CII. Save the Malolos Casa Tribunal!

In March 2007, I wrote about the original mid-19^th century Malolos town hall, the Casa Tribunal.  (Re-read the article here.)  At that time, I had been able to visit because the owner-heirs were trying to sell their historic property, with its unique and exceptional architecture, and were welcoming inquiries and visits from interested parties, or the merely curious.  (I was both.)

While the structure was far from being in tip-top shape then, the fact that it was completely of adobe stone made it easy to imagine a smooth restoration, in case anyone was interested.  Sadly, in the more than three years since then, the property had remained unsold.

Unfortunately, earlier this year, the abandoned structure suffered two devastating fires (one just after midnight on Holy Wednesday), likely set off by drug addicts who had reportedly been trespassing into the uninhabited property and had been using it as their den.

While the stone walls were expectedly relatively unscathed,

the non-original galvanized iron sheet roof had curled up and had gotten blown off in the heat of the fire

and the likely original wooden beams within the structure had been efficiently turned into antique charcoal.

On the bright side, quite literally, at least one could now take a good look at the inside of the structure with the benefit of natural lighting, something that I could not do three years previously.

For example, one could now make out where original beams and floorboards were, and in some cases still are.

There is also what appears to be an original wooden door still in place, giving clues as to how the second floor space must have been laid out.

A pair of floor-length windows that opens out into one of this structure’s unique pot-bellied balconies on the second floor is another fire survivor.

In one of the rooms on the ground floor, towards the rear of the structure, one can make out a trap door of sorts in what might be a partly or fully original wooden floor.

An iron-barred window on the ground floor waits to be reconditioned after surviving the heat of the fires.

The opening up of the roof also revealed detailed stonework running the length of the walls on the second floor, just under the ceiling.

Also revealed were newer plastered hollow-block walls and doorways, likely erected a few years ago when the structure found use as a warehouse of consumer merchandise.

The right-side courtyard that was originally an open space and was subsequently roofed in, now serves temporary duty as storage area for stacking wood parts blackened by the fire.

At least the pot-bellied balcony’s lower member is still there.

Another unexpected benefit of the fires was that the previously off-limits rear portion of the property, impenetrable because of cobwebs, garbage, overgrown plants, and the darkest darkness, has now been exposed to cleansing sunlight.  We access it through this relatively narrow passageway at the right edge of the structure.

While passing through, one looks upward to see yet another bricked-up pot-bellied balcony, easily re-opened up by its next owner.

Emerging into the backyard,

we see that the rear of the property is basically a garbage dump for the remnants of the fires.

At the same time, we receive yet another unintended benefit of the conflagrations – we see evidence of how large the property really is, all 971 square meters of it, and that the Casa Tribunal only occupies about a third of the land area, by the very edge of Pariancillo Street in front,

leaving lots of space at the back for a matching period-style annex, or even an expansive garden.

From the backyard, one also gets a better view of the Casa Tribunal itself,

and appreciates how respectably imposing it must have been in the mid-19^th century, even from behind.

It is also good to finally see windows and balconies that have not been bricked up in this rear elevation, unlike with the façade.

The next occupant should not worry too much about the soot and fire stains – these are easily tackled in a proper restoration.

Being able to walk around the property also reveals that the Casa Tribunal is a lopsided T-shaped structure, with uneven arms.  The base of the T is the part that restricts access to the backyard to just a narrow passageway, as we saw earlier.

The left arm of the T is the large main hall, the only part really visible from Pariancillo Street in front.  The right arm is the most rearward part jutting out into the backyard.  And peeping through the ground floor opening of this part of the structure is what appears to be the original wooden staircase of the Casa Tribunal.

If really original, this indicates that the entrance hall was at the back rather than at the front or the side as one may reasonably expect.  The backyard is wide and expansive, but just a little beyond the rear neighbor is the venerable Malolos River – could that have been the originally intended access point to the Casa Tribunal in the early- to mid-19^th century, when perhaps all of the surrounding land all the way to the river’s edge was its front yard?

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Given the Casa Tribunal’s clear historic significance, it is obvious that it should be rescued from its current forlorn state, and be restored properly.  The large land area of nearly a thousand square meters should be an attraction, and yet it is hoped that some enterprising future owner does not ignore the structure’s history and just demolish the ruins and sell off the adobe blocks!

There is a bit of help from the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 (Republic Act 10066), which explicitly prohibits the demolition of historical structures, though as other recent cases have demonstrated, it is powerless in the face of greedy money-grubbing owner-sellers and insensitive buyers.

So what is the bottomline here?  Land in this Malolos neighborhood along Parianciallo Street has been professionally appraised (in May 2010) at between PHP 8,000 to PHP 10,000 per square meter, resulting in a valuation of roughly PHP 8 million to PHP 10 million for the Casa Tribunal’s lot.  This is not small change but appears to be quite reasonable for its location, size, and especially historical significance.

Therefore, is there any private individual out there ready, willing, and able to become the next owner of the Malolos Casa Tribunal?  Adaptive reuse to convert it into a private residence is a creative move that is certain to be rewarded with lots of living space and a sizeable and airy private garden in the back.  This is an instant colonial-style adobe castle nearly ready to move into!

