The newly installed Archbishop of Cebu has ordered all churches to conduct structural assessments following the deadly 6.9-magnitude earthquake that struck the central Philippines on September 30.
In a statement, Archbishop Alberto Uy urged the faithful in affected parishes “to refrain from using your churches for the celebration of the Holy Mass until the proper experts have carried out the assessment and declared the structures safe for use.”
The magnitude 6.9 quake struck late Tuesday off the northern tip of Cebu Island near Bogo City, according to the US Geological Survey.
The prelate expressed his closeness to the victims of the earthquake and urged the Catholic faithful to pray “for calmness and strength in the midst of these trials.”
“We entrust ourselves, our families, and our communities into His merciful hands. May the Lord shelter us under His wings, protect us from every harm, and guide us to safety and peace,” he said.
Earlier that day, before the earthquake struck, nearly 60 Catholic bishops were in Cebu City for the installation Mass of Archbishop Uy at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, where he expressed his intention “to embrace that call in my life as shepherd” of the Catholic faithful in Cebu.
On October 1, Philippine officials confirmed nearly 60 fatalities as casualties continued to mount.
The Office of Civil Defence said at least 53 deaths had been confirmed by Bogo hospital, 30 of them from Bogo City, with more than 150 people injured.
“We are receiving additional numbers of reported casualties, so this thing is very fluid,” said deputy administrator Rafaelito Alejandro in a report by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Damage extended across Cebu province. On Bantayan Island, the belfry of a centuries-old Catholic church collapsed after violently swaying.
“I heard a loud booming noise from the direction of the church, then I saw rocks falling from the structure. Luckily, no one got hurt,” said 25-year-old resident Martham Pacilan.
In Cebu City, 100 kilometers south, shoppers fled a mall when ceilings gave way. “It was as if the Earth stopped spinning. And then the mall started shaking,” recalled 21-year-old Jayford Maranga, who said his friend was slightly injured.
Authorities warned that more people could be trapped in collapsed structures and appealed for volunteer medics. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the area had recorded 379 aftershocks.
Power lines snapped, roads cracked, and entire villages were left isolated. Tabogon town reported two-inch fissures on its main road, while electricity was only restored after midnight across Cebu and four other central islands, the National Grid Corp. said.
Bishop Socrates Mesiona of the Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Princesa called on the faithful to unite in prayer for Cebu and other quake-hit communities.
The prelate made the statement during the feast day celebration of St. Therese of the Child Jesus Parish in Aborlan, Palawan, on October 1.
“We are joyful because it is a fiesta,” he told parishioners, “but we are saddened because we know that in another part of the country many have died due to the earthquake.”
Mesiona, who was present during the installation of Archbishop Uy in Cebu City on the morning of September 30, told LiCAS News that he left the province immediately after the Mass to attend to other engagements in his vicariate.
The prelate said that solidarity through prayer is essential in a time of national grief, urging the faithful to remember the victims and their families in their intentions.
