Discovering The First Presidential Residence of the Philippines - General Aniceto Lacson Ancestral Home

While the famous Malacañang Palace is easily referred to as the Presidential Residence in the Philippines, many do not know that the title as Residence of the President of the Philippines came upon Malacañang only upon the establishment of the Commonwealth of the Philippines on November 15, 1935.

Also not known to many is that before the first Philippine Republic was established in January 23, 1899, there already existed the República Cantonal de Negros or the Cantonal Republic of Negros
which came about in November 5, 1898.

This makes the Ancestral House built by General Aniceto Lacson in Talisay City, the first Presidential house in the Philippines.

Last September 23, 2014, the descendants of General Aniceto Lacson, who are now the co-owners of the ancestral house, released this statement for the public to know (via the local Negros daily, the Visayan Daily Star):

The Ancestral House built by General Aniceto Lacson in the 1880’s is a fine example of a 19th century Philippine Architecture known as “Bahay na Bato” or House of Stone. Uniquely, it has a balcony that surrounds the entire 2nd floor giving a panoramic view of its surroundings has its own chapel at ground level.

As most Negrenses would know, General Aniceto Lacson was among those who successfully led a province-wide Katipunero revolt against the Spanish garrison in Bacolod City on November 5, 1898. When the Spanish forces surrendered, he was chosen as President of the short-lived Cantonal Republic of Negros. Today, Negros Island celibrates as an official holiday, “Cinco de Novembre” on November 5 to commemorate the surrender.

During his tenure as President of the Cantonal Republic of Negros, General Aniceto held office in this ancestral house. During those years, he was visited by General Emilio Aguinaldo, Andres Bonifacio, Antonio Luna, Emilio Jacinto, Claro M. Recto, President Manuel Quezon, President Sergio Osmeña, among other dignitaries. It is no wonder that in March 13, 2002, the National Historical Institute (NHI), thru Board Resolution No. 2, 5. 2002 declared the General Aniceto Lacson Ancestral House as a NATIONAL HISTORICAL LANDMARK, as provided for by a Presidential Decree. 


 
The Ancestral House has been occupied by the succession of General Aniceto’s children and grandchildren. It is at present, owned-in-common by its co-owners, the Claparols, Rossello, and Balcells families, descendants of his daughter Carmen Lacson
married to Ricardo Claparols.

In the early 1970’s, a strong typhoon damaged the entire roof and since then has been left unoccupied up to this day. The descendant co-owners have tried to maintain it but could not cope with the scale and magnitude of the repairs. Sadly, the
ancestral house went through an accelerated process of deterioration, as portions of the ceiling crumbled down and worse, a part of the second floor, including the staircase began to sag.

It was for this reason that we, the undersigned, aware of our responsibilities as co-owners, looked into how we could restore and preserve the ancestral house.

Therefore, in 2002, we decided to form a foundation so that it would serve as an avenue to formally solicit and generate the much-needed funds for its restoration. Due to limited funds, the restoration is being done in phase prioritizing on the more critical areas, primarily in restoring structural stability. Donations received from individuals, corporate and government institutions are properly documented and accounted for.  

All descendant co-owners were invited to participate in the foundation, however only seventy percent (70%) responded favorably. We then pooled in our personal financial contributions to establish the General Aniceto L. Lacson Ancestral House
Foundation,Inc. ( GALAH). Registered on May 7, 2002 as a non-stock non-profit corporation with the Securities and Exchange Commission with Company Registration No. E200200273, the foundation was established with the sole purpose to fully restore,
repair, maintain and preserve the ancestral house.


 

When GALAH Foundation hired the services of both local and national level architects to inspect the ancestral house, they discovered that the main cause as to why the house was deteriorating rapidly was due to termite infestation. After further ocular inspection of the premises, from inside the ceiling and around the flooring area, it revealed the extent of the damage caused by the termite infestation, which was not limited to the wooden columns that support the structure of the ancestral house but has damaged as well the ceiling girts and the joists and the flooring girts and joists.

