INTRODUCTION

One way that contributes to the enlightenment of communities, is through their search for information

and knowledge on what happened, what is happening and what will happen in their

surroundings. Thus, one of the principal interests of an enlightened or informed community is the study of local

history(Hobbs, 1962). The field of local history is subsumed with importance, as active interest on

it rises. Undoubtedly, one of the contributory factors to the rise of this active interest, as suggested in 1959 by

Hoskins (cited by Hobbs, 1962), is that “people become more inclined to study something of which they can

reach, easily grasp of and can find a personal and individual meaning”.

This, personal and individual meaning‟ may include the experiences and chronicles of these people, or

the events and happenings in the locality they belong to. This is in general part of the story of what we so called

the local history. Mibolos (1998) attributed local history to the collective experiences of a certain group of

people.

People expand their interest to study further something that they can easily understand

and relate with, leading the field of local history to a new approach of attempting to study the

growth and development of the locality including its institutions and all its manifold aspects.

This is done through field work, co-operative study, examination of original records, and

rewriting of social and economic history. In this manner, the study of local sources adds to the

knowledge of the mentioned subject (Hobbs, 1962). The expanded interest in local history is

then transformed into a wider and deeper sense, introducing the birth of „local studies.‟ The

term, local studies, “covers the local environment in all its physical aspects, including
geology, paleontology, climatology and natural history, and in terms of all human activity within

that environment, past, present and future” (Martin et al., 2002, p.1). Local studies do not only

cover the local history and the past, but rather includes the present and future information about

a locality.
 BRIEF BACKGROUND

The Clarin Ancestral House is the residence of the Clarin family, a prominent family of

politicians from Loay, Bohol Philippines. The most visited of all ancestral houses in Bohol,

along with the President Carlos P. Garcia Heritage House in Tagbilaran. The house is located in

the municipality of Loay, around 18 kilometers from Tagbilaran, along Kanipaan Road. It is

easily located because it is a short walk across the Tagbilaran East Road from the Loay

Municipal Hall. The house dates back to the year 1844(encyclopedia). It is traditional

Filipino Bahay na Bato with long slanting roofs covered in nipa leaves. The house has a coral

stone foundation, rough-hewn wooden posts, wooden walls and floors of wide hardwood planks

and a receiving hall with a high vaulted ceiling. It is made up of two floors: the living quarters

being on the upper floor. The upper floor has large and wide windows made up of Capiz

shells which let the sunshine in if closed. There are about half a dozen four-poster antique

wooden beds reflecting the austere Boholano aesthetic.

Currently, a souvenir shop and a cafe, Cafe Olegario, is located in the first floor of the

house to accommodate tourists and visitors. The cafe serves native Boholano delicacies.
 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

For the remain within it is legal boundaries, while maintaining fairness between the

cultural and artistic party and the limitations as described by the law but also considering

the culture and the arts as a flourishing sector that requires the guidance of the law, the

following objectives are:

1. To utilize the copies of the laws related to cultural heritage sites, including the local

government policies so that the researcher will understand the limitations and

specifications of the topic.

2. To study similar models from other existing organizations to generate suggestions as

courses of action to the study’s problem and by associating it with the ancestral house as

a case study; and

3. To suggest a course of action via the local policies that benefits both the cultural heritage

site and the local government along with the Tagbilaran City’s citizens.
 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The results of the study will be of great benefit to the following:

STUDENTS: The result will provide the students with knowledge on the background

and law of the ancestral house.

ADULTS: The given data will help the adults of what is the importance of the ancestral

house that comes from our ancestors. Guide them to give some care and love on

the things that is old.

C.
 REVIEW RELATED LITERATURE

The Clarin Ancestral House is one of the oldest structures in Bohol and the only

ancestral home on the island declared as a National Heritage House by the National

Historical Institute in 1998. The house was owned by Don Anicieto Clarin, the first civil

governor of Bohol (appointed 1901) and his wife Margarita Butalid. Hoping to win over

the prominent and respected Don Anicieto to their cause, it was the only house spared by

the American troops when they burned down Loay during the Filipino-American War in

1901. However, the house traces its history long before its most famous occupant live

there. The prominent Clarin family took up residence in town after its patriarch married

the daughter of a landed Loay family (Luspo 2006), and the house itself was probably

built as far back as 1841. With wooden walls and floors, and a mighty thatch roof

supported by hardwood trunks, the house has largely retained its mid—nineteenth-

century appearance and historic furniture. The house, in 2006, was carefully brought back

its upper floor now house an impressive museum with period furniture and memorabilia

belonging to Don Anicieto and two of his descendants, Senators Jose A. Clarin and

Oleagario Clarin, who rose to national fame during the Commonwealth and postwar eras.

The ceiling of the main staircase has a painting of the State of Liberty, and the main

entrance door retains its ingenious closing mechanism. Meanwhile, the ground floor

bodega has been converted into a very scenic café with a lush garden. Carved round

window openings in the wooden wallboards admit light into the interior with a forest of

thick hardwood trunks. Painted in a color scheme typical of the mid—nineteenth century

and with a picturesque little courtyard in the center of the U-shaped floor plan, the Clarin
House is undoubtedly one of the most important cultural heritage sits in Bohol. Thus, it is

frequently visited by local and international tourists to its original state by restoration

architect German Torrero. A younger “cousin” to the nearby Clarin House, the

FERNANDEZ HOUSE