Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar

A flashback catch-sight of the past beyond a facade of the present

Discovering different values and ways to get by in life is really interesting. It widens our perspective.

Stretching far back from my elementary days, my teachers used to say, “Learnings cannot only be found at the four corners of the room”. Aside from textbooks, magazines, leaflets, Bato Balani, educational videos, and Current Events Digest, History can also be experienced through the brick pavements of some of the most beautifully preserved historical sites and places across the country.

Don’t rush to flip another page and join me to a journey that will gives you a proper glimpse of the past, brick by brick, plank by plank, showcasing another Filipino craftsmanship as I take you back to the 18^th century that exerts a strong cultural influence to the society.

Welcome to the Peninsular Province of Bataan. 

Welcome to Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar!

A living open air museum of Philippine heritage, the resort is located on the sea side, along Umagol River in Barangay Pag-asa, town of Bagac, province of Bataan (Central Luzon). The resort is a sentient proof to the Spanish colonial era that lasted for three centuries that made an indelible impression to our country. 

The 400-hectare heritage resort is a home to 27 noble class-mansions, stone and wooden stilt houses, Spanish colonial buildings, beach and pools, a restaurant, a church that was carefully and meticulously dismantled, transplanted from different parts of the country and rehabilitated, reassembled, restored, and formed a theme resort, that leads to the birth of Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar, in 2003.

The man of the hour. According to Wiki, it was Jose “Gerry” Acuzar, the genius behind these majestic landmark in Bagac, who was happened to be the owner of the New San Jose Builders. 

Image from @colololz.com

Wiki time: Each houses was dismantled brick by brick, numbered, transported to his property, reassembled in the same order, and then restored. Acuzar bought houses which were in a state of neglect, from the owners, and in some cases also purchased the lot were the mansions stood. 

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Casas_Filipinas_de_Acuzar

They have stone foundations on the first floor and are made of wood on the second floor.

For parts that were missing, woodwork and bricks were replicated to resemble the original structure.

As we enter the heritage park, we are welcomed with a very accommodating local tour guide (I forgot the name, sorry) but here’s our picture:

2:30PM, the start of the Heritage Day Tour (their fee is included on the package). The tour also includes an eye-opener, theatre-like drama played by young generations portraying the life and teachings of the great Jose Protacio Rizal. 

Image from google

Heritage Tour Schedule: 

Morning

8:30am

9:30am

10:30am

11:30am

Afternoon

1:30pm

2:30pm

3:30pm

4:30pm

The local tour guide (offering Tagalog and English language) shares valuable insights and stories about each casas and their origins, forgotten history and often narrate controversies surrounding the casas. (Reminder: Wear comfortable shoes or flip flops, easy to take off and put on slippers in touring the casas)

One story that strikes me most is the controversy of the old University of the Philippines’ building that was once used for human extortion and pornography during those years.

Picture of the Old UP Hallway

According to the tour guide, some of the houses are originated from the province of Bulacan, Pampanga, Laguna, Cagayan, Nueva Ecija, La Union, and the Old Manila, that was eventually restored and replicated.

Image from @colololz.com

Lists of Heritage Houses according to Wikipedia: (Pictures not in order)

                                                                                   Image from @colololz.com

·     Casa Baliuag 1 (built in 1898; owned by the Vergel de Dios family). The house contains wood carvings with floral motifs. The original owner of Casa Baliwag was Kapitan Fernando Vergel de Dios, then was inherited by his eldest daughter, Juliana VD Reyes. The house was originally situated right across the town's San Agustin church. Family members fondly called it "Luwasan" since it was the house referred to when going towards the town or to Manila. Kapitan Fernando had another house called "Hulo", which was going towards the end of town, or sa "dulo".

·   Casa Baliuag 2 was a house originally in the compound of Iglesia ni Cristo in Baliuag. The house was owned by a Gonzalez

·      Casa Cagayan is a collection of four wooden houses built on stilts. Such houses were usually regarded as houses of poor people in Cagayan in the early 1900s.

·   Casa Candaba (built in 1780, owned by the Reyes family) was home to the Spanish governor general whenever he visited Pampanga.

·         Two houses from Jaen, Nueva Ecija, originated from the Esquivel clan.

·    Casa Lubao (built in 1920; owned by the Arastia and Vitug families) served as storage for rice and sugar, and became a Japanese garrison during World War II. A story goes that a Japanese colonel stopped his men from burning the house in gratitude for the kindness of the Arastia family who, unknowingly, hired him as a driver and gardener before the war. 

·    Casa Mexico was salvaged from a junk shop and reconstructed using an old photograph.

·         Casa Luna (owned by the Novicio family) now houses a museum. Built in 1850, its original location was in Namacpacan (now Luna town) in La Union. The town was later renamed to honour its revolutionary heroes and brothers Antonio and Juan Luna, whose mother was a member of the Novicio clan.

·         Paseo de Escolta used old and new material to recreate commercial buildings in the early 1900s in Manila. With 17 rooms, it houses a hotel within the heritage resort. Its ground floor houses shops.

