As early as 1800, Baliwag, Bulacan had been a center of commerce and trade in Bulacan. The Glorieta, one of the largest squares in Bulacan, hosted weekly market fairs where products from Manila and other places were traded. Baliwag’s farm products included indigo, sugar cane, rice and corn. Baliwagenyos also indulged in weaving fabrics, spinning cottons, extracting sesame oil, milling sugar, weaving hats, among others. The industriousness of its citizens and the town’s strategic location brought in unprecedented progress.
Thus, by 1850’s Baliwag, became one of the most prosperous towns in the Province of Bulacan. It boasted of beautiful mansions dotting its major thoroughfares, some of which have beautiful gardens and orchards. These mansions were owned by the town’s wealthy mestizo citizens. These houses were generally classified under Spanish colonial architecture which continued to be in vogue even until the turn of the 20th century.
In time, however, many of Baliwag’s beautiful mansions fell into a state of disrepair and neglect by its present owners. Oftentimes, these mansions were converted into commercial stores because of their prime locations. The grand Rustia Residence, for instance, now housed a beauty parlor. A shoe repair shop clinging on its side is a reminder that its glory is now a distant past. Many other Baliwag mansions suffered the same fate. In 2006-2007, two (2) of them were sold, dismantled and transferred to Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar, a Museum Resort in Bagac, Bataan. For Baliwag, Bulacan, they are now lost beyond recovery. The descriptions of the two houses are as follows:
Casa Baliuag I: The Residence of Kapitan Fernando Vergel de Dios
In Barangay Poblacion, at the corner of Burgos St., just across the old San Agustin Church in Baliuag, Bulacan, once stood a proud mansion - the residence of Kapitan Fernando Vergel de Dios. Built in 1898, the mansion was of Bahay na Bato architecture - a sturdy and elegant version of Bahay Kubo with thick adobe ground floor walls and windows of large glass panes. It once served as the Municipal Hall of Baliuag, Bulacan in the 1950s.
The mansion was a landmark in Baliwag, Bulacan. It had an elaborate adobe facade decorated here and there with floral motifs, which was in vogue during those times. The intricate wood carvings at its bandejas (wood sidings) perfected its highly floral motif. The lines of the house are decisive and contrived, creating an elegantly proportioned piece of architecture. The ground floor is enclosed with thick adobe walls that terminate in rows of horizontal moldings that seemed to distinctly delineate the wooden second floor.
The zaguan, or the ground floor, had bodegas and spaces for carriages and processional andas and carrozas. The walls of the zaguan are punctured with symmetrically distributed arched doors in harmony with the generous window openings on the upper floor. The doors are decorated with adobe-sculpted pots overflowing with flowers. The front part of the zaguan was also called luwasan because it was where Baliwagenyos waited for their ride to Manila. And taking advantage of the many people who stood in front of their house, the owners converted the zaguan into a photo studio and a post office.
The second floor of the house presents a tasteful ensemble of huge panels of sliding windows of wood-framed glass panes; ventanillas protected by wrought iron break the monotony. On the far left of the house is a porte cochere, a portico-like structure at the secondary entry to the house where a horse or a carriage can drive in so that the owners can enter the building protected from the weather. Above the porte cochere is a balcon enclosed by railings of terracotta balusters. Almost unique to the Casa Baliuag I, were the life-size wooden sculptures of Filipino women carrying a basket on their heads. These sculptures decorated the porch as fake posts.
In time, however, the mansion became a victim of neglect of its owners. Some of its architectural details were sold, lost or stolen. The mansion’s contents were gradually lost. Fortunately, before it was totally gone, it was sold to Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar and was dismantled and moved to Bagac, Bataan in 2007.
Casa Baliuag II: “Iglesia Ni Cristo House”
Casa Baliuag II’s original owner is still to be ascertained. The house was originally located within the compound of the Iglesia Ni Cristo Church in Baliwag Bulacan. As such, the house was used as a function hall by the members of the Iglesia Ni Cristo. It was dismantled, transported and reconstructed at Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in Bagac, Bataan in 2006.
For most bahay na bato, the zaguan, or the ground floor space of the house, is usually used as a general storage area for carriages, carrozas, grain harvests and old furniture, among others. It usually is accessed through a large doorway with a double-panel door. It is usually enclosed with almost a meter-thick walls which elicit feelings of structural stability. With its thick walls, the zaguans are generally dank and gloomy.
But Casa Baliuag II defies all foregoing stereotyping. Its zaguan is just a rectangular open space with two large arched doorways at both ends. From the outside, it looked like a vaulted carriageway with a rectangular house on top. The zaguan’s adobe walls were punctured with symmetrically distributed arched doorways in harmony with the generous window openings on the second floor. Thinner Adobe walls were buttressed with thick adobe posts giving sense of stability. The zaguan had neither doors nor windows, just open arched doorways. Caruajes and carrozas may enter freely at the entrance and may drove straight out at the rear end of the house. Thus, it looked like an train station, rather than a house.
The entrance to the house is not through the zaguan but at the right said of the house. Wide balustraded stone steps with tile flooring led up to a landing. From which, a narrower wooden steps protected with wood handrails and balusters of the same design as those in the ventanillas led up to the main door of the second floor. The second floor had a complement of caida, antesala and sala, comedor, bedrooms and kitchen.
The grandeur of this bahay na bato comes from its proportion and the exquisite wood detailing of the interiors. It is a wonderland of architectural details from the walls to the ceilings. Grand in scale, the elements of lightness, translucence, efficient ventilation and spaciousness without extensive physical space. The principles of tropical architecture are embedded in this house in an almost effortless manner.
The World’s Gains
These two (2) houses are now well-preserved in Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar. Their uniqueness as dwellings and as objects of history are now appreciated by tourists, both Filipinos and foreigners. For sure, these houses’ lifespan would be longer in Bagac, Bataan than if they were in Baliwag, Bulacan. They are Baliwag’s lost, but the world’s gains.
