For those of you interested in following the historical renovation of the San Pablo Church and site I will periodically update the news as best I can. I will also add photographs to the site as soon as I have mastered the intricacies of managing a website! If you are a resident of the Cagayan Valley please feel free to contribute your news of any developments!

Here it goes...

Winter, 2008-2009 His Eminence, Bishop Joseph Nacua, reads The Silent Sentinel and expresses his interest that the renovation be carried out with the advice and consent of diocesan experts Fr. Patrick Caro, Msgr. Gatan, and Fr. Pedro Salgado

Winter, 2008-2009 Joseph Pazcoguin, Plan and Permit Consultant to our project in Los Angeles, agrees to come up with a cost estimate to repair the roof to the church; he visits the Philippines

Winter, 2008-2009 One of my former student researchers calls to tell me of the vandalization of the kiln (horno) used to bake the famous Cagayan Valley decorative tiles

Both Awee Abayari, publisher of California Examiner and director of Radio Manila in Los Angeles and Veronica Leighton, editor of Via Times  and producer of CPRTV in Chicago are notified of the vandalization. Both of these Philippine-American media giants are supportive of our efforts to preserve the Philippine
architectural legacy. Both have expressed interest in providing continued coverage of the efforts to halt this vandalization as well as to cover the renovation of the church site

Spring 2009 The Silent Sentinel will be included in the BookExpo in New York City as well as the Illinois Library Association Expo in Springfield, IL this autumn

January 2010 Former Ilocano resident John Aceron shares with the author a diary written by his father which depicts the occupation of the Imperial Japanese Army, the early days of the new Philippine republic and the history of the beautiful church at Gamu mentioned in The Silent Sentinel. The diary is currently being translated into English and once this task is completed, the diary will be excerpted on this web site. Salamat po to John and Rose Aceron!

January 2010  The book's release as a second edition causes a targeted marketing campaign and as part of this publicity, many readers anew are encouraged to share their stories from Cagayan Valley history. These stories and photographs will be edited and shared with our web site viewers in the section of this web site entitled San Pablo Diary. Maraning salamat to all of you contributors. Salamat po to Mrs. Monseratt G. Santiago of Cabagan, Isabela for her recollections of the years of occupation and for sharing with me the Sunday Magazine of the Manila Bulletin and its articles detailing the 50th Anniversary of MacArthur's Leyte Landing.

March 2010 Former student researcher on The Silent Sentinel, Lynn C. Gallema,is invited by Fr. Zeus Angobung, from Tumauini, to join as a youth representative representing the diocese of Ilagan in a seminar to be held in Legaspi, Albay. The purpose of this seminar is for youth representatives from the 33 declared Churches as UNESCO World Heritage Sites and National Culture Treasures to share a brief history of their heritage site/s and their experiences on the protection and preservation of the heritage site in their area. There will be a talk on the Preservation of the Cultural Heritage followed by a workshop of the participants to design and draft programs for the preservation and protection of the heritage sites in their region and in the country. A tour to the heritage sites in the area will also be facilitated towards the end of the camp. Mrs. Gallema will be serving as the representative of James Cleland to share the author's research and planning for the eventual preservation of San Pablo church.

April 2010 The Silent Sentinel wins The Pinnacle Achievement Award for Books in the History Category.

Click here to listen to my 2009 radio interview on AuthorTalk Radio.