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Ancestral houses of the Philippines or Heritage Houses are homes owned and preserved by the same family for several generations as part of the Filipino family culture. [1] It corresponds to long tradition by Filipino people of giving reverence for ancestors and elders. Houses could be a simple house to a mansion. The most common ones are the "Bahay na Bato". Some houses of prominent families had become points of interest or museums in their community because of its cultural, architectural or historical significance. [2] [3] These houses that are deemed of significant importance to the Filipino culture are declared Heritage House by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), previously known as the National Historical Institute (NHI) of the Philippines. [4] [ self-published source ] Preservation is of utmost importance as some ancestral houses have come into danger due to business people who buy old houses in the provinces, dismantle them then sell the parts as ancestral building materials for homeowners wishing to have the ancestral ambiance on their houses. [5] [ self-published source ] These ancestral houses provide the current generation a look back of the country's colonial past through these old houses. [6]
In 2009, the Congress of the Philippines passed the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 or Republic Act. no. 10066 to further the protection the cultural treasures of the country which include houses under Built heritage. Ancestral houses that are declared Heritage House by the NHCP are still owned by their owners. The government is only declaring the heritage value of the structure, provide funding for its protection and preservation. [7] Ancestral homes that have figured in an event of historical significance like the Bonifacio Trial House in Maragondon, Cavite, [8] or houses of national heroes of the Philippines like the Juan Luna Shrine [9] in Badoc, Ilocos Norte are included among the categories National Shrines or National Historical Landmarks. [10] [11] Historical markers are placed on the houses by the commission to indicate their significance. [12] The Philippine Registry of Cultural Property registers all cultural properties of the country. [11]
Partial list of ancestral houses declared as Heritage Houses by the NHCP, some with declaration dates, grouped according to the regions in the country. [13] many are of Bahay Na Bato architecture.
In the Ilocos Region the historic city of Vigan is the best preserved Spanish Colonial settlement in the country. It was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.
In Central Luzon, There are two historical town centers declared by National Historical Commission of the Philippines as historic town centers in the region namely the Malolos Heritage Town in Bulacan [14] declared on August 15, 2001, and City of San Fernando Heritage District in Pampanga declared in 2004. [15]
Malolos Heritage Town NHL
San Fernando Heritage Zone San Fernando, Pampanga
The central part of Metro Manila was heavily bombed in World War II destroying historical structures and homes. Somes pockets of old homes can still be found in Binondo and Quiapo which were not affected by the war. [16]
In the Calabarzon region, the center for ancestral houses can be found in the streets of Taal, Balayan, and Calaca, in Batangas and Sariaya in Quezon provinces. The town center of Pila, Laguna, with its Spanish and American-era houses, was declared a National Historical Landmark in 2000.
Declared Heritage House in Mimaropa region.
In Tabaco City, the Manalang Gloria ancestral house, formerly the Smith, Bell and Company House, is a prominent heritage house.
In San Pascual, Masbate, the ancestral house of Lazaro family is the oldest existing and the biggest house.
The Western Visayas region contains the largest number of ancestral homes in the Philippines.
Iloilo City is known as the "City of Mansions", having the most number of Heritage Mansions in the country.
Silay City in Negros Occidental has the most number of declared Heritage Houses in the country.
Heritage Houses in Central Visayas region:
Heritage Houses in the Eastern Visayas region:
Heritage Houses in the Northern Mindanao region:
Partial list of ancestral houses declared as National Shrine or National Historical Landmark by the NHCP: [10] [13]
Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan, is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on August 15, 1578, and part of the Metro Luzon Urban Beltway Super Region.
Malolos is the historical site of the constitutional convention of 1898 that led to the establishment of the First Philippine Republic, led by Emilio Aguinaldo. Malolos was the site of the constitutional convention of 1898, known as the Malolos Convention, that led to the establishment of the First Philippine Republic, at the sanctuary of the Barasoain Church. The convent of the Malolos Cathedral served as the presidential palace at that time.
Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo, is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines, located on the southeastern coast of the island of Panay. It is the capital city of the province of Iloilo, where it is geographically situated and grouped under the Philippine Statistics Authority, but remains politically independent in terms of government and administration. In addition, it is the center of the Iloilo–Guimaras Metropolitan Area, as well as the regional center and primate city of the Western Visayas region. According to the 2020 census, Iloilo City has a population of 457,626 people. For the metropolitan area, the total population is 1,007,945 people.
Jaro is a district in Iloilo City, Philippines, located on Panay Island in the Western Visayas region. It is the largest district in terms of both area and population, with 130,700 people according to the 2020 census. Jaro merged with Iloilo City in the 1940s during the American administration in the Philippines. It is also the largest among the seven districts of Iloilo City. La Paz district and the present municipalities of Leganes and Pavia were historically part of Jaro before becoming independent.
