Preservation of San Miguel Ancestral Houses: It’s complicated

By Minde Nyl Dela Cruz

There are still many ancestral houses in San Miguel in the province of Bulacan, and these mansions had either been connected to some important people in the past or given contribution to the rich history of the town.

Even though the current owners, usually the great-great-grandchildren, live in Manila or somewhere else, the houses are being kept well and maintained by caretakers or distant relatives.

The Miguel Siojo House.

Along Rizal St. in Poblacion, San Miguel in Bulacan lies behind tall walls the old house of Miguel Siojo built in 1903. His name is connected to Alfred Siojo-Lim Sr., the father and namesake of the former mayor of Manila City.

Walking on, it’s Narcisa Buencamino-De Leon’s House, the upper floor of which is repainted turquoise. Buencamino-De Leon is known as the Mother of Filipino Movie Industry, the founder of LVN Pictures, Inc.

The Ceferino De Leon House.

Next in line is the Ceferino De Leon residence. It housed the father-in-law of former President Manuel Roxas.

The Damaso Sempio House.

Across the street is Damaso Sempio’s house. He was the nephew of Gregorio del Pilar.

The Simon Tecson House.

The house used as headquarters of the first president of the Philippine Republic, Hen. Emilio Aguinaldo, the Simon Tecson house, still stands high and as elegant as ever.

The Valeriana Velayo House.

Lastly, along Payuwal St., we can find Valeriana Velayo’s old house. She was the founder of Liga Feminista.

However, some of them had been demolished already.

The Nicanor Abelardo Marker.

For example, in Payuwal St. also, the marker of Nicanor Abelardo is the last surviving reminder that he once lived there. The lot where his house used to be is now replaced by a new and modern one.

Moving on to Barangay San Vicente, Jorge Santos Viola’s house is nowhere to be found; there is no single marker of its previous existence before it was dismantled, its wood and other materials sold, about a year ago.

The Maximo Viola Marker.

On the other hand, the marker of Maximo Viola’s residences is the last remnant standing beside a Pastillas Store along the national highway.

The Tourism Officer of San Miguel, Teacher Boy Florencio, said that the municipal government cannot shoulder the expenses for the preservation of the ancestral houses.

“Personally, depende ‘yon. Kung nabubulok na, ano pang lalagyan (ng markers)? May mga lugar na masyado nang (sira). Mga hindi naman magagamit sa tourism,” Florencio stated.

He said that it costs millions to maintain one and much more to maintain at least 11 of the houses left.

The map showing the position of the ancestral houses of San Miguel provided by
tourism officer Boy Florencio. The red line shows the trail of the writer and
the highlighted houses are the ones featured in this article.

Teacher Boy says it only shows the priorities of the local government unit because preservation is not a simple matter.

Sometimes, political color is also involved.

And it is not in his power as tourism officer to decide about it; it is the decision of the present owners as well as of the mayor.

The Narcisa Buencamino-De Leon House.

Just like the Buencamino-De Leon house built in 1913 which was originally three storeys high and now modified to only two storeys high to lessen the cleaning job needed for it, said Josefina David, a great grandniece of Doña Sisang.

However, it does not mean that Florencio is not doing anything about it.

He mentioned giving a copy of the Heritage Act and proposals to the municipal mayor, along with some colleagues, if that is what it takes to have these houses preserved and turn the town into a heritage site.

Currently, there is no response yet.

But the Tourism Officer also mentioned Adaptive Reuse method.

This is a measure that can be applied to the old houses of San Miguel, in which if a house is already so old and is beyond repair, it can be torn down and then rebuilt, following the original design of the house.

Even so, the expenses will be worth millions. ###