*386. Bale-Matua: THE ARRASTIA HOUSE, Lubao

TO A MANOR BORN. Home of Pampanga sugar planter of Don Valentin Arrastia, Luba, Pampanga. 1925.

 In Lubao, in front of the municipal hall, once stood the palatial house of one of the town’s most affluent Spanish-Filipino family—the Arrastias. The patriarch, Valentin Roncal Arrastia, was a Basque who had come all the way from Allo, Navarra, Spain, to find his fortune in colonial Philippines. He, not only found the wealth he was seeking, but also a Kapampangan wife—Francisca Serrano Salgado of Lubao.

 The couple’s consolidated wealth included their vast hacienda planted with sugar and rice, as well as flourishing fish ponds. Befitting their stature, the Arrastias built a magnificent residence sometime the first two decades of the 1900s, where they raised their 9 children: Carmen (Mameng), Jose (Pepe, father of Ambassador Mercedes Tuason, and Ruby aka Neile Adams, wife of actor Steve McQueen), Justo (founder of Lubao Institute), Benito (died at 19), Crispula (died in infancy), Juanita (Miss Pampanga 1926), Esteban (Teban, father of actress Letty Alonso, married to actor Mario Montenegro), Francisco (died at 12), Enrique (died during the liberation of Manila) and Sebastian (Bastian, whose daughter, Sylvia is married to former senator and radio personality, Eddie Ilarde).

 The Arrastia House, designed by the patriarch no less, was typical of the architecture of the period—a transitional style featuring elements of the ‘bahay na bato” and modern American influences. The ground floor--which includes the receiving room, is made of concrete, its windows protected with wrought-iron grills. The lower floor could be accessed from upstairs through a secret passage that led to one of the storage rooms. The second storey features high frosted glass-paned windows and a wrap-around eave to shade the residents from the harsh Pampanga sun.

Ventanillas protected by ornamental grills had sliding windows to let air in and an enclosed balconaje (balcony) decorated with fretwork could be found on the upper landing. The roof itself, is made from thick American G.I. sheets. The house was fenced with simple metal grills and surrounded with bushes, shrubs and other greeneries. Accenting the garden is stately water fountain, ornamented with classical statues, while a pool is located at the back.

Lavish parties were regularly hosted by Don Valentin for his friends—mostly rich hacenderos and fellow-sugar planters. One such talk-of-the-town affair was the luncheon thrown by the Arrastias in honor of Mr. R. Renton Hind, a high-ranking American official of the country’s sugar industry. The guest list included Pampanga’s well-known sugar barons, mostly from the Del Carmen district which Mr. Hind used to manage: Dons Carlos Layug, Francisco Reinares, Martin Gonzalez, Alfredo Infante, Braulio Mendiola, Carlos Gil, Joaquin Varela, Quiterio Araneta and Leonard Moore.After felicitations were exchanged, the guest of honor was presented with a handsome desk set, and a case containing a solid gold pen and pencil.

 When Valentin and Francisca passed away, the house was bequeathed to the Arrastia children. Daughter Juanita felt most passionate about the house and the memories it held, so her husband, the famed doctor Wenceslao Beltran Vitug, bought out the shares of her siblings; in this way, the ancestral house was passed on to the Vitugs. Seven children were born to Juanita and Apung Beses, and they too, spent their growing up years in the house.

As such, the house teemed with househelps, mostly wives, sons and daughters of sharecroppers who worked on the Arrastia farmlands. A Japanese driver was also employed. When World War II broke out and Japanese forces overrun Pampanga, their officials took over the house and used it as their garrison. Thanks to their Japanese driver who couched for the Vitugs’character, the grand Arrastia mansion was spared from the ravages of war.

Also associated with the Arrastia house and its residents was the late president Diosdado P. Macapagal. It was said that the poor but bright Lubeño boy would pass by the house everyday. Catching the attention of the Arrastias, they would eventually learn of his plight and decided to help him with his school needs. Macapagal graduated valedictorian of his elementary class and finished his high school on 1929 with flying colors. He would eventually take up Law, enter politics and become president-elect in 1963. 

