The Manila Philippines Temple

Temple employees in the Philippines seek God’s protection in His holy house

“Would You Deprive Us of These Blessings?”

Dignardino Espi, lead security officer at the Manila Philippines Temple, was apprehensive as he arrived for work on the evening of December 1, 1989. Earlier that day, armed men in Manila had staged a revolt, throwing the city into chaos. It was the seventh attempt to overthrow the Philippine government in four years.

Despite the political turmoil, the Church enjoyed a firm foundation in the Philippines. Over the past thirty years, its membership had grown from a small group of Filipino believers to more than two hundred thousand Saints. There were now thirty-eight stakes in the country and nine missions. And since its dedication in September 1984, the Manila Philippines Temple had been a source of great joy and spiritual power.

At the temple guardhouse, Dignardino found his colleagues, Felipe Ramos and Remigio Julian. Although they were finishing their shifts, the two men were reluctant to go home. Across the street from the temple was Camp Aguinaldo, a large military base. Knowing the camp could become a target for the armed men, the guards worried about leaving their posts and being caught in the fighting. They preferred to stay and help preserve the sacredness of the house of the Lord and its grounds.

Soldiers with guns walking away from the camera alongside the temple’s fence.

Armed troops outside the Manila Philippines Temple, December 1989.

Around one o’clock in the morning, government troops set up a roadblock at an intersection near the temple. A few hours later, a tank plowed through the roadblock, damaging the wall around the temple.

As violence erupted in the street, Dignardino and the other security officers recruited the temple’s two custodians to help them keep the building and its grounds safe. Seeking shelter from government fire, a group of men soon broke open the temple gates. Dignardino tried to compel them to leave, but they refused.

Later that afternoon, Dignardino spoke with temple president Floyd Hogan and area president George I. Cannon over the phone. President Cannon advised him and the staff to take shelter inside the temple. A short time later, the phone lines went dead.

The next morning was fast Sunday, and the staff began their fasts by asking God to spare the house of the Lord from being desecrated or harmed.

The day passed much like the one before it. Helicopters swooped overhead and sprayed the temple grounds with bullets. A plane dropped several bombs nearby, shattering the windows of the Church distribution store and damaging other buildings. At one point a fighter jet fired two rockets over the temple and caught a neighboring field on fire.

In the early afternoon, Dignardino found ten armed men near the temple entrance. “What you will find inside the temple building is purely religious and sacred in nature,” he told them. He was nervous, but he kept speaking. “If you insist on entering the sanctity of the building, its sacred character will be gone,” he said. “Would you deprive us of these blessings?” The men were silent, and as they walked away, Dignardino knew his words had touched them.

That evening, Dignardino gathered his staff, and they again took shelter inside the temple. He offered a fervent prayer, putting his trust in the Lord to preserve His holy house.

All night, they waited for the bombs to fall, but the hours ticked away in silence. When dawn broke Monday morning, they cautiously emerged from the temple to survey the situation. The armed men were gone. Nothing remained but abandoned weapons, ammunition, and military uniforms.

Dignardino Espi, dressed in a white jumpsuit, looks at the camera while a man takes notes and soldiers and military vehicles investigate near the temple fence.

Dignardino Espi (left) after the attack near the Manila Philippines Temple, 1989. (Church History Library, Salt Lake City.)

Dignardino and the other men inspected the grounds and found some damage to a few of the outside buildings. But the temple itself was unharmed.

See the full text in Gospel Library for notes and source citations.