An ancestral house for many seasons
By Jolene Bulambot
Visayas Bureau
First Posted 22:53:00 01/18/2008
CEBU CITY – In the heart of the bustling city of Cebu stands a 300-year-old ancestral house, slowly restored to its magnificence.
Built sometime between 1675 and 1700, the two-story wooden house of the Yap-Sandiego clan occupies a 280-square-meter lot on Mabini and Lopez Jaena Streets in Barangay Parian.
It belonged to the family of Doña Maria Yap, great, great maternal grandmother of noted Cebuano choreographer and art collector Val Sandiego. Yap married Don Mariano Sandiego, a cabeza de barangay, in the late 1700s.
Val decided to restore the structure, which had been used as a boarding house, after his uncle and aunts agreed to turn it over to him in 2003.
The house, made of narra and other hardwood and roofed with wooden tiles, was already deteriorating and some parts were about to collapse, he recalled.
“(It) was already leaning to a firewall of an adjacent building and it was also sinking. It was really sad seeing the house in such condition,” he said.
Limited funds
With limited funds, Val decided to do the restoration himself together with a lone carpenter. He searched the Internet for information on how to go about it, and the work started three years ago.
“It was a very tough challenge. I wanted to restore the house because this is something we Cebuanos or even Filipinos should be very proud of. This is at least three centuries old and it is still preserved,” Val said.
The first major repair involved the leaking roofing. The wooden tiles were removed and reinstalled piece by piece, said Buen Vaflor, 60, the carpenter.
Despite the hard work and lack of support from expert restorers, Vaflor considers his job a labor of love.
“I do the cementing of the tisa roofing alone, with Val’s supervision. I do delicate carpentry works just to make sure the house will stand sturdy and I am proud that we did it little by little. Look at the house now, it seems the restoration is almost complete,” he said.
Val said the restoration had already cost about P1 million and was about 60-percent complete.
To raise funds, Val opened the place to tourists last month. About 250 people have visited since.
Theme concepts
To make the Yap-Sandiego abode more interesting, Val thought of several concepts. In December, it was lighted up for the Christmas season and had life-sized replicas of camels on the grounds.
Since the “Sinulog” is Cebu’s most popular festival this month, Val transformed the house into a backdrop for his Sto. Niño collection, including an image from Boljoon town made in the 1800s and four 17th-century wooden icons coming from Bohol.
Sto. Niño accessories, such as the urn, crowns made of leather or coconut, and gloves, have also been preserved.
Val plans to feature the Chinese New Year theme in February (a lion dance will be performed) and the Independence Day theme in June (with Philippine flags on display).
In July, he will feature the Feast of St. John the Baptist, patron saint of Parian. The Sandiego Dance Troupe will perform the martyrdom of the saint.
Antique items
The house also has other attractions, such as centuries-old tables and chairs, cabinets, jars, basins, candlesticks, wall clocks, frames, chandeliers, and canopy windows carved with portraits of the Holy Family and the archangels.
A large mirror from the Ming Dynasty dating back to 1600 is also a visitors’ favorite, along with other ancient porcelains from the Yuan and Ching dynasties in the 1800s.
Val’s commitment to the restoration work has inspired his friends to help protect the house. A long-time buddy, Jose Aquilles Hermosa, said: “We are proud of Sandiego. With our 30 years of friendship, I saw in him the dedication and commitment to his craft as an artist and collector. He is multi-talented. He loves this house so much.”
Another friend also suggested that Val seek funding assistance from an association of museums in Belgium.
Val already feels a sense of achievement. “This is the legacy I will be leaving to the Cebuanos. This is my gift to all the Cebuanos. This is not the end but the beginning of the story. They will be proud of their heritage,” he said.