REGION 6

WESTERN VISAYAS

SUBMITTED BY:

GERSALIA, CHELSEA
RONGAVILLA, SHARMAE
SANCHEZ, ROXCEL ANN JOY

SUBMITTED TO:

AR. JARINA LYDIA O. PICHAY

 Region 6

AKLAN
“Home of the Pina Fiber and also rambutan Center of Asia”
ANTIQUE
“Gemstone Country”
CAPIZ
“Seafood Capital of the Philippines”
GUIMARAS
“The Mango Country”
ILOILO
“Food Basket and rice Granary of Western Visayas”
NEGROS OCCIDENTAL
“Sugar bowl of the Philippines”
 CAPIZ
“Seafood Capital of the Philippines”

History

Geography

Demographic

Capiz shell

Placuna Placenta, is also known capiz. The Capiz shell has a luster similar to mother
of pearl shells. They are cheaper alternative to glass and readily abundant. The shell is
dyed, cut, and set like stained glass.

One of the most distinct and beautiful architectural details of old Philippine
buildings are the windows made with shell rather than glass.
 A. SPANISH ERA

PAN-AY CHURCH
Also known as Sta. Monica Parish Panay

The Santa Monica Parish Church, also called Panay Church, Spanish: 'Iglesia
Parroquial de Santa Mónica', is a historic church in Panay near Roxas City in
the province of Capiz, on Panay island in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines.
The original structure of Santa Monica Church in Panay, Capiz was built in 1774 by Fr.
Miguel Murguia. However, it was heavily damaged by a typhoon that struct the province
last January 17, 1875. The church was rebuilt in 1884 under the supervision of Fray Jose
Beloso, OSA. The church stands until today.

The church is built of coral blocks and is approximately 70 metres long, 25 m in

width and 18 m in height; the walls are about 3 metres thick.

The church has an unusually large bell, the largest in the country. This was cast by
Juan Reina in about 1884, using sacks of coin given by the people of the town; it weighs
more than 10 tonnes. By virtue of the National Historical Institute Resolution No. 3, the
church was declared as a national historical landmark in 1997 and on July 31, 2001, Sta.
Monica Church was declared as a national cultural treasure by the National Museum.
ARCHITECTURE
Its Architectural style was Filipino Colonial Neo-Classical Baroque.

Dakong Lingganay

Santa Monica Church is also the home

of “Dakong Lingganay” which literally means
‘big bell’. Dakong Lingganay is the biggest of
its kind in Asia which was made out of 70 sacks
of coins, donated by the townsfolk. Fray Beloso,
who at the time was the parish priest of Panay,
commissioned Don Juan Reina to cast the bell.
The bell measures 7 feet in diameter, 5 feet in
height, and weighs 10.4 tons or 23,000 pounds.

The original Dakong Lingganay is

located in the church’s 5-story belfry while the
replica was displayed beside the Museo de
Santa Monica, also situated within the church
compound.

Fuente de Vida Santa Monica Church Wall

The back of the church is a convent and

beside it is an old Spanish well
 ANCESTRAL HOUSE OF MANUEL ROXAS

It is estimated that it was built in the mid-1980's. It belonged to the Acuna Family,
but later came to be more associated with the Roxas Family after Gerardo Roxas, the
father of the future president, married Rosario Acuna. It was in this old house where
Manuel Roxas was born and spent his childhood days.

The house is a typical stone house, which was quite common during the Spanish
era. Its basement, which used to serve as a garage and storeroom, is made of stone,
while the upper floor is made of wood. Today the ground floor houses a law office and
an antique shop. Upstairs, there is really not much to see. The original furniture is gone
and some of the rooms have been restructured. There is a big sala, the room where Pres.
Roxas was born, a family dining room, a wash room, etc. The windows are all made of
wood with panes made of capiz.

ARCHITECTURE

Interior of Ancestral House of Manuel Roxas

Looking at its old wooden structure, its interior

that has been existing for more than a century,
slightly faded off but striking paintings, and the
neatly arranged capiz shells used as
windowpanes.
 Negros occidental
“Sugar bowl of the Philippines”

Negros Occidental, it can be found near the central part of the country. It is one
of the five provinces that compose Western Visayas or Region VI. It is located in the
northwestern portion of Negros Island, the fourth biggest island in the Philippine
archipelago.

