Gov't seeks experts' assistance in restoring heritage sites

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The government invited today foreign experts to help in the restoration of damaged historical churches in central provinces of Bohol and Cebu due to recent deadly earthquake.

Some 10 historical churches, the oldest was built as early as 1595, were destroyed from the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that jolted central Philippines last Tuesday and killed at least 158 people.

"What we need in terms of assistance also from our international friends would be experts in restoring churches, restoring all these national treasures. These are already heritage sites," said Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda in a news briefing.

He said that Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. is one among the Cabinet officials actively involved in the restoration of the churches since they are part of eco-tourism.

In a separate statement, Jimenez said that his office ought to find ways to speed up recovery of the affected areas, "especially that tourism is a major industry fueling our economies."

Though there are some tours still being carried out, areas severely affected by the earthquake were off-limits to the public, he said. These include the Basilica del Sto. Nino and Fort San Pedro in Cebu, the Baclayon Church and Dauis Church in Bohol, and its other heritage churches.

A magnitude 7.2 quake jolted Bohol and parts of the Visayas and Mindanao regions at 8:12 a.m. Tuesday local time with a depths of 33 km.