An exterior rendering has been released for the Tacloban City Philippines Temple, two weeks after a Jan. 18, 2025, groundbreaking date was set for the house of the Lord.
The rendering provides the first look for the Tacloban temple, which is planned as a two-story building of approximately 21,407 square feet to be built on a 6.99-acre site.
The temple will be located along the Tacloban Bypass Road near the barangays (barrios) of Utap and Caibaan in Tacloban City. Tacloban is located on Leyte Island in the Philippines’ Eastern Visayas region.
On Nov. 25, the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced the Saturday, Jan. 18, groundbreaking date for the Tacloban City Philippines Temple, one of 13 houses of the Lord that are operating, under construction or in planning for the Southeast Asia island nation.
Elder Michael B. Strong, a General Authority Seventy and second counselor in the Philippines Area presidency, will preside at the invitation-only event.
The rendering was first published Monday, Dec. 9, on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Church President Russell M. Nelson announced a temple for Tacloban City on Oct. 2, 2021, it being one of 13 new temple locations he identified in the Sunday afternoon session of October 2021 general conference.
The Tacloban temple site was released by the First Presidency earlier this year, with the site location map published on March 25.
Temples in the Philippines
Today, the Philippines has 13 total houses of the Lord — dedicated and operating, scheduled for dedication, under construction or in planning.
The Manila Philippines Temple (dedicated in 1984), the Cebu City Philippines Temple (2010) and the Urdaneta Philippines Temple (2024) are the country’s three dedicated and operating houses of the Lord.
Four temples are under construction — in Alabang (started in June 2020), Davao (November 2020), Bacolod (December 2021) and in Cagayan de Oro (August 2024). Besides Tacloban City, five other temples have been announced and are in planning — Iloilo, Laoag, Naga, Santiago and Tuguegarao City.