It is bounded on the north by the Visayan Sea, and on the south by the Sulu Sea.
It is southeast of Panay Island from which is separated by the Guimaras Strait.

On the east are the Tanon Strait and Negros Oriental, which forms part of the
Central Visayas or Region VII.

The province is composed of 13 cities and 19 municipalities. And its capital is

Bacolod City.

History

Negros Island was originally called “Buglas”, an old native word that is thought to
mean “cut-off.”

It is believed that Negros was once part of a greater mass of land but was cut-off
either by what geologists call a continental drift or by rising waters during the so-called
glacial age.

Among its earliest inhabitants were dark-skinned natives belonging to the Negrito
ethnic group with their unique culture. Thus, the Spaniards called the land “Negros” after
the black natives whom they saw when they first came the the island in April 1565. Two
of the earliest native settlements were Binalbagan and Ilog, that later became towns in
1573 and 1584, respectively. Other settlements were Hinigaran, Bago, Marayo (now
Pontevedra), Mamalan (now Himamaylan) and Candaguit (now a sitio in San Enrique).

Geography

Negros Occidental is located in the western side of Negros Island, the fourth
largest island in the Philippines with a total land area of 792,607 hectares or 7,926.06 sq.
kms. The province is approximately 375 kilometers long from north to south.
 It is bounded by the Visayan Sea in the north, Panay Gulf on the west, Tanon Strait
and Negros Oriental province on the east and Sulu Sea on the south. Negros is basically
volcanic, making its soil ideal for agriculture. Eighty percent of all arable land is cultivated.

Demographic

The population of Negros Occidental in the 2015 census was 2,497,261 people,
with a density of 320 inhabitants per square kilometre or 830 inhabitants per square mile.
If Bacolod City is included for geographical and statistical purposes, the total population
is 3,059,136 people, with a density of 384/km2 (995/sq mi).

Residents of Negros are called "Negrenses" (and less often "Negrosanons") and
many are of either pure/mixed Austronesian heritage, with foreign ancestry
(i.e. Chinese and/or Spanish) as minorities. Negros Occidental is predominantly
a Hiligaynon-speaking province by 84%, because of its linguistic ties
with Iloilo. Cebuano is spoken by the remaining 16%, especially in the cities and towns
facing the Tañon Strait, due to their proximity to the island-province of Cebu. Sagay
City and surrounding places, which both face Iloilo and Cebu, speaks a hybrid language
composed of Hiligaynon and Cebuano. Filipino and English, though seldom used, are
widely spoken and used on both sides of the island for educational, literary and official
purposes.
 Negros Occidental is the second most-populous province in the Visayas after
Cebu, having the second largest number of congressional districts and the 7th most-
populous (4th if highly urbanized cities and independent component cities are included
in the population of corresponding provinces) in the Philippines based on the 2015
Census. As of 2010, the population of registered voters are 1,478,26.

Business and Industry

Negros Occidental is the Philippines’ major sugar producer. Its principal sugar-
growing region is located in the north and west of the island, stretching from northwest
along the coasts of the Visayan Sea and Guimaras Strait, which is one of the country’s
principal lowland areas. Sugar refining has many by-products such as acetylene, fertilizers
and rum.

Fishing is the major industry based in Cadiz City. There are also a number of
fishponds and prawn farming has become a major industry.

Bacolod City is the center of commerce and finance in Negros Occidental. It is

where you find oil companies, factories, bottling plants, allied industrial businesses, steel
fabrication, power generation, agri-businesses, prawn culture and other aqua-culture
ventures.

People, Culture and Arts

Sugar is central to the evolution of the Negrense culture. The affluence and the
prosperity that the industry brought to the province nourished a charming, genteel,
sometimes lavish spirit that sets the Negrense apart from his Ilonggo kinsman.

Negrense are regarded as affectionate, generous, fun loving people who enjoy
the finer things in life. As a labor force, however, Negrenses are highly motivated,
educated, skilled, trainable and entrepreneurial individuals.
 A. SPANISH ERA

BALAY NI TANA DICANG

This the oldest surviving house in Negros, built in 1872 which is so to speak,
unchanged for centuries.

