The Minor Basilica of San Sebastian in Manila, especially declared attached to the Vatican, is considered the only all-steel church in Asia and for the past 109 years, it has endured the test of time and natural disasters. While the exterior seems to be okay, the paint hides a dirty little secret: the edifice is in bad condition and it’s steel parts, imported from Belgium, is deteriorating. Oxidation or rust has taken its toll and this can be seen in the dark corners of the interior.

Tina Paterno, a New York based conservator has offered her time to spearhead the seeming impossible task of restoring this impressive structure that has been the legacy of the Augustinian Recollects, smarting from the destruction that affected the previous stone church in the aftermath of the 1880 earthquake,  experimented with a new construction material as Spanish colonization is in its twilight.

On my part, I have helped her document this basilica before the restoration will commence as well as have something that I will use once I will start my San Sebastian series in simbahan.net. This is no easy task. There are too many details to cover and now we’re still at our second day, I’ve only done less than half of the interior.

Seeing the walls up close, I’m also alarmed at the current state. There really is a need to do something, the sooner, the better, before it’s too late or we will forever lose this unique treasure. When our support is needed for it’s restoration, please, let’s give our share in preserving this architectural wonder.

Last week was kind of hectic as I was shooting some semana santa (Holy Week) preparations and practices in the southeastern part of Cebu. During Good Friday, I was with my ACFJ classmate, Pam, and we went from Boljoon to Carcar. These two images were shot outside Dalaguete church where people and a few carrozas bearing lenten images were stationed.

My original plan was to shoot and run and see for myself if it’s really feasible. However, I learned the hard way that next time, it’s better to just shoot or to just run unless I’m conditioned and fit enough to multitask (check my post about the run last night at fitandrun.info).

Max Limpag with his wife of ceburunning.com have been organizing Friday night runs starting at 10 PM at his office in Sun Star, Cebu’s largest local daily and last night was the 5th so far with about 22 runners joining including me. The route usually ends at the Ayala IT Park. Depending on the route, it can be 4-7 kilometers long.

Now, if you’ve been following my running at fitandrun.info, I just started three weeks ago with a running plan and I was unsure if I should join. Max invited me last week but have to beg off and this week, I thought why not shoot for a future feature of this weekly activity and try to run at the same time?

I packed light with my DSLR, ultrawide and flash. It was not so much about the weight which, was really manageable, and with my Rudy Project bag that was small enough and able to hug my back with the series of adjustments. I really didn’t find it difficult but was in fact, comfortable the whole time.

My major mistake was to try to get ahead of the line to shoot but, unfortunately, spent much energy catching up that by the time I made it, I was already exhausted and still didn’t have good images. Darn! This affected my run in the first few kilometers but when it started to rain, I did recovered from that debacle and finished. Third to the last. It was sweet.

I should just do another documentation of the group and not run. Next time.

Many of Cebu’s jeepneys are really moving works of art, a showcase of the Cebuano’s talent. Another image in a previous post.

Watching this game can be a hard experience at first but with a few more bouts, one gets accustomed and get swayed with the roused crowd. At the arena, if worse comes to worst, its often the last fight for the cock.