.

The San Agustin Church in Manila, also known as The Church of the Immaculate
Conception of San Agustín was the first church built on the island of Luzon in 1571,
immediately after the Spanish conquest of Manila. A site within the district
of Intramuros was assigned to the Augustinian Order, the first to evangelize in
the Philippines. In 1587 the impermanent earliest building in wood and palm fronds was
replaced by a stone church and monastery in stone, the latter becoming the Augustinian
mother house in the Philippines.
It was the only structure in Intramuros to survive the Liberation of Manila in 1945. Miag-
ao became an independent parish in 1731, when a simple church and convento were built.
However, destruction of the town by Muslim pirates in 1741 and 1754 led to the town being
rebuilt in a more secure location. The new church, constructed in 1787–97, was built as a
fortress, to withstand further incursions.as, however, damaged severely by fire during the
revolution against Spain in 1898 and in the Second World War. Two bell towers were added
in 1854, but the northern one cracked in the 1880 earthquake and had to be demolished.
Because of the danger of natural disasters, much of the church's aesthetic had to be
sacrificed in favor of durability and functionality.
The Santa Maria Church commonly known as the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption, is
located in the municipality of Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur. Unlike other town churches in
the Philippines, which conform to the Spanish tradition of sitting them on the central plaza,
the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion in Santa Maria with its convento are on a hill
surrounded by a defensive wall. Also unusual are the sitting of the convento parallel to
the facade of the church and that of the separate bell tower (characteristic of Philippine-
Hispanic architecture) at the midpoint of the nave wall. This was dictated by the hill on
which it is located.
The brick church follows the standard Philippine layout, with a monumental facade
masking a straight roof-line covering a long rectangular building. It is alleged to be built
on a solid raft as a precaution against earthquake damage. The walls are devoid of
ornament but have delicately carved side entrances and strong buttresses

The Paoay Church, also known as the Church of San Agustín, is located in Paoay, Ilocos
Norte. It is the most outstanding example in the Philippines of an Earthquake
Baroque style architecture. Fourteen buttresses are ranged along the lines of a giant volute
supporting a smaller one and surmounted by pyramidal finials. A pair of buttresses at the
midpoint of each nave wall have stairways for access to the roof. The lower part of the apse
and most of the walls are constructed of coral stone blocks, the upper levels being finished
in brick, but this order is reversed on the facade. The massive coral stone bell tower, which
was added half a century after the church was completed, stands at some distance from the
church, again as a protection against damage during earthquakes. The detached bell tower
is of notable interest as the tapering layers emphasizes the oriental style, a unique
structure that reflects the design of a pagoda. The church's exterior is made of coral stone
and brick, held together by a mortar made from sugarcane juice, mango leaves, and rice
straw among other ingredients. The facade of the church also has hints of a Gothic flavor
with pilasters that extend from top to bottom, creating a strong vertical movement. While
the exterior is decorated with rosettes and floral motifs that are reminiscent of Javanese
temples, the interior is rather bare and solemn in comparison. Originally painted, the
interior roof of the church today only shows an echo of the grand scenes that once graced
the ceiling. [9]