 A succession of Vitug descendants acted as caretakers of the house after the death of Apung Beses (+1986) and Juanita (+1994). The family finally decided to sell their ancestral home in 2007 to Architect Jose L. Acuzar. It was dismantled, transported and reconstructed in Bagac, Bataan as a heritage house of Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar.

*311. BLESS THIS HOUSE

BE IT EVER SO HUMBLE. Angeles-born Msgr. Manuel V. Del Rosario and parish priest of San Roque Church of Blumentritt, Sta. Cruz, performs a house blessing for one of his parishioners. Ca. 1950s.

For many Kapampangans, a house is not a home unless it is transformed into a haven of comfort and safety, protected not just from the elements but from the malevolence of this world, where only the goodness of heart reigns. And, like all Filipinos, he takes the extra effort to ward of negative vibes, even before the blueprint is drawn. As such, building beliefs abound, which have, through the years, served as his guidelines in the construction of their dream residences.

 First, there is the issue of the house location. A house should not be erected at a dead end street, for that conjures the image of a dagger pointing its way to doorway of the house. It is preferred that houses face the east, so that when one opens the windows, he catches the first rays of the sun, a positive beginning. Carpenters contracted to build houses were often required to have their tools blessed, invoking their patron San Jose, for guidance, safety and a job well done. In Betis, the instruments of San Jose’s carpentry trade are processioned by male teens together with his image, although not on his feast day, but on the Monday after Easter Sunday.

 Master carpenters often had a say on the choice of materials to be used for house construction. Wooden posts should be perfect, devoid of nodes and holes, for it is believed that spirits lurk inside these tree parts. Before the first post is planted into the ground, religious medals and coins are dropped into the hole for divine protection. In rural areas, pig or chicken blood is smeared on house posts, a primitive custom done for the same reason.

Stairways should be oriented towards the east; floor planks should be nailed parallel to the steps of the stairs, not perpendicular. Ceiling boards and floor planks should be laid at right angles to each other, lest death overtakes the resident.

To ensure prosperity and avoid bad luck, the steps of the stairs are counted while intoning the words “Oro, plata, mata” (Gold, silver, death). The last step should end with either “Oro” or “Plata”, but never “Mata”. Again, coins are usually cemented on the bottom stair landing to attract wealth and plenty.

The most auspicious time to transfer into one’s finished house is during the time of a full moon. Tradition dictates that the first objects to be brought into the house are a religious statue and a jar of salt. Salt is sacred to many cultures and figures in many superstitious practices; its purifying and preservative qualities make the mineral a symbol of good and long life.

The house blessing itself, is a cause for major celebration. A priest is specially invited to bless the house, room by room, floor by floor, while candles are lit and prayers are said. The reverend goes around splashing Holy Water on the different sections of the house, followed by a retinue of guests and residents. At the end of the blessing, the master of the house throws coins to the guests, who scamper to pick them up. With that generous gesture comes a wish for a life of peace and prosperity under a sturdy roof, in a humble place we call home.

*306. THE GRAND HOMES OF STA. RITA

STATELY SCHOOL. The capacious interior of the Dominican School in Sta. Rita, (the former Colegio de Sagrada Familia) Thans to Duena Pineda for identifying this building. Ca. 1920s.

Sta. Rita is one of Pampanga’s smaller towns, but it is big on charms and local attractions. The more apparent points of interest when one walks its streets are the many heritage buildings and houses, mostly well-preserved and still intact, right down to their interior furnishings and architectural details. After all, this ancient town, which became independent from Porac in 1770, was spared from the damages inflicted by the last World War, as well as by the 1991 Pinatubo eruption that caused much loss to the material heritage of its neighbor, Bacolor.

