Sunday, April 20, 2008 Charming, old house By Jenara Regis Newman
IN Barili, about 60 kilometers south of Cebu city, there is an imposing old house almost across the municipal hall.
Years ago, no one would bother to have a second look at this house which then had certainly seen better days. But not today, for the house has been repainted, repaired, restored and its grounds landscaped.
It has, in fact, become a favorite weekend getaway for the owners and their friends. And also a favored backdrop for some film and photo shoots (as in Cebu, Pride of Place, which has about a dozen pages featuring the house as a backdrop for fashion designer Philip Rodriguez’ clothes).
It is a prewar (war meaning World War II) house that used to be the Abad family home.
When the family dispersed to other places, it was bought by (the late) Librada Pace, a teacher who used the ground floor to house the Santa Ana Academy. Her family lived on the second floor.
The academy soon transferred near the parish church. Pace herself became, for a long time, Barili mayor.
She built her own house next door and the old house became the Barili Court of First Instance.
When the municipal hall burned down, the house became the municipal hall, until a new municipal building was erected. Then it became an Islacom office.
Current owners Tony and Liz Yu bought the house in 1998 and asked the late Imok Roa to supervise the restoration, using wood from other old houses they bought, while the family firm made most of the wooden four-poster beds.
Other furnishings, like cabinets, some décor items (like a hand-operated sewing machine) and chairs are antiques.
The place has truly been transformed into a charming, old house, graciously welcoming in its hospitality.
