ILOILO City – The city government plans to restore and eventually lease the Lacson ancestral house beside the century-old San Jose de Placer Church and facing the historic Plaza Libertad.
Mayor Jerry Treñas said some city government offices may be relocated at the ancestral house which is just a few meters walk from city hall.
He recently conducted an ocular inspection and had started reaching out to the owners.
“Katahum. Ginsulod ko. Unfortunately daw may buslot ila atop,” said Treñas.
The Lacson ancestral house was built in bahay na bato style (stone and concrete base, elevated wooden quarters) common during the Spanish colonial period. A distinct feature is its deep awnings that serve as protection from the tropical weather.
However, the house’s flat window panels, ornate floral detail and wrought iron ventanilla reflected a subdued design approach of the early American colonial period.
The current owners are heirs of the original Lacson house owners.
“The Lacson house is a heritage house. I am talking to the owners, there are many of them,” said Treñas.
The restoration of the two-storey Lacson ancestral house will complement the city government’s program of reviving Iloilo’s cultural treasures.
Treñas said the second floor of the house can be used as a function room.
“I’m looking at a long-term lease, maybe 30 years,” he said. “At the same time we are preserving a heritage structure.”/PN
