Full transcript
0:11Back in 2011,
0:12I went to the town of Biñan, Laguna
0:15to do a documentary.
0:28More than a decade later, a lot has changed.
0:33It's become a progressive city...
0:40with an active community.
0:47But I still saw remnants of the past...
0:52that I thought I would never see here again.
1:36In my last visit here,
1:38the house was in the process of demolition.
1:40The roof was gone
1:42and no one could say what its fate would be.
1:53Greetings!
1:54Welcome back to the historical mansion.
1:56Thank you, thank you, thank you.
1:58Welcome, Sir.
2:01On our last visit,
2:02there was a gate here with a sign that said,
2:06"Do not trespass. Private property."
2:09We knocked but no one answered.
2:21At the entrance,
2:22we were surprised to see pieces of the house strewn about.
2:32The staircase and floor were extracted.
2:35The walls and ceiling
2:37that had witnessed history were also gone.
2:42Even the foundation was being dug up.
2:49The historical mansion in Biñan was slowly being demolished.
3:00So this was where we entered then...
3:02and it was in total disarray.
3:05The building looked like there was no hope for restoration.
3:13But today,
3:15it has a performance space where even rehearsals are held.
3:23Back then, entry was strictly prohibited.
3:26Today, it's open to the public and can be used for free
3:32with the support of the local government.
3:49Didn't realize it's so wide.
3:50Yes. We're on the second floor...
3:51Biñan LGU employee Vicky Pacris gave me a tour.
4:00She recalls the time when she used to walk by the house
4:03in its dilapidated state.
4:11I did not know that this was the ancestral house
4:15of Teodora Alonso.
4:16I only learned about its importance to Biñan
4:23and to our Philippine history from your documentary.
4:27So is this the main living room?
4:30You transformed it into a kind of gallery.
4:32Yes. The artworks here were made by Biñan's local artists.
4:42The plaza is beautiful.
4:46As a Biñanense,
4:48I've become so proud to introduce myself
4:52as a native of this town and to tell others
4:57that this place is part of our soul as Biñanenses.
5:03There are antiques in the house but they're donations
5:08and not part of the original ancestral home.
5:11So these were given?
5:13- Yes. - This is also old wood.
5:15Yes.
5:16This was a lamp.
5:19It's beautiful.
5:31These are all handcarved.
5:35Even this mirror.
5:38Are these all donations?
5:39- Yes. - The interiors were removed.
5:43Yes.
5:44From here, Sir, we can see the whole Biñan plaza.
5:54This is quite a view they had then.
6:01Has that church always been there?
6:03Yes.
6:03- The same structure? - It used to be small.
6:07You made it bigger?
6:09Due to natural calamities like earthquakes
6:13and two incidents of fire, they rebuilt it.
6:19During the Spanish occupation, towns like Biñan were planned
6:24with a church and plaza at its center.
6:28The offices, government buildings and houses owned
6:38by illustrious families also surrounded the plaza.
6:49Vicky was part of the cultural mapping conducted for Biñan.
6:53Can you tell me about the cultural mapping done here?
6:57The cultural mapping was done in a six-month period.
7:03It identified the historical treasures of Biñan,
7:06the natural heritage, the tangible immovable,
7:09the ancestral homes and buildings.
7:15They learned about the bell that Dr. Jose Rizal
7:21wrote about in his novel Noli Me Tangere.
7:26It is said that the town of Biñan was the basis...
7:33of the town of San Diego in the novel.
7:36So way back during Rizal's time here,
7:38a heavy downpour descended on the town one day
7:42and lightning struck the bell tower of Biñan.
7:51It struck the bell of Sta. Barbara.
8:07The church allowed us to climb the bell tower.
8:33This is still the original bell.
8:38It says 1841.
8:41Locals knew what really happened in the Biñan Church
8:50and this is the proof.
8:51The strike cracked the bell and it's still there, see.
9:00Like the church, there's a deeper history hidden
9:04in the mansion of the Albertos.
9:09Based on the family tree of Rizal done in 1896,
9:13his last year alive,
9:15nearly all his family members were accounted for,
9:17including his father, Francisco Mercado.
9:19But there was no branch extending
9:22from his mother, Teodora.
9:26This mystery led me to meet Dr. Bimbo Sta. Maria.
9:35He dug up the stories about the Rizal family
9:38because he did not want people to forget
9:41that Rizal had a connection to Biñan.
9:45Doc was among those against the demolition
9:48of the heritage house.
9:52Rizal's mother played a big a role in his becoming a hero.
10:00But then you hear people say that the Alberto house
10:03did not really belong to Rizal, only to his mother.
10:05How can you just say "only?"
10:06She's only the mother.
10:08That hurts, you know, for a woman who sacrificed a lot
10:14for her son, for her family and for the whole country.
10:19If there was no Rizal,
10:20there would have been nobody to wake up the minds
10:22of Filipinos to the right for equal treatment.
10:28Jose Rizal was 10 years old when an event took place
10:32that would create a gash in his family's history.
10:35He had an uncle who was his namesake, Jose Alonso,
10:38the brother of his mother who frequented Spain.