·   Casa Bizantina (built in 1890) is a three-story intricately designed bahay na bato (stone house) from Binondo, Manila. The Instituto de Manila (now the University of Manila) rented it for elementary and high school classes until 1919 when the institute moved to Sampaloc, Manila. After World War II, the building was leased to various tenants. Before it was demolished in 2009, the house was used by 50 informal settlers.

·       Casa Meycauayan (built in 1913 by the Escota family) was originally built in City of San Fernando in Pampanga. It was reconstructed in the 1950s in Meycauayan, Bulacan, where Rogelio Urrutia bought it.

·      Casa Unisan (built 1839) is the Maxino house in Unisan, Quezon. The house is made of hardwood complete with trap doors. Only one girl survived the massacre on the family and that tragedy makes the house much talked about not only for its beauty. Its ground floor is now a Filipino restaurant called the Marivent Café.

·    Casa Hidalgo (built in 1867) was the first campus of the University of the Philippines’ School of Fine Arts. (Its house owner Rafael Enriquez became its first director). Thence, it has housed the first school of architecture in the country, a bowling alley, a dormitory and flesh joint.

·   Casa Biñan (Alberto House) is a replica of the house of Teodora Alonzo, the mother of the Filipino freedom fighter Dr. Jose Rizal. Acuzar used the original wooden door, stairs and a few planks when he recreated the house. He abandoned the planned donation of the house by its current owner, Gerardo Alberto, amid protests by heritage advocates and local officials.

·         Casa Jaen I is the Don Hilarion Esquivel House built during the 1900s and won as the House Beautiful Award in 1917 by the Sunday Tribune.

Sanctuario de San Jose or the Church of St. Joseph

Touring around photos:

HOW TO GET THERE:

Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar can be accessed in multiple ways.

Reference: http://www.lascasasfilipinas.com

By own car:

Bataan is accessible via the Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) and Northern Luzon Expressway (NLEX). There are buses running direct to Balanga town proper. Balanga Town proper is about 125 kms. northwest from Manila. From Olongapo City, you may take the Victory Liner Buses. Tricycles and jeepneys are the primary modes of transport around Bataan.

By Public Transportation:

From Pasay Rotonda along EDSA (below MRT station)

·         Take Genesis Bus to Balanga Bus Station (trip starts at 4:00am every 30 minutes)

·    From the bus station, take the jeepney going to Bagac or Morong (Bagac-bound has a limited time while Morong-bound has a longer time)

·       Upon reaching Bagac, get down at the Filipino Japanese Friendship Tower and go to the tricycle station

·         Take tricycle going to Las Casas Filipinas De Acuzar (Gate 5 entrance)

-Overall fare: approximately PHP 300+ per person

Via Cubao along EDSA (below MRT station)

·      Take the Genesis Busis or Bataan Transit along EDSA Cubao (trip starts at 4:00am every 30 minutes) to Balanga Bus Station

·   From the bus station, take the jeepney going to Bagac or Morong (Bagac-bound has a limited time while Morong-bound has a longer time)

·      Upon reaching Bagac, get down at the Filipino Japanese Friendship Tower and go to the tricycle station

·         Take tricycle going to Las Casas Filipinas De Acuzar (Gate 5 entrance)

-Overall fare: approximately PHP 270+ per person

Admission Fee: Php. 1, 500.00 (January 7, 2017 update)

They also offer hotel accommodation located inside the heritage park, check their website at http://www.lascasasfilipinas.com

For a non-hassle booking, safe trip and affordable deals:

Check out the Adventurer's Travel Treats by Ms. Laarni Mauricio Piamonte (100% guaranteed, they are beyond accommodating, may pa-yumburger pa!)

Itinerary:
5:40am – Meet up at SM North Edsa 
6:00am – ETD to Bataan
9:00am to 11:30am – ETA Mount Samat
12:00pm – Lunch at Ima Pamangan (Price Ranges from Php.80:00-Php.100.00/Ala Carte Meal and Php.200.00 for the buffet service.) (The foods are great!)
1:00pm onwards – ETA Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar
7:00pm – ETD to Manila
9:30pm – Drop off SM North

      📍 You can also visit their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/adventurerstravel or just click on the tagged profile above, for more updates on fees and tours.

Our dependable travel organizer, Ms. Laarni Piamonte

Las Casas Filipinas De Acuzar
Brgy. Ibaba, Bagac, Bataan
2107, Philippines

Landline: (+632) 332-5286 (+632) 877-4501 (+632) 332-5338 (+632) 355-3032
Mobile: 0917-872-9361
Front Desk Mobile: 0917-537-8418 (Sundays & Holidays only)

E-mail addresses:
reserve@lascasasfilipinas.com
marketing@lascasasfilipinas.com
anneorosco@lascasasfilipinas.com
dos@lascasasfilipinas.com

Travel opens your heart, broadens your mind and fills your life with stories to tell

-Paula Bendfeldt

#cjourney

IG: instagram.com/cleiffordjourney

For inquiries: +639773341716