Completed in 1869, with Fray Tomas Santaren as architect and Don Felipe Diez as engineer, the church boasts of an intricate sculptural relief depicting the Spanish victory over the Moroccan army in the Battle of Tetuan in 1860, five years after its construction started.

Why did Santaren cause the "Redicion D' Tetuan" to be carved on the church's facade?

There is no definite answer to that question but it can be explained by the fact that during the Spanish period, the coastal towns in southern Iloilo — starting from San Joaquin up to Oton — had been the target of attacks by Moro slave traders.

That was the reason why Spanish watchtowers can now be found in the coasts of Guimbal and similar structures used to stand along the beaches of San Joaquin, Miag-ao, Tigbauan and Oton, and why churches in coastal towns also have belfries that also function as watchtowers.

Perhaps, Santaren wanted to remind the people of the triumph of Christian soldiers over Islamic forces so they would remain confident in their faith and be strong whenever there are trials and tribulations like the Moro raids.

Recorded in history books were the raids in Miagao in 1754 and in Guimbal in 1796, reason why they now respectively celebrate the annual Salakayan and Bantayan festivals to commemorate the people's triumph during those attacks.

The watchtowers in Guimbal, four of which still stand today, were built in 1895 while in Oton, there use to be a stone fortification with wooden watchtowers, each one with a cannon, according to the book Monografia de los Pueblos de la Isla de Panay (1898).

"On the east of the fortification there are four watchtowers, three made of wood and one of bamboo. On the west there are three bastions (each with a cannon) made of wood. On the northeast there is one bastion serving as a body of defense," the book said of the Oton fortification.

"Each bastion takes five watchmen, and those on the shore have a telegraph of flags to warn people of Moro pirates on the beach or in sight," added the book written by Augustinian priest Fray Juan Fernandez.

The San Joaquin Church, made of coral and lime stones, was first declared as a national historical landmark in 1972 by the then National Historical Institute (NHI) and then as a national cultural treasure in 2009 by the National Museum.

But "(b)ehind the appearance of this impressive masterpiece is a story of suffering," noted the book Historical Landmarks and Monuments of Iloilo by Henry Funtecha and Melanie Padilla. "Forced labor was employed in the building and gathering of materials."

On January 29, 1943, Col. Macario Peralta, a cruel commander of a local guerilla unit who plotted to kill Gov. Tomas Confesor, ordered the church and all houses in the poblacion set on fire.

"Thus, after seventy four years the church that was conceived by Fr. Santaren translated into stones, mortar, lines and curves by Don Diez, hewed, shaped, hauled, and raised by the sinews of no less than ten thousand pairs of hands, was reduced into an ugly pile of soot-covered ruins," the book said.

The San Joaquin Church was partially damaged by an earthquake in 1948 which toppled its tower, which was later restored in 1982.

San Joaquin is 53 kms south of Iloilo City. It is also home to the famous 1892 San Joaquin Cemetery, noted for its Baroque designed elevated mortuary chapel (camposanto) that can be reached by negotiating a 21-step staircase made of coral stones.