 As a result, the town has retained much of its colonial structures, ranging from the modest to the magnificent, certainly contributing much appeal to Sta. Rita’s landscape. Noticeable still are a number of native houses constructed in the style of bahay kubos, constructed with nipa roofings, pitched high over a wood structure, elevated by a framework of posts.

The Malig-Lansang House is one such residence that began as a bahay kubo, as seen from its very high pitched roof, thatched with layers of dried nipa. Ceiling-less like a kubo, the house shows transitional features as it was being transformed into a bahay na bato: from its covered zaguan to its rich wall panellings of Philippine hardwood.

Similarly, there are many bahay na bato examples here complete with features like zaguans (ground floor housing processional carriages or storing grains), entresuelo (a sort of a waiting room), caidas (receiving area, from the Spanish word, “caer”—to fall, as this is the part where women let fall of their saya trains), comedors, cucinas and oratorios (prayer rooms).

The Carpio House, with a commanding view of the Santa Rita Church, is a two-storey structure that is noted for its expansive receiving rooms. An exterior cement and tile staircase, added later, takes one to the upper floor which boasts of opulent interiors, with wooden wall panels, oversized windows and floors hewn from redwood planks.

The nearby Maglalang House, built on a spacious lot dotted with greens and trees, reeks of rusticity, what with its wooden capiz windows and wooden banggerahan. Once inside, there are traces of its luxurious past—a pair of Venetian glasses on the wall, a grand piano, an altar-full of ivory santos and sacred art, even a wooden refrigerator from the turn of the 20th century!

 Then there’s the house of grand dame Irinea Pineda, whose brother, P. Braulio Pineda was a prominent religious figure of Sta. Rita. Half of the house has been converted into a school, but the residence has been wonderfully preserved by her descendants—from the sliding capiz windows, calado transoms (woodfret cut-outs panels that allow air to circulate from room to room) and intricate iron grills.

There are also notable houses belonging to two great clans of Pampanga, who are in fact, relatives. The De Mirandas keeps a beautifully-maintained heritage house that is characterized by its capiz windows, hardwood floors and polished wooden walls displaying heirloom art. Although now modernized with air conditioning, the De Miranda house reflects the relative affluence of the town with an economy built largely by farming. A distinguished member of the De Miranda family is Don Angel Pantaleon de Miranda, who, together with his wife, Rosalia de Jesus went on to found the town of Culiat, now Angeles City.

Equally-impressive is the stately house of the De Castros, relatives of the De Mirandas. Upon entering, one is drawn to the art nouveau arch that graces the portal of the house. One ascends a richly-burnished wooden staircase to reach the commodious top floor which houses the sala or living room. The wide double windows of capiz and persiana affords one to see the different vistas of the town. Grilled ventanillas circulate air freely around the house. The walls are handsomely painted with art nouveau floral motifs and on the house posts are mounted old shadow boxes with hand-made assemblages inside showing allegorical wooden figures of the four seasons labeled as Verano (Summer) Primavera (Spring), Otoño (Autumn), Invierno (Winter). The De Castro home used to be a favorite venue for film productions, but the loss of some heirloom items in a shoot starring Aga Muhlach prompted the current caretaker to stop this practice.

Indeed, for most Sta. Ritenos--whether his house is a tiny kubo or a European-style mansion-- there's no place like home. It is good to know that there is a growing consciousness for heritage conservation among the residents, with many original owners opting to preserve their homes than sell them, which speaks well of the locals' pride of place. As one philosopher wrote: "the strength of a nation derives from the integrity of a home"--and when one walks around Sta. Rita to marvel at their well-preserved heritage homes, you can't help but agree.

*301. Bale Matua: THE PAMINTUAN HOUSE

HERITAGE HOUSE. The Pamintuan Mansion once had Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo as its resident. It was here on 12 June 1899 that the first anniversary of Philippine independence was marked, with Pres. Aguinaldo, Del Pilar and other military heroes in attendance. Yearly, the city stages a re-enactment of that historic celebration.

