. Regidor D. Carreon, then the parish priest during the church's conflagration, all catholic Camilenos, rich and poor alike, here and abroad, lent a helping hand. Raffles were conducted to raise funds. Then the initial construction began. It went on with all the hope that the church would be fully restored. But, alas, to the consternation and dismay of everyone, the steel beams and trusses which were already in place stood still untouched. The work stopped. The reason? No more money!
For six years, the supposed-to-be-restored church has stood bare, roofless, with rust tarnishing the formidability of the steels now exposed to sun and rain.
Some influential and rich personality in the province has offered to build a new church leaving the unfinished church restoration as it stands. This met stiff opposition from die-hard and nostalgic Camileños, who would nevertheless have given to the wish of that tycoon, so long as a church would be built.
But that stood as a plan. The past parish priest, said to be the “man” who can initiate the construction of a church tried his very best that he even sought the help of a foundation which offered to erect a church in its entirety. His effort went awry until his term expired last May.
The people kept on praying to the town's patron saint, St. Michael the Archangel, that being the general of God's angelic army, he may be able to intercede for the Camileños that the ruined church would be restored into its original structure.
So now with a new parish priest, who took over the spiritual leadership of the municipality of Camiling, the catholic Camileños found a renewed vigor and hope to resume the stalled church reconstruction.
Saint Michael the Archangel Church 2007
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