Photo by Dennis John Reyes

They advised us to immediately install (coconut lumber) scaffoldings on the affected area of the 2nd floor, including the staircase, in as much as its elevation has already sagged at about 8 inches. The architects warned us that if we did not support a part of the 2nd floor with scaffoldings that it was a matter of time that it would collapse and cause greater damage to the ancestral house.

Restoration architects such as Architect Augusto “Toti” Villalon ( Architect and Cultural Heritage Planner) together with Architect Melvin Patawaran (Principal Architect of Tropiks Design Studio) in coordination of Architect Jude Tipon ( Past
President, United Architects of the Philippines (UAP)) have been working together to supervise the restoration.  

Ocular inspections were conducted by Architect Augusto P. Rustia, the Cultural Properties and Conservation Division Chief of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), Executive Director Ludovico D. Badoy, Mr. Reynaldo A. Inovero, and Engineer Candido H. Castro from NHI Historic Preservation Division and Architect Norman H. Campos. NCCA and NHI prepared their own respective project studies and program of works and have been submitted to GALAH foundation.

The restoration started in February 2013 and as of December 2013, the following have been accomplished;

Note: Only Mahogany (hardwood) lumber has been used. All undamaged ceiling and flooring panels have been catalogued to ensure that they well be placed back in its original position.

- the 10 inch x 10 inch x 40 feet wooden column that was the main cause for the flooring to sag has already been replaced. About 3 more damaged wooden columns need to be replaced while those columns that are undamaged have not been touched. 

- the entire ceiling girts and ceiling joists have been repaired, replacing only the damaged sections of the wood frames, either by cross-sectional repair if the remaining portion of the wood frames are still in good condition or if not, replace the entire wood frame. The undamaged ceiling panels will be placed back once the flooring alignment is completed including the neo gothic arch traceries.

- the replacement of the entire roof of the main area of the ancestral house with new 0.24 mm gauge Galvanized Iron (GI) sheets were very corroded. In time, the roof will be painted with anti-corrosion metal primer and roofing paint.

This year 2014, the restoration continues, focusing on the re alignment of the 2nd floor. It is a slow tedious process of removing the flooring panels and the floor joists so as to expose and to replace the damaged floor girts and joists. As of today, three sections of the 2nd floor have already been aligned and its flooring panels have been placed back to its original position.

We, the members of GALAH foundation and as a co-owner descendant are fully committed to restore and preserve the General Aniceto Lacson Ancestral House. We are inviting all patriotic Filipino to support our cause in restoring the General Aniceto Lacson Ancestral House to its historical grandeur as a fitting symbol of our country and its people. We are also inviting you to visit the ancestral house and see for your self.

The goal is to restore and preserve the ancestral house and unselfishly shares the historical glory not only to the people of Negros but to the whole country as well. As such, the concerned co-owner descendants and members of the GALAH foundation are doing everything possible to achieve this purpose.

           The 70% descendant co-owners and members of GALAH Foundation

                      Rosario Claparols      
                      Patricia Claparols
                      Victoria Claparols  
                      Alxandra Claparols
                      Michael Claparols  
                      Francisco Rosello
                      Carmen Rosello    
                      Miguel Rosello
                      Teresa Rosello       
                      Eduardo Balcells 
                      Ana Balcells        
                      Alfonso Balcells 
                      Carlos Balcells

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Heritage Preservation - More Fun in West Visayas and Negros Island

Many people associate progress with the emergence of spanking new buildings cladded with aluminum sheets and "clean" lines which actually border on bland.  In the heart of the Visayas, where two regions are comfortably nestled, the Western Visayas Region, and the newly formed Negros Island Region better known as The Sweet Spot of the Philippines, such may not be the case.

Here at the heart of the sugar industry, where elegant mansions were erected at the turn of the century due to the sugar boom catalyzed by a British man named Nicolas Loney, the locals are training their sights on enshrining their culture by preserving old houses, instead of knocking them down.