One of the signature landmarks of the city of Angeles is a residential home, a house of memory and history that stands along Sto. Entierro Street, just 2 blocks away from the ancient Sto. Rosario Church, itself a revered structure with a many storied past. This is the Pamintuan House, built sometime in the 1890s by the patriarch, Don Mariano Pamintuan for his son Florentino Torres Pamintuan (1868-1925), who earned his fabulous fortune from his vast agricultural lands.

The biggest and most beautiful house in Angeles sits on  a prime location in the town’s residential district. Here, Don Florentino settled with wife Mancia Sandico Pamintuan (1865-1905) and his family of four children: Jose Ma., Mariano, Paz, Caridad and Natividad. Don Florentino would marry a second time after his wife’s death, to Tomasa Centeno, who would give him 11 more offesprings.)

 One entered the mansion through a grand entresuelo, from where one climbed a massive stairway of solid Philippine hardwood. Upon reaching the landing, the opulence of the house becomes even more apparent: from its metal ceiling with distinct pukpok (repousse) floral designs to the ornamental arches, buttresses and calado (fretwork) transoms.

 The mansion featured modern amenities; it had running water in the bathrooms and kitchen that was hand-pumped from a well and stored in a large water cistern atop another tower. Rooms were illuminated by liquid petrol lamps, lit by the male househelps nightly with the help of ladders. Later, chandeliers replaced these traditional lights with the coming of electricity to the town. The latest furniture pieces were ordered by the Don for the house. The baby’s room was furnished with wooden cribs and the walls lined with expensive ivory santos and other religious statuaries who kept watch over the children. Carved beds, dining tables and chairs filled the rooms, while the walls were adorned with family pictures kept in art nouveau frames.

 Two separate spiral staircases led to a rooftop tower that doubled as a veranda, from where one could take in the fresh air and view the distant townscape. From there, once could descend down the backyard via a two-pronged staircase, leading one to the garden profuse with flowers and fruit-bearing trees. In the capacious garage were stored the carruajes (carriages) and the quilez, a square-shaped rig with seats on both sides, drawn by a horse.

 The House of Pamintuan took on a significant role during the Philippine Revolution when Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo moved the seat of the new and fragile Philippine Republic from Nueva Ecija to Angeles in 1899, for purposes of military expediency. Gen. Antonio Luna reconnoitered the town and chose the Pamintuan House as headquarters for the First Philippine Army. Don Florentino, a member of the Revolutionary Committee, not only opened his house but also took in Aguinaldo, who took temporary refuge in the spacious and sturdy structure. His aide-de-camp, Manuel L. Quezon, on the other hand, stayed in the house of Angeleño, Don Lorenzo Sanchez.

 On 12 June 1899, Emilio Aguinaldo, President of the new Philippine Republic celebrated the 1ts anniversary of Independence by staging a stirring celebration in the area. From one of the secondary windows, Aguinaldo watched a parade of gallant Filipino soldiers under the command of his youngest general, Gregorio del Pilar. Also present were Tomas Mascardo, Francisco Makabulos and the Luna brothers, Jose and Joaquin. In that momentous event, the Philippine tri-color was waved from the window of the Pamintuan house, certainly, a proud moment for the hundreds of Kapampangans who attended the rites—a first in Philippine history.

 When Aguinaldo fled Angeles, the advancing Americans took over the place and the Pamnituan House was commandeered by Gen. Arthur McArthur for his headquarters in 1901. With Aguinaldo’s capture, a period of peace settled over the Islands and the Pamintuans returned to take up residence in their still-beautiful house. Here, they hosted socials and received visitors—including Frank Murphy, the Governor General of the Philippines in the 1930s.