10:41Jose Alonso's wife was also named Teodora, Teodora Formoso.
10:47According to a history book written by Gregorio Zaide,
10:50Jose Alonso traveled to Spain a lot.
10:54He left his wife Teodora and their children at home.
11:00Sometime in 1872,
11:03Jose Maria Alonso came home from his trip to Europe
11:10and found the house deserted, empty.
11:14Teodora!
11:16Teodora!
11:17Sir! Sir!
11:18The wife was not there.
11:20The children weren't there.
11:21Nobody was there.
11:23Good evening, sir.
11:25What's going on? What's the problem?
11:27Because...
11:30Madame is not here.
11:31The wife went with another man, from Gregorio Zaide's book.
11:36He was the one who said it.
11:39What?
11:40It's sad that Jose Maria Alonso was cuckolded by his wife.
11:48It was said that Teodora Alonso, Rizal's mother,
11:53favored her youngest brother the most.
11:56So in that situation,
11:57the older sister came to his rescue
11:58even if it went against the wishes of her husband,
12:02Francisco.
12:02Actually, I think I read in Mrs. Bantog's book
12:06that Grandfather Kikoy tried to stop Grandmother Lolay.
12:11They called each other "Lolay" and "Kikoy."
12:13He told her not to meddle in the conflict between spouses.
12:16The wife wanted to split up, to go with another man.
12:20But Teodora refused to be deterred.
12:26Doc believed that in his wrath over what his wife Teodora did,
12:30Jose Alonso imprisoned her in one part of the house.
12:35Jose let me out!
12:37Jose I don't want to be here.
12:39Jose!
12:42He asked his sister Teodora Alonso to take care of his wife.
12:46And she stayed with her while Jose Maria was gone.
12:51This story was also passed down to Barbara Gonzalez,
12:54a great-granddaughter of Rizal's sister, Maria.
12:58Jose Alberto had a wife who was a peninsular.
13:02He kept travelling to far places, I think to Madrid.
13:08One time, Teodora brought a snack to her sister-in-law.
13:11with her eldest daughter Saturnina.
13:17So one day, Teodora Alonso and Saturnina went to their house.
13:23They made her a snack.
13:25I brought a snack in case you're hungry.
13:29The snack was given to her.
13:32She took it and put it down on the floor.
13:34She called her dog.
13:37Ronquillo!
13:39Ronquillo!
13:40Ronquillo, my dog.
13:43Come here, come here.
13:45The dog ate the snack and died.
13:47Because of what happened to the dog, Teodora Formoso
13:51accused Teodora Alonso of plotting to poison her.
13:55There's poison in the food!
14:01In her anger, she called the head of the Civil Guard.
14:06It was said that he was her lover.
14:08He arrested Doña Teodora on the accusation
14:10of attempted poisoning.
14:15The accusation of poisoning Teodora Formoso
14:17became the reason why Teodora Alonso was imprisoned
14:22for two years.
14:32And even after Teodora confessed,
14:34she was not released as promised by their mayor.
14:43My question is, why did she feed the food to the dog
14:50if she didn't know it would kill the dog?
14:53Right?
14:53Maybe she poisoned the dog earlier
14:56before she fed her the snack they brought.
14:59It was a frame-up?
15:00Maybe.
15:06More than a century has passed.
15:11The house once owned by the Alonsos
15:14became the property of the Albertos.
15:17GMA News caught up with Mr. Gerry Alberto,
15:21during the height of the demolition issue.
15:24He was the owner of the house, a great-grandson of Jose Alonso,
15:29the youngest brother of Teodora Alonso.
15:33This is not the house of Teodora Alonso.
15:35Teodora Alonso was not born here.
15:38Although she is my grandmother.
15:40But not every house in the Philippines is a heritage house.
15:46Teodora Alonso was never born here.
15:49She was born in Santa Cruz and the worst part
15:52is that her birth certificate in Santa Cruz was turned down
15:57because of some family reason.
16:02In 2010, when word got out
16:04that the house in Biñan was being demolished,
16:10Dr. Sta. Maria's group protested.
16:12The group was the United Artists for Cultural Conservation
16:15and Development of Biñan.
16:17We mounted a cultural protest to let the public know our stand
16:24and get them to join our advocacy
16:28to save the Alberto House.
16:30They held musical and dramatic performances
16:33in front of the Alberto House.
16:39More than a decade has passed since we first interviewed BJ.
16:44He is now the head of the
16:45Biñan City Culture, History, Arts and Tourism Office.
16:50The fight Doc Bimbo began to save the mansion
16:55is still fresh in BJ's mind.
16:58For one, Doc Bimbo's efforts became the instrument
17:08to drumbeat our group's advocacy.
17:10Our group researched and tried to open the eyes
17:17of the Biñan locals to the importance of it.
17:20Our group also coordinated with the local government
17:24during that time to really save the house.
17:30Aside from Doc Bimbo and BJ, Biñan's mayor gave his support
17:35in the fight to save the Alberto House.
17:38They passed a city ordinance declaring the Alberto Mansion
17:41a local heritage site.