This is the main ancestral house of the Lizares family, one of the most powerful
sugarlords in Negros Occidental. The Lizares family was already into sugar plantations
before the influx of other planters as an effect of modernization brought by Nicholas
Loney.

The Erica Alunan-Lizares house is located in Talisay City, less than 20 minutes away
from Bacolod City. “Impressive” is the word that I can pin to this house. Balay ni Tana
Dicang means, “House of Kapitana Dicang”, with “Dicang” as the nickname of Mrs.
Lizares.

The house is well maintained, truly well-preserved for its age. There are many things
to see in this house but of course, I will not spill all the beans. I will share a few just to give
you glimpse on this old house in Negros and satisfy you when you visit this ancestral house
in Talisay City, Negros Occidental.

Built c. 1872, it's a huge classical balay-nga-bato or house-of-stone that has

maintained its original structure. Its contents, too, are authentic.

The Balay ni Tana Dicang is the ancestral home of Don Efigenio Lizares and Doña
Enrica Alunan.

Restoring an ancestral home to its former glory can be daunting. Such was the
case for this house-turned-museum called Balay ni Tana Dicang in Talisay, a town
located north of Bacolod City.
 With no blueprints as guide, it was only through careful research and unearthing
of period photos that a meticulous vision was pieced together by Adrian Lizares, a
descendant of the owner. Original design features and period antiques have been
maintained or restored. More notably, the commercial ground floor of the house was
turned into an art gallery and a future café, following a tradition that separates the upper
domestic area from the lower space.

ARCHITECTURE

The Lizareses’ Balay Dakô (meaning “big house”) was built around 1880 as a
classic bahay na bato on 6,000 square meters of land in Talisay town. It had a skirt, or
base, of rare coral stone and bricks covered with lime plaster which concealed the
structural posts of hardwood. The upper portion was made entirely of hardwood custom-
cut to size, i.e. the floor planks stretched from one point to the other in one piece—
tindalo/balayong in the reception rooms and narra in the bedrooms. Corrugated iron
sheets, which were new at the time, served as roofing. The house was painted entirely in
various shades of blue and white with lime-based paint.

It has 18 rooms, which include formal living and dining rooms, bed rooms that had
secret passages if someone visits and you don’t want to welcome them, and a nook that
had views of the stairs, the windows, and the kitchens and which served as an office for
Tana Dicang.
Caida

The journey starts in the caida or receiving area

which serves as an anteroom where guests are
received. The arches seem to welcome the visitors into
the space.

Formal dining room

In the dining room, chandeliers

which were turned upside down so
that light bulbs can be changed
easily. Cut-outs in the upper walls
allow air to pass through the rooms.
Long balayong planks cover the floor.

Kitchen

Located upstairs, next to the dining room, the kitchen is an

austere room with primitive cooking implements and an ancient ice
chest.
 Sala major

A formal arrangement of colonial furnishings can be

found in the sala major or main living area. The space served as
a ballroom, a chapel, and a place where wakes were held.

Children's room

The Lizares daughters' rooms retain their original

aparadors and art nouveau-style beds that bear the
initials of each daughter.

The Matriarch

A portrait of Capitana Dicang hangs in the sala major. A

photo of her with President Manuel L. Quezon and Vice President
Sergio Osmena is also on display.

Master bedroom

To the left of Capitana

Dicang's bed is a secret trapdoor
that led to her office on the ground
floor. Communion stands were
placed at the center of the room
because the homeowner often
opted to hear private mass in her
own room.
 Balustrades

Typical of balustrades in other ancestral houses, the trumpet-

shaped examples in the azotea were retained.

Future café

A commercial space at the ground floor was transformed

into a future cafe furnished with modern furniture. It is filled with
Baleña-style ambassador chairs and contemporary art by Mac
Valdezco and Eugene Jarque.

The lower level of the house that is during its earliest times is mainly for
their carosa (carriage) and stocking their farm implements and supplies. Laborers are
only allowed to stay in this part of the house.

Today, it is the reception area for guests and one of its rooms also houses a gallery
of local artists.

There are plenty of things to see in this Lizares ancestral home from their silverwares
to this secret “hole” to snoop on their laborers on the lower ground of the house.
Grand staircase

Neo-gothic carvings decorate the grand staircase. The machuka floor tiles are
original, while the overhead lights are recent additions.

