Tales of revolutionaries, ghosts and dwendes

>At first glance, the century-old ancestral house of Negrense revolutionary leader Gen. Aniceto L. Lacson in Talisay City, Negros Occidental looks like any ordinary bahay na bato. But the house grows on you, especially when you hear the stories.

The house bore witness to over a year of Negrense independence from foreign rule. It was the seat of government for the Republica Cantonal de Negros, which was created several days after the Philippines’ own Fifth of November — Cinco de Noviembre to Negrenses.

The grand staircase of the Lacson house; a peek into the chapel and the azotea, which provides a breathtaking view of the vast sugarcane plantation

General Lacson and his brother-in-law, Gen. Juan Araneta, led a peaceful uprising by bluffing about their firepower on Nov. 5, 1898. The Spaniards surrendered the next day and General Lacson was declared president of the cantonal government on Nov. 27, 1898. The house was known as the Malacañan of the South until the Americans took over, renamed the government the Republic of Negros and finally put an end to the independent government in April 1901.

The house, which has been declared a National Historical Landmark, was built in 1880. Part of it is already crumbling and unsafe for visitors because the foundation is sinking.

Repair and restoration would cost around P50 million over the next five years, says Ana C. Balcells, a great-granddaughter of General Lacson and one of the 19 co-owners of the house, who have formed the General Aniceto Lacson Ancestral House Foundation.

"Unfortunately, there is no money," she told our group of Cebu-based journalists.

The house was among the old houses that we explored during a recent familiarization tour organized by Cebu Pacific Air.

Thankfully, the narrow balcony that goes around the house is still safe, as are the major pillars that were made from coral. As Ms. Balcells led our small group along the balcony, she relayed not only snippets of history but ghost stories as well.

Since she’s family, the ghost stories don’t bother her. In fact, she said she sleeps like a baby on the bed that belonged to her great-grandparents despite old photographs showing her dead great-grandmother Rosario Araneta-Lacson lying on the same bed. She also talks to her ancestors and asks them to help her find the money to restore the house.

On the ground floor of the house is a chapel, which had saved the house from guerrillas who burned the mansions of other sugar barons in Negros during the Japanese occupation. The guerrillas had poured gasoline all over the house and were about to torch it when they saw the chapel. Fearful of gaba or karma, they fled.

The chapel is where family members hold weddings and wakes up to this day, said Eric Lacson, a member of the clan and the official photographer for the trip.

Some ancestors don’t approve of other people using the chapel, however. Just recently, Ms. Balcells approved a friend’s request to get married in the chapel. But when the entourage checked it out one humid morning, they said they suddenly felt cold air rushing at them and saw it take the form of a woman who pushed them out of the chapel. The wedding was moved to another venue, of course.

But Ms. Balcells said she and most family members want to share the house with the nation.

"For me, this no longer belongs to me or to my family. This belongs to Negros, to the Philippines," she declared.

Santo Entierro

At the corridor outside the chapel is a carriage bearing the Santo Entierro, a statue of the dead Christ that was shipped from Spain and is much older than the house. Each Holy Week, the family decorates the carriage and takes it out for a procession, mindful of the people who push and shove in an attempt to get a "miraculous" piece of the Santo or, at least, a flower from the carriage.

Then there is the staircase, considered one of the grandest in the country. It’s made of hard wood from the old forests of Negros and its banister is accented by carvings done by Chinese wood-carvers commissioned by the Spanish architect who designed the house. The staircase leads directly to a huge living room on the second floor. On its walls hang the portraits of the general and his first wife, Rosario, as well as those of their daughter, Carmen Lacson-Claparolls, and her husband, Ricardo Claparolls, grandparents of Ms. Balcells.

Ms. Balcells said her grandmother Carmen took responsibility for the house and seven younger siblings because first daughter Jesusa (two other older siblings died at a young age) left to marry Jose Arroyo. Jesusa and Jose were the grandparents of First Gentleman Jose Miguel T. Arroyo.

The dancing used to be held in the living room while the band played in one of the five bedrooms, which are separated from the living room by oval-shaped wooden carvings to allow better ventilation. One end of the living room and at least two of the rooms, where the floor looks like they would give way any-time, are off-limits to visitors.

The other end of the living room leads to the azotea, which provides a breathtaking view of the vast sugarcane plantations. Ms. Balcells said it was the "life of the house." It used to be filled with tables, chairs and sofas and family members used to spend most of the day in that part of the house. Under the azotea was what used to be the stables. The azotea also provides a view of a small rectangular pool, where all family members learned to swim.

Even the concrete perimeter fence and the massive balete tree near the empty pool in the yard have stories to tell.

"Look closely and you will find some bullet holes in the walls," Ms. Balcells said. During the Japanese occupation, she said, suspected spies were lined against the fence and shot.

As for the balete tree, it was not surprising to learn that there were occupants underneath. But it was amusing to learn that they once complained that the tree’s branches had grown too big and were blocking the sunlight. Ms. Balcells smiled as she recalled how they had to spend a huge amount to have the tree trimmed.

The Lacson house is in Barangay Matab-ang, Talisay City, about a 15-20 minute, seven-kilometer drive from Bacolod City, the capital and biggest city in Negros Occidental. Bacolod is a 35-minute flight from Cebu and a one-hour flight from Manila.


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The Lacson ancestral house

Tales of revolutionaries, ghosts and dwendes