In Iloilo City, citizens were first aghast at the idea that the famed Yusay-Consing Mansion in Molo district could be demolished by its new owners, the SM Group .  Thinking that the Yusay-Consing Mansion would fall prey to the wrecking ball, recent photos have shown that the SM Group is sticking to its 2014 press statement in restoring the ancestral home through adaptive re-use, hiring no less than Architect Augusto Villalon.

SM emphasized that there is an adaptive reuse plan for the Yusay-Consing Mansion, which faces the plaza in Molo and gothic-designed Roman Catholic Saint Anne Parish Church.  While a commercial building will be built within the compound, the mansion, which was in a decayed state, is currently being rehabilitated for use as a heritage museum with a cultural retail shop.

“The mansion will showcase the best of Ilonggo arts, crafts and delicacies,” SM said in a statement.

Built in the 1920s, the Yusay-Consing Mansion was originally owned by Doña Petra Lacson-Yusay. It was later handed down to the family of Timoteo Consing Sr., who served as Iloilo governor from 1935-1937.  The mansion was said to be where Presidents Manuel Quezon and Sergio Osmeña were hosted and stayed in when they would visit Iloilo.

Art Deco Staircase of Balay Daku

Across the pond in the island of Negros, families have been refurbishing their homes to further showcase to visitors, the splendor of a glorious past.

Just as what is happening in Iloilo, a number of houses have been brought to better shape to show future generations the Negrense life as it was in the first half of the 1900s.  Museum Curator John Silva recently made a public post on Facebook showing the Most Beautiful Art Deco House in the Philippines.

Located in a street which was once known as Millionaire's Row, the Generoso Villanueva house, also known as Balay Daku (big house) continues to wow its limited visitors. 

On the same street, Burgos Street, another similar balay daku also shows the shining past of Negros and Bacolod City.  This is the house of Don Mariano Ramos.

Between the two houses and other mansions for which Negros is known for, Ms. Bambi Harper had this to comment on John Silva's post on Facebook, "Negrenses appear to have better taste than Manileños.  Think of all those Art Deco houses in New Manila that were replaced by condos of no particular artistic value."

Ramos Ancestral Home

Photo credits to : Hawili Hurom (Iloilo), Voltaire Siacor and John Silva (Daku Balay), Lloyd Tronco (Ramos Ancestral Home).

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The 51st Thing You Need to Do When In Bacolod City

Bacolod City recently released a nifty guide for travelers and tourists entitled "50 Things To Do In Bacolod".

All you need to know for your next trip is there.  We at morefunphilippines.org though introduce you to the 51st thing you need to do when in the City of Smiles.

For those who arrive in Bacolod City and follow what is usually written on travel books and blogs, the usual stops are the Negros Museum, the Provincial Capitol of Negros Occidental, and the Ruins (Mariano Lacson Mansion) which is technically located in the next city of Talisay.

What is often missed in Bacolod is a street which was once known as Millionaire's Row.  This street is hardly publicized because most tour guides can only reach back to Bacolod's glory days of the 1960s and the 1970s.  The importance of this street goes back to the pre-war decade of the 1930s.

It was back in the 1930s when Generoso M. Villanueva, a prominent sugar planter, and his wife Paz, built the first art deco  structure in Bacolod City. Designed solely by the owner, the three-story, poured-concrete steel reinforced building with graceful curved balconies, parapets, and porthole steel-cased windows looks like the Titanic on land. It was known among the locals as the Boat House. Among family, though, it was simply called Daku Balay (the big house).

On the same street, another similar daku balay (big house) also shows the glorious past of Negros and Bacolod City.  This is the house of Don Mariano Ramos.

Mariano Ramos was among the first Presidente Municipals appointed in Bacolod City.  At that time, Bacolod was not yet chartered as a city and thus did not have any mayor yet.  Mariano Ramos was a former classmate of Manuel L. Quezon in Letran and the late president did stop by this house often during his many trips to Negros Island.