Molo is a district in Iloilo City, in Iloilo Province, on Panay Island in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. It is the most densely populated district of all the seven districts of Iloilo City. It was originally a separate municipality before it became part of Iloilo through Act No. 719 of 1903. Molo's historical significance stems from its role as the Parián or Chinatown of Iloilo, where the Chinese residents of the city resided.
Villa de Arevalo, commonly known as simply Villa or Arevalo, is a district in Iloilo City, in the province of Iloilo, on the island of Panay in Western Visayas region, in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 55,476 people. Arevalo is situated as the westernmost district of Iloilo City and shares its border with Oton to the west.
The Lazatin House is one of the two heritage houses owned by the Lazatin family in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga province in the Philippines.
The Nacionalista Party is the oldest political party in both the Philippines and in Southeast Asia in general. It is responsible for leading the country throughout most of the 20th century since its founding in 1907; it was the ruling party from 1935 to 1946, 1953–1961 and 1965–1972.
The architecture of the Philippines reflects the historical and cultural traditions in the country. Most prominent historic structures in the archipelago are influenced by Austronesian, American architectures.
Don Catalino Rodriguez Ancestral House, also known as Villa Sariaya, is one of the three houses declared by the National Historical Institute of the Philippines as Heritage house in Sariaya, Quezon. It was owned by Don Catalino Rodriguez, Sariaya’s town Presidente from 1908 to 1909. The house occupies an entire block near the church park. Its main entrance faces south along Calle Daliz and is bounded by Calle Rizal on the west and Quezon Avenue on the east. This house has already been transformed into a Museum and visitors can choose to wear period costumes for reasonable fees and pose for souvenir photos. Don Catalino Rodriguez Ancestral House is listed as one of the Ancestral Houses in the Philippines, under Region IV-A.
The Bernardino Jalandoni Museum, also known as the Bernardino Jalandoni House, located along Rizal Street, Silay City, in the province of Negros Occidental, Philippines, is the original residence of the late Don Bernardino and Doña Ysabel Jalandoni. The museum is also known as the "Pink House" because of its conspicuous pink paint that easily grabs attention.
The Mercado Mansion is a heritage house located in Carcar, Cebu, Philippines. It is a two-storey bahay-na-bato painted Mediterranean blue owned by the Mercado clan along Cebu South Road. It was declared a Heritage House by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines in 2009.
The Ruins is the remains of the ancestral home mansion of the family of Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson and Maria Braga Lacson. It is situated in Talisay, Negros Occidental, Philippines. The mansion was built in early 1900s and inspired by Italian architecture.
Bahay na bato, also known in Cebuano as balay na bato or balay nga bato and in Spanish as casa Filipino, is a type of building originating during the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. It is an updated version of the traditional bahay kubo of the Christianized lowlanders, known for its use of masonry in its construction, using stone and brick materials and later synthetic concrete, rather than just full organic materials of the former style. Its design has evolved throughout the ages, but still maintains the bahay kubo's architectural principle, which is adapted to the tropical climate, stormy season, and earthquake-prone environment of the whole archipelago of the Philippines, and fuses it with the influence of Spanish colonizers and Chinese traders. It is one of the many architecture throughout the Spanish Empire known as Arquitectura mestiza. The style is a hybrid of Austronesian, Spanish, and Chinese; and later, with early 20th-century American architecture, supporting the fact that the Philippines is a result of these cultures mixing. Its most common appearance features an elevated, overhanging wooden upper story standing on wooden posts in a rectangular arrangement as a foundation. The posts are placed behind Spanish-style solid stone blocks or bricks, giving the impression of a first floor. Still, the ground level contains storage rooms, cellars, shops, or other business-related functions. The second floor is the elevated residential apartment, as it is with the bahay kubo. The roof materials are either tiled or thatched with nipa, sago palm, or cogon, with later 19th-century designs featuring galvanization. Roof styles are traditionally high pitched and are include the gable roof, hip roof, East Asian hip roof, and the simpler East Asian hip-and-gable roof. Horses for carriages are housed in stables called caballerizas.
Philippines National Historic Landmarks is a registry of historic sites in the Philippines that have been officially declared by the Philippine Registry of Cultural Property.
Camiña Balay Nga Bato, formerly known as Avanceña House, is a century-old heritage house in the Arevalo district, Iloilo City, Philippines. It was built in 1865 and was designed by the first parish priest of Molo, Anselmo Avanceña, for Don Fernando Avanceña and his wife, Eulalia Abaja. It was then passed on from one family to another until it came under the Camiñas family.[1] It is now owned by the fourth generation of the original owners, Gerard Camiña, former director of the Land Transportation Office in Western Visayas, and his wife, Luth Camiña. The ancestral house was declared as an "important cultural property" by the National Museum in 2015.
Iloilo City is a conglomeration of former cities and towns in the Philippines, which are now the geographical or administrative districts (boroughs) composed of seven: Arevalo, City Proper, Jaro, La Paz, Lapuz, Mandurriao, and Molo. All administrative districts are divisions of the lone congressional district of Iloilo City, and each is composed of barangays (barrios), with a total of 180 city barangays.