Staircase with wooden balustrade decorated with intricate carvings. If you notice
those metal rods on the step, those are for the red carpet used during special occasions.

Kawa used in traditional way of making sugar

Its wooden floors and partitions are made from Philippine hardwood like narra,
balayong, and molave which we hardly see anymore. In this house, there are planks and
planks of them, all shiny and well-maintained.
 All around, callado ventanillas allow air to
flow freely.

Its Persian style windows have translucent capiz shell

panes.
 BALAY NEGRENSE

History
The Balay Negrense was originally the ancestral house of Victor F. Gaston, a son
of Yves Leopold Germain Gaston and Prudencia Fernandez. The elder Gaston is credited
as one of the pioneers of sugarcane cultivation in this portion of the Philippine
archipelago.

A native of Normandy in France, he married a Filipina from Batangas where he

initially began experimenting with sugar production before relocating to Negros.

Built in 1897, the house was constructed when Victor Gaston's wife died and during
the time when he was residing in his father's hacienda, Hacienda Buen Retiro. The
structure housed Victor Gaston and his twelve children from 1901 until his death in 1927.
Left unused by the family, the structure was abandoned in the mid-1970s and fell into
disrepair until one of the heirs, Msgr. Guillermo Ma. Gaston, together with a group of
concerned Negrenses formed what would later become the Negros Cultural Foundation.
The museum was officially inaugurated on October 6, 1990. Pursuant to Board Resolution
No. 1 dated March 8, 1994 of the National Historical Institute of the Philippines (National
Historical Commission of the Philippines), it was listed as a heritage house.
Architecture

The house is of the type called Bahay na bato, literally "house of stone", however,
reflecting American colonial influences, the lower storey is not constructed of stone but
of concrete. The foundation posts are made out of trunks of the balayong tree, a
local hardwood; the floorboards are of the same material. The house's upper storey is
constructed of wood topped with a roof of galvanized iron instead of tile (reflecting the
late-19th century trend started in Manila owing to an rule discouraging the use of tiles in
favor of then-novel hiero as roofing material in the aftermath of the 1880 Luzon
earthquakes).

Interior Living Space

Second floor of Balay Negrense

 B. AMERICAN PERIOD

THE RUINS

The Ruins is the remains of the ancestral home mansion of the family of Don
Mariano Ledesma Lacson and Maria Braga Lacson. It is situated in Talisay, Negros
Occidental, Philippines. The mansion was built in early 1900s and inspired by Italian
architecture.

History
The ancestral home mansion of the family of wealthy sugar baron Don Mariano
Ledesma Lacson who built it in early 1900s, in memory of his Portuguese wife Maria Braga
Lacson who had died during the 11th child birth. It was constructed on a 440-hectare
plantation in Talisay City, Negros Occidental. It was burnt down by the American colonial
masters during the World War II to prevent its use as military office by the invading
Japanese forces. It burnt for 3 days to its current empty cement shell.

Agra, Uttar Pradesh in India, is known for its Taj Mahal, a white marble mausoleum
built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife. In Negros Occidental, it
has a counterpart of sorts and it’s called The Ruins.
 FROM THE PAST. The fountain. Another remnant from war

Love, so goes a saying, comes from the most unexpected places. That happened
to Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson, who frequented Hong Kong with his friend when he
was still younger. There, the sugar baron met Maria Braga, a Portuguese lady from
Macau. Smitten by her beauty, he courted her and eventually married her.

Don Mariano brought his wife to Talisay and started their own family. They were
blessed with 10 children, two of whom became government officials. When Maria was
pregnant with her 11th child, she slipped in the bathroom and started to bleed. In those
days, in 1911, it would take two days to travel with horse-drawn carriage from Talisay to
the town of Silay, where a doctor lived.

By the time the doctor arrived – on the fourth day – Maria and her baby were
gone. Her death brought Don Mariano to depression; to get him out of it, he embarked
into building a house for his unmarried children.

But before that, he told his father-in-law about the idea. He agreed and even
went as far as supporting the son-in-law in every way he can. Instead of just a house, it
turned to be two-story mansion of Italianate architecture, whose plans could have been
given by his father-in-law.

As his father-in-law was a captain of his own ship, many items from Europe and
China, ranging from machuca tiles, chandeliers, and china wares were carted to Talisay.
He even brought some construction workers from China to help build the mansion.

