The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Moved by the devastation wreaked by the October 2013 earthquake in Bohol province, Bangladeshi Ambassador to the Philippines John Gomes has donated P100,000 of his own money for the rehabilitation of the Loboc Church.
Gomes, a retired major general, personally turned over last Monday his donation to former Loboc Mayor Leon Calipusan, more than a month after his visit to the province.
The turnover was held at Jin Jiang Inn in Makati City, and witnessed by businessman Carlos Chan, chairman emeritus of Liwayway Marketing Corp., maker of the snack-food brand Oishi.
Gomes was part of a delegation of ambassadors and their families that visited Bohol from February 26 to 28. Chan, a benefactor of Bohol, invited the diplomats on a familiarization tour of the province.
In a speech before the townsfolk of Loboc during the tour, Gomes, a devout Catholic, said he was saddened after seeing the wrecked Loboc Church, which, he said, he had visited during another trip a few years ago.
Gomes then announced his vow to donate P100,000 from his personal funds to help in the rehabilitation of the church.
One of the oldest churches in the Philippines, the San Pedro Apostol Parish Church was devastated by the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that hit parts of the Visayas on October 15, 2013.
First established in 1602, the Loboc Church is the second oldest church in Bohol. After a fire gutted the original structure, it was rebuilt in 1638.
Calipusan, who represented his sister, incumbent Mayor Helen Calipusan Alaba, expressed gratitude to Gomes on behalf of the Lobocanons.