The Ina Poon Bato Church In Botolan Zambales
After visiting the Cathedral of Iba, we headed to our next destination and I can say that this is one of the most interesting highlights of our pilgrimage tour because we got the chance to visit the church where the patroness of Zambales is enshrined. The miraculous image was original enshrined in Poon Bato, Botolan Zambales, the site where the apparition took place but the church was buried under lahar during the Mount Pinatubo eruption.
The new home of Apo Apang can be found in Poon Bato,Loob Bunga Resettlement Site.
The Church and its simple facade. It notably has a celtic cross on top and two symetrical belfry on both sides. 
Mother Of Poon Bato or better known as the Apo Apang is the patroness of Botolan , Zambales who said to appear in the town of Poon Bato hundreds of years ago. The apparition of Apo Apang took place long time ago before the arrival of the Spaniards when Philippines was inhabited by an overwhelming amount of Aetas, black skinned people who lived along the coastlines into the steep hills and mountains. You can check the interesting story behind the miraculous image in this post. 
(The nave of Ina Poon Bato church).
The main altar with three niches. The image if Apo Apang in the middle , Saint Augustine on the left and Saint Monica (mother of St Augustine )on the right.
Apo Apang (Ina Poon Bato). I’m not sure if this is the original image though. 
One of the belltowers. 
The Wooden door with carvings depicting the apparition of Apo Apang
Station of the cross outside the church.
The steel bridge that will lead you to a small grotto of Apo Apang.
We were informed that the real apparition site can be found along this gnarly path. This is probably the reason why they built a grotto for those who are not physically fit enough to reach the miraculous place. 
The elevated grotto and lon queue of her devotees
There comes the image of Apo Apang
The stunning view from the grotto
Apo Apang
The “nun-saint” isn’t actually a nun. You are referring to is Saint Monica, the mother of Saint Augustine. She is the patroness of the town of Botolan. Monica is often depicted to be holding a handkerchief as she always weeps in prayer for the conversion of her husband and son, which the Lord granted after years of long waiting and prayer. She wears the habit as this symbolizes here devotion to prayer (as what nuns do) despite her being a mother and wife. As you may also know, Saint Augustine is placed in the main retablo as he is the Patron of the Diocese of Iba to which Botolan belongs to.
oh thanks a lot.. i have been searching for the title of that image
So this one also was affected by the lahar? I’ll be visiting San Guillermo soon and I’ll take shots of the place. Only the rooftop of that church survived and it’s one of the most visited places because of what had happened there before.
These are nice photos! Especially love the exterior of the church!
The stairs look steep. Well, it is still a good church to visit. ????
Will be in Zambales soon and I am planning to have a do it yourself tour there. Will add this on my list.
Ooh what a magnificent church! I love visiting old churches because I feel they have a lot of history to tell us. 🙂
I heard this place to a friend. You should visit Manaoag Shrine also 🙂
Beautiful photos! And the church is also so beautiful. Would love to visit this place soon ☺☺☺ although Zambales is quite far from where I live!
Love your photographs!! The church is so beautiful!! 🙂
Love the scenery and church structure!
This bato church really caught my eye. I’m a huge fan of old churches, which is what I love in the Philippines. It reminds me of Caluerga, but more beautiful! I love it because of its dome shape on the outside.
Beautiful photos! I want to visit Zambales soon and will definitely go to the church!!