After 3 years of construction, the mansion was finally finished. The A-grade
concrete and oversized twisted bars used in its construction had contributed much to
the strength of the skeletal frame of the structure. The finishing touches on the walls and
posts were a mixture of pure concrete with egg whites, resulting in a marble-like finish
which can be seen and felt even to this day.

Don Mariano built the mansion in honor of his beloved wife. “Proof of his
unwavering love for Maria, he had their initials molded on every post of the mansion. The
2 Ms, facing each other, stands for Mariano and Maria.
 LASTING LOVE. The two Ms facing each other, a symbol of true love

At that time, the mansion was the largest residential structure ever built in the area.
It was constructed at the center of the 440-hectare farm. When World War II broke out,
Don Mariano and his unmarried children left the mansion leaving everything.

When the United States Armed

Forces in the Far East came to the area,
there were some rumors that the Japanese
forces might use the mansion as its
headquarters. To prevent it from becoming
as such, the mansion was burned.

It took 3 days of burning to consume

all of its roof, ceiling, floors, doors and
windows – all of which were made of hard
wood like tindalo, narra, and kamagong.
When the flames finally died down, only the
following stood the fire: the pillars of the
mansion, the grand staircase, as well as
parts of the two-inch wooden floors on the
second story.

Today, The Ruins – as the mansion is

now called – has gained the reputation of
being one of the top tourist destinations of
Negros Occidental. This, thanks to
Javellana, who believed that it should be a
reminder of the glorious past of the province
and undying love of his great, great
grandfather to his beloved wife.
Architecture
It is built in Italianate architecture.

The mansion of Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson was built in

the early 1900’s but to this day, the 903 square meter structure still
stands tall amidst sugar plantation and its grandeur is a testament
of the lifestyle of the hacienderos.

The structure of what’s left of the mansion is that we now

call The Ruins, withstood the test of time mainly due to the
oversized steel bars and the A-grade mixture of concrete used in
its construction. The wall finishing which were made of egg
whites mixed with cement gave it its marble-like appearance.

Today, it is a tourist attraction for its romantic, yet strong structures. Many
interesting tales and facts lie within the walls and posts that remained of the Ruins.

Portraits of Don Mariano and Maria Braga, for

whom the mansion was built.

Side entrance used to start the tour

The Ruins is of Italianate architecture with

neo-Romanesque twin columns. The couple’s
initials M and M are molded onto the mansion’s
posts.
 The top edges of the mansion also feature a
shell-inspired decor, which in New England
indicates that the home is owned by a ship
captain. This particular design is in honor of Maria
Braga’s father, who was ship captain.

Still in keeping with the marine theme, the

second story of the mansion features a belvedere
that faces the west. According to the tour guide,
Don Mariano would be often seen sitting in the
glassed-in sunroom viewing the ships that come
and go along the coastal waters of Talisay.

The mansion was reduced to its skeletal

frame when in the early part of World War 2, the
United States Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE),
guerilla fighters during the Japanese occupation,
set the mansion ablaze so it will not be used as
headquarters by the Japanese forces.

The fire burned the mansion’s roof and the 2-inch thick wooden floors but the
foundations remained standing, thanks to its oversized steel bars and the meticulous way
of pouring the A-grade mixture of concrete.

The Ruins entrance from the garden

The Balcony

The influence of Greek architecture is evident

as the Ionic columns firmly graces the balcony. Initials
depict the signs on each side in every pillar (MB),
suggesting the unparalleled love of Don Mariano to
Maria Braga.

The interiors

Only the following stood the fire: the pillars of the mansion, the grand staircase, as
well as parts of the two-inch wooden floors on the second story.
Current status

Nick named "Taj Mahal of Talisay", "Taj Mahal of Negros" and "Taj Mahal of
Philippines", it is in the private ownership of great-grandchildren of Don Mariano Ledesma
Lacson and Cora Maria Osorio Rosa-Braga, who have preserved it in its ruinous state midst
of operational farmland, as a tourist attraction that can be visited for a fee or hired for
events. It is open to daily visitors from 8.00 am to 8 pm at a small fee of PHP100 adults,
PHP 50 students and PHP20 children.
THE CHAPEL OF CARTWHEELS