Or may someone convert it into a school, with plenty of space still available in the back for additional classroom buildings?  Malolos is a major educational center in the region, attracting students from all the neighboring towns and provinces and even Metro Manila, with its numerous schools and colleges growing and thriving.  This indicates that there is still plenty of unmet demand, so that new entrants can make a go of it, or that existing players can expand and open a campus in the attractive town center, which is where the Casa Tribunal is.

Or should we be forced to ask the City of Malolos, under its new and very young (only 32 years old) Mayor, the lawyer Christian Natividad, to become the guardian of this heritage structure by default, and to fund its acquisition, restoration, and adaptive reuse?  Some of the city government’s offices can then relocate into the restored structure, neatly reverting it to its original municipal-government purpose.

Whichever of these options it is, let’s hope that it happens soon, before yet another Malolos heritage structure disappears.  (See Requiem for a House.)

Can YOU help save it?

Originally published on 15 August 2010.  All text and photos copyright ©2010 by Leo D Cloma. The moral right of Leo D Cloma to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted.

Original comments:

rally65 wrote on Aug 15, '10 Most banks will give you 70% of the appraised value, so financing its acquisition is not a major problem.

victorancheta wrote on Aug 16, '10 i just hope whoever buys this doesn't get the bright idea of razing the building into the ground. is this building protected by some local law?

overtureph wrote on Aug 16, '10 How did the present owner's ended with a structure that was formerly owned by the government? This would be a nice public library or a Malolos cultural center.

rally65 wrote on Aug 16, '10 Yes, Republic Act 10066 as I cited in the text. But for a number of reasons, implementing its "no-demolition" provision does not seem to be as straightforward as one would think. In the end, it still depends on right-minded sellers and buyers. A supportive local government also helps.

rally65 wrote on Aug 16, '10 The history of its ownership is murky, but one of my guesses is that the American colonial government sold off the property in the early years of the 20th century, when it was acquired by the Adriano Family, in whose names the original 1920's titles are. My other guess, as I said in the previous article from 2007, is that this was really Adriano Family property all along, and they had simply lent it to the newly-constituted Malolos municipal government in the mid-19th century. When it was no longer needed, it simply reverted to the owners, whose present-day heirs are now trying to sell it. rally65 wrote on Aug 16, '10 One potential disincentive is that Malolos already has a fair number of "heritage" public buildings, e.g., the 18th century Casa Real, the late 19th century Barasoain Church, the early 20th Century Capitol Grounds And then there is also the Paulino Santos-Alberta Uitangcoy House just two short blocks from the Casa Tribunal, which the Women of Malolos Foundation is trying to restore as a historic site (as Alberta Uitangcoy was the de facto leader of the famed "Women of Malolos").  But then, a town can never have too many well-preserved historic structures-- especially if they're already present and only need to be restored. zambaleno wrote on Aug 20, '10 Why can't the Adrianos just sell the building that way the structure itself can be saved. C'mon, 8 MM and that is just for the land that nobody really wants. And you haven't even factored in the cost of restoration yet! Granted labor is not that expensive in the Phil but the materials will surely set you back! rally65 wrote on Aug 20, '10 The building itself has no value. It is the land that is valuable and has been professionally appraised at between PHP 8,000 to PHP 10, 000 per square meter, which is fair for this location. In fact, I believe that there would be some prospective buyers for the land without the building, but they probably hesitate to be the direct cause of the building's demolition, for obvious reasons. So what is needed is an interested buyer who would pay the fair market value of the land, but whose real goal is to acquire and restore the building. Since the building is already free, the only additional cost apart from the purchase price of the land is the restoration cost of the building, which I don't believe will cost very much -- adobe of this type is still plentiful and not exorbitantly priced in Bulacan quarries.

antigualla wrote on Aug 23, '10 Leo, could it be the dream ancestral house you have always wanted to own? Its as if it has fallen on your lap, dear friend, and with your financial savvy, you can easily get that loan to buy and restore this Adriano property.

rally65 wrote on Aug 23, '10 We certainly and seriously considered it, but the absence of parking space was a real deal-breaker for us, considering that we have several processional karos in the family collection, not to mention the usual motor vehicles. The expansive backyard, certainly more than large enough to accommodate all these vehicles, is accessible only via a small pedestrian passageway. As the photos show, even a tricycle with sidecar will have a difficult time getting through, if at all. To remedy this, one would have to demolish some of the original structure, which I am loath to do myself. The reward goes to the prospective owner who can creatively get around this constraint (or who doesn't have any vehicles or any need for parking space!).

juntolentino16 wrote on Aug 29, '10 Its must be better to keep the HISTORICAL HOUSES In MALOLOS CITY, Para naman lumakas ang torismo sa ating Lungsod at Lumawak ang Kaalaman ng ating mag-aaral Tungkol sa History ng ating Bayan, Kaya dapat ay ibalik sa dating anyo at gawin Museum dagdag income sa torismo ng ating Lungsod.

rally65 wrote on Aug 29, '10 I agree, however, this endeavour requires funding, which is not always readily available. Hopefully someone will step forward and save this structure.