 World War II saw the Japanese invasion of Pampanga; Fort Stotsenburg was carpet-bombed and a regiment of the Japanese Cavalry occupied the imposing mansion. Upon Liberation, the house was rented to the USO, an organization that provided entertainment to American servicemen, and was converted into a clubhouse briefly, until 1947. The following year, the house was leased to a Chinese who transformed it into the Angeles Hotel.

 In 1959, the prime property was sold to Pedro Tablante, but the family never resided in the mansion. Instead, the house was leased to the local government in 1964, becoming an annex of the city hall. When the Central Bank of the Philippines was looking for a suitable location for its regional cash and clearing unit, it considered the historic house as a possibility.

As luck would have it, the Angeles Historical Society (led by its president, Mr. Josel Suarez, Daniel Dizon, Josie Dizon, Bette Nepomuceno, Marc Nepomuceno, Gil Lim, Rosalie Suarez, Racquel Villavicencio and other members ), in conjunction with the National Historic Institute, was looking for a sponsor to preserve the place. The groups met with then Central Bank Governor Jaime Laya, and an agreement was reached with the Central Bank to acquire the property from the Tablante-Tungol family in 1981, with a provision for the buyer to preserve the house, even if it was meant for adaptive re-use.

Work began in 1993 and, on January 4, the Central Bank Regional Cash and Clearing Unit began its operations in the distinguished 19th century Pamintuan House, where patriotic Kapampangans once lived, heroes once walked and where a piece of history was created.

*118. Bale Matua: THE MORALES MANSION, Mabalacat

GRAND DESIGN. The Morales Ancestral Mansion, built by the Atty. Rafael Morales of Mabalacat, for his bride, Belen Lansangan of Sta. Ana in 1924, utilized the artistry of Betis craftsmen and master carpenters.

Along Vicente de la Cruz St., (formerly, Sampaguita St.) parallel to the busy Sta. Ines exit of the North Expressway, lies an imposing mansion that dominates the quiet, provincial air of this narrow barrio road. This is the 2 –storey Morales ancestral house, an 84 year-old stone and wood structure with an architectural style that harkens back to the days of bahay na bato, yet infused with geometric, floral and art deco elements considered “moderne” in those times.

The fleur-de-lis accented wrought iron grilles fencing the house bear the initials of the owner, Don Rafael Morales y Guzman, the youngest son of the town’s principalia, Don Quentin Morales and Dña Paula Guzman. Actually, it was Don Quentin who built the house, commissioning Betis carpenters and carvers under the supervision of Felix Guiao, who himself, was a self-taught woodworker. Upon finishing his advanced law studies at Georgetown University, Don Rafael married Belen Lansangan of Sta. Ana, and settled in this house fit for a king on a sprawling 2,000 square meter property.

From the outside, the pastel green and white Morales house has a linear, simple grandeur—from its straight, solid façade to the tin cutwork that lines the roof’s edge. The geometric feel is broken only by sparse classic elements like the pierced vents in the eaves done in floral patterns. The high windows are notable for their rare frosted white and cobalt blue glass panes, which were fully closed with persianas or louvres when sunlight becomes too harsh. During Mabalacat’s sizzling summers, the ventanillas underneath are slid open to let in more air.

The floor plan follows an inverted F-shape, long and linear, but full of open space. A concrete stairway lads you to the upper floor where the Moraleses took residence. The date of the house’s construction—1924—is part of the wooden cutwork above the double doors fitted with amethyst-colored glass knobs. The Morales fortune was built on agricultural lands and this important aspect of the family history is immortalized in the ornate arch in the ante-sala. The arch carries exquisite carvings of farming icons—a plow, bundles of rice stalks, harrow—arranged almost like parts of a family crest. To the right are the living room quarters including the high-ceiling bedrooms, topped with transomes or air vents to circulate air from room to room.