Between the two mansions mentioned are other houses which are resplendent of Bacolod's decadent pre-war past.  It is of little wonder then that during the Japanese occupation in World War 2, the head of the Japanese Imperial Army, headed by General Takeshi Kono, took over the houses in Millionaire's Row as these two houses had the tallest miradors (viewing towers) to observe the city from all directions.

The Japanese Imperial Army commanded all forces occupying Negros from Millionaire's Row until the surrender in August 1945.

The street known as Millionaire's Row is commonly known today as Burgos Street.  In the same manner that one visits Lombard Street (the most crooked street in the world) in San Francisco, or the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris, or Las Ramblas in Barcelona, one should not miss Burgos Street when in Bacolod City.

All mansions can be viewed from the street as these are all still closed to the public, except one which is the currently run as a museum, the Dizon-Ramos Museum.




Photo credits to Voltaire Siacor (Villanueva Art Deco House) and Lloyd Tronco (Mariano Ramos House)

The 51st Thing You Need to Do When In Bacolod City

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Discovering "Millionaire's Row" in Bacolod City

Heritage conservation advocates are totally aghast at the ongoing demolition of the Carlos Palanca mansion in Pasay.  This comes just a few months after the Army and Navy Club and the Admiral Hotel fell prey to the wreckers of Manila's historic architectural icons.  To those who remember the wonderful edifices of Manila's glorious past, the current spate of demolitions are really a nightmare.

One cannot say the same though of Bacolod City, the premier city in the Philippines' Sugar Bowl.  This summer of 2015, tourists from Metro Manila and all over the country will visit Negros Island, the Sweet Spot of the Philippines and have a glimpse of Bacolod's fabled glory days.  This is due to the revitalization of a small strip of houses known back in the 1930s as "Millionaire's Row".

For those who arrive in Bacolod City and follow what is usually written on travel books and blogs, the usual stops are the Negros Museum, the Provincial Capitol of Negros Occidental, and the Ruins (Mariano Lacson Mansion) which is technically located in the next city of Talisay.

What is often missed in Bacolod is a street which was once known as Millionaire's Row.  This street is hardly publicized because most tour guides can only reach back to Bacolod's glory days of the 1960s and the 1970s.  The importance of this street goes back to the pre-war decade of the 1930s.

It was back in the 1930s when Generoso M. Villanueva, a prominent sugar planter, and his wife Paz, built the first art deco  structure in Bacolod City. Designed solely by the owner, the three-story, poured-concrete steel reinforced building with graceful curved balconies, parapets, and porthole steel-cased windows looks like the Titanic on land. It was known among the locals as the Boat House. Among family, though, it was simply called Daku Balay (the big house).

On the same street, another similar daku balay (big house) also shows the glorious past of Negros and Bacolod City.  This is the house of Don Mariano Ramos.

Mariano Ramos was among the first Presidente Municipals appointed in Bacolod City.  At that time, Bacolod was not yet chartered as a city and thus did not have any mayor yet.  Mariano Ramos was a former classmate of Manuel L. Quezon in Letran and the late president did stop by this house often during his many trips to Negros Island.

Between the two mansions mentioned are other houses which are resplendent of Bacolod's decadent pre-war past.  It is of little wonder then that during the Japanese occupation in World War 2, the head of the Japanese Imperial Army, headed by General Takeshi Kono, took over the houses in Millionaire's Row as these two houses had the tallest miradors (viewing towers) to observe the city from all directions.

The Japanese Imperial Army commanded all forces occupying Negros from Millionaire's Row until the surrender in August 1945.

The street known as Millionaire's Row is commonly known today as Burgos Street.  In the same manner that one visits Lombard Street (the most crooked street in the world) in San Francisco, or the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris, or Las Ramblas in Barcelona, one should not miss Burgos Street when in Bacolod City.

All mansions can be viewed from the street as these are all still closed to the public, except one which is the currently run as a museum, the Dizon-Ramos Museum.




Photo credits to Voltaire Siacor (Villanueva Art Deco House) and Lloyd Tronco (Mariano Ramos House)

Discovering "Millionaire's Row" in Bacolod City

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