17:45We expropriated.
17:46We were issued a writ of possession.
17:48Today, regardless if you're from Biñan or not,
17:53you can enter the Alberto Mansion
17:56which in the past,
17:56only peninsulares were permitted into.
18:01But many objected to the project.
18:05Some people said it's unnecessary
18:07and a waste of money.
18:08Very few LGUs can or want to expropriate property.
18:14First and foremost, it can result in fewer votes
18:16and true enough, I almost lost a second term.
18:23Every time the city lacks something,
18:25people point to the house and say
18:28that we shouldn't have done it.
18:30Now they can see that it complements the whole plaza
18:34and established the identity of Biñan.
18:37It's proof that a city can grow without abandoning its heritage.
18:45And you can see that business around the plaza is thriving.
18:53Even I didn't believe that there was hope
18:57to save the mansion in Biñan.
19:00We can grow without turning our backs on our past.
19:06That's why I was surprised to receive an invitation
19:09from Doc Bimbo for the mansion's inauguration in 2019.
19:14This is quite a victory because for one,
19:17it's the power of the eminent domain which the LGU used
19:21to save the house and there are not a lot of cases
19:25where the power of eminent domain
19:28for heritage conservation has been used.
19:30Now it's a testament of people power for heritage.
19:34This was made possible by the people who linked arms to fight
19:41for the pride, identity and history of Biñan.
19:47How important was Doc Bimbo Sta. Maria's role in the effort
19:52to preserve the building?
19:57He was the one I consulted.
20:01He accompanied me to NHI, NCCA and the National Museum.
20:11I didn't expect that the inauguration
20:13would be the last time I'd see Doc Bimbo.
20:17He died of liver cancer in April 2020,
20:22four months after the inauguration.
20:25He loved antiques.
20:28They made him happy.
20:30He loved culture. Anything about the past.
20:33He was a doctor but in Santa Cruz he devoted himself
20:40to culture because he really loved it.
20:45That time, his condition was really bad already
20:50but he pushed himself to come.
20:52His feet were so swollen.
20:59But he forced himself
21:00because he wanted to see the place again.
21:05So he came even when he was already in the worst shape.
21:11Even though the land occupied by the Alberto House
21:14already has a writ of possession...
21:17a big part of the mansion had been moved.
21:21Where is it now?
21:37Around the plaza, some business people blended their buildings
21:44with the ancestral house.
21:47After the Alberto Mansion was restored,
21:49many of the old houses here were also declared as heritage sites.
21:55Some of the owners even volunteered on their own
22:01to fix their houses themselves.
22:04The fact is many parts of the mansion are just replicas.
22:09Which ones are original and which are not?
22:13The staircase is original.
22:15This column that has an arc is original.
22:20I have a picture of it.
22:21The big wood pieces are original.
22:25A big part of the original house
22:27was moved to a community of ancestral houses in Bataan.
22:33The Alberto Mansion was renamed there as Casa Biñan.
22:38When you talk about heritage, you talk about conservation.
22:42You talk about preserving it on site.
22:46What has been preserved in the Alberto Mansion is the site,
22:50the memory of the local people.
22:57So even though much of the original structure
23:03is not there anymore, I would still consider this
23:07a heritage structure because heritage encompasses memory.
23:15When can you say that a building is authentic?
23:18We noticed that many parts were replaced.
23:22Since a lot of the original structure is gone,
23:26is this building still authentic?
23:28I would say the location takes the biggest percentage.
23:32When you step here,
23:34you know that Jose Rizal also set foot here.
23:39The newly-built mansion is not just an ornament in their town.
23:45Biñan residents can also use it.
23:49It's in the middle of the city.
23:52With the revival of the Alberto Mansion,
23:56the people of Biñan became interested
24:00in embracing their identity and heritage.
24:05On the one hand, the house could have been demolished
24:09and a new mall or cafe be built on the land...
24:15but for this progressive community,
24:17the house was not just a simple structure or home.
24:21It shows that they value their identity and history.
24:52In the Biñan plaza, in front of the mansion,
24:55I saw that it is possible for progress and modernity
25:01to co-exist with heritage.
25:08Among the people we interviewed in 2011, two have passed away.
25:15Doc Bimbo...
25:18and Barbara Gonzales,
25:20the great-granddaughter of Rizal's sister.
25:24Many die without seeing their dreams come true.
25:29In Biñan, we can say that those who fought were not let down.
25:38Who would have thought that after 10 years...
25:40Because the battle took for 10 years.
25:42Who would have thought that after 10 years,
25:44the house is still here.
25:46Back then, after the interior was demolished,
25:52the structure was no longer sturdy.
25:58The roof caved.
25:59After the roof caved, it was waiting to be saved.
26:03All along, we thought there was no hope for it.
26:08Some who fought are gone
26:10but what they fought for is still standing.
26:15We will all be gone some day.
26:17But there will always be some who will fight and dream
26:22for our country...
26:25and succeed.
26:29From Biñan, Laguna,
26:31I am Howie Severino
26:33and this is I-Witness.