The expansive dining room features an old-fashioned banggera, where table ware and glasses are left to air-dry. This area of the house figured prominently in the 1972 shooting of the Vilma Santos-Dante Rivero-Charito Solis war-themed movie, “Mga Tigre ng Sierra Cruz”. A utility wing is conjoined with the dining area. A small veranda and the white-tiled bathroom are found here, complete with claw foot porcelain tubs and modern plumbing. Space flows from one room to another leading you to the kitchen and semi-enclosed azotea with stairs that you down almost down the Sapang Balen bank.

In its prime, the Morales mansion was furnished with the latest furniture from the House of Puyat: 6-footer book shelves to hold Don Rafael’s legal tomes, tryptich tocador, plateras and a hat and cane stand. In the ante-sala, the portraits of the family forebears, Apung Palu and Apung Quintin, cast their steady gaze on arriving visitors. A life-size wedding picture of Don Rafael and Dña Belen was the focal point of the living room. A large mirror with elaborate etched designs also was hung there.

The well-tended gardens were lush with rosals, palms, San Francisco, agave and other succulents. Kamias, mango and acacia trees provided fruits and shady canopies all year-round. As late as the 1970s, reunion parties, soirees and basketball games were held in the courtyard and the wide cemented grounds.

When the only two daughters of Don Rafael relocated in Manila, the house was left in the care of relatives and a succession of caretakers. The Castros, first cousins of the Moraleses, resided in the house at various times in the 1950ws, 1970s throught the 1980s.

Sadly today, the Morales mansion is in a state of disrepair, further aggravated by the Pinatubo eruption, the ravages of time and the occasional neighborhood thievery. Whatever was left of the heirloom pieces, the heirs have spirited away to Manila. Even the carved arches have also been dismantled for keeping as architectural relics.

The subdued opulence of the Morales ancestral house and its attendant history may now be a thing of the past, but for the many who still live in this quiet Sta. Ines neighborhood and walk its narrow street, it still exists, albeit dimly, a landmark symbol of wealth and refinement from a genteel era now long gone.


POSTSCRIPT: In late October 2008, the heirs allowed a number of missionaries from a religious order to use the old mansion as their residential headquarters. The house, heavily vandalized by former squatter tenants, is now undergoing restoration--to make it more liveable.

(*NOTE: Feature titles with asterisks represent other writings of the author that appeared in other publications and are not included in the original book, "Views from the Pampang & Other Scenes")

16. BUILDING THE KAPAMPANGAN HOUSE BEAUTIFUL

THE PEDRO MORALES RESIDENCE, designed by the esteemed Kapampangan architect Fernando Ocampo y Hizon, one of the pioneers of Philippine modern architecture. The art deco house was once an imposing presence in Mabiga, Mabalacat and merited a write-up in the Pampanga Social Register of 1936.

Talk about being a Kapampangan “sosyal” in the prosperous pre-war 1930s.The “Pampanga Social Register”, a slim book published in 1936, documented all the names of the province’s leaders in business, in the professions and in the society, a veritable list of Pampanga’s who’s who, all members of the upper crust: sugar barons, politicos, lawyers, doctors, judges, industrialists, even gorgeous debutantes and affluent bachelor eligibles. The pages included portraits, photos of weddings en grande, brief biographical entries and even mansions of the rich and famous.

To my surprise, the list included the names of 2 of our direct relatives: Rafael Morales and Pedro Morales, accomplished brothers of my paternal grandmother Patricia Morales. Both of my granduncles were lawyers, and Rafael or Ingkung Paeng, had his spacious house constructed right next to ours in Sta. Ines after his marriage to Belen Lansangan. The San Rafael Parish in Mabiga, built on land donated by the his 2 philanthropist-daughters, is dedicated to the memory of Ingkung Paeng.

But it was the entry of my other little-known granduncle that stirred my greater interest. Other than the short profile about his person, the book also included a picture of his grand house which once dominated Mabiga’s landscape!

Pedro Morales, born 22 February 1886, was the eldest son of Quintin Morales y Tuason and Paula Guzman y Cosme, members of the town principalia. Quintin was a former teniente mayor of Poblacion and a cabeza of Sta. Ines (Note: Ever since, the Moraleses were a very political family; Quintin’s brother Valentin was a teniente mayor of Sapang Biabas. Their nephew, Dr. Miguel Morales was the 1st elected mayor of Mabalacat after the Liberation, and whose grandson, Marino “Boking” Morales, is the current mayor) . Ingkung Pedro’s other siblings included sisters Clotilde, Maria and Patricia.

As was the custom in the old days, the boys were sent off by their parents to fine schools while the girls stayed at home. Pedro and Rafael studied law at the famous Escuela de Derecho, a non-sectarian school founded by Filipino revolutionists whose vision was to give education that would produce not only lawyers but “true Filipinos”. After graduation, he practiced his profession in Mabalacat where he worked as a Notary Public. But he was also an astute businessman, becoming a successful sugar planter like his father before him. He became a stockholder of the National Life Insurance Company and Provident Insurance Company. Married to Elena Hizon of Porac, Ingkung Pedro raised 4 children: Remedios, Eliseo, Felicidad and Quintin. The couple settled in rustic Mabalacat and when it was time to build their house, they solicited the help of a relative, famed architect Fernando Ocampo, Elena’s first cousin.

Arch. Fernando Ocampo y Hizon was one of the country’s pioneers of modern architecture. His contemporaries included Juan Nakpil and Andres Luna de San Pedro (Juan Luna’s son). After earning a degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Sto. Tomas, he took up and finished architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. He further pursued advanced studies at the American Academy in Rome, then joined the firm of Ballinger and Perrot in Philadelphia in 1922.

The next year though, he returned to the Philippines and was employed in the Architecture Division of the Bureau of Public Works. In partnership with Tomas Arguelles, Ocampo formed his own archictectural firm in 1928. In 1930, he founded the U.S.T. School of Architecture and was a member of the Board Exams from 1929-1930. His contributions to Philippine architecture were honored with a Gold Medal of Merit from the Philippine Institute of Architects in 1953. In his prime, Arch. Ocampo had a list of high profile projects. His best known work is the reconstruction of the Manila Cathedral in the 1950s. He likewise restored the Cathedral of San Fernando after it was destroyed by fire in 1939. Among his commercial projects, the Arguelles Bldg. along Rizal Avenue, Cu-unjieng Bldg. in Escolta and Angela Apartments along Roxas Blvd. Stand out for their sleek art deco design.

For his cousins, Arch. Fernando Ocampo designed for a two-storey house, a sort of a modernized “bahay na bato”, with the trademark art deco feel the architect favored, and which was the vogue at that time. The large, well-ventilated house itself had a frontal veranda and high French windows with frosted glass panes and sliding ventanillas underneath. The mansion was fenced in with iron grills that incorporated the couple’s initials, “M” and “H”. The landscaped garden was lush with flowering shrubs and ornamentals.

Just like his brother, Rafael, Pedro furnished his house with the latest furniture from renown House of Puyat, owned and operated by Gonzalo Puyat and sons, with offices at Rodriguez Arias St. and with a branch in Avenida, Rizal. The paint job was contracted to A.B. Villanueva and Sons. With its imposing presence, the house was a Mabalacat landmark, until the dark days of the 2nd World War. In the last stages of the war, the Japanese started bombing the Ermita district where the Morales family took refuge. While some family members evacuated to Dimasalang, Ingkung Pedro chose to remain in Indiana St., where he met his fate, a victim of the enemy’s rampage, his body never to be recovered.

In the ‘70s, the Morales house was moved by the heirs, piece by piece, to Magalang, where it was unfortunately gutted by fire and reduced to ashes. The only extant picture of the Morales house, which once stood on a Mabiga lot now occupied by the Church of the Latter Day Saints, is reproduced in the Pampanga Social Register book, a pictorial reminder of the glory days when affluent Kapampangans knew how to live it to the hilt by building houses as grand as their dreams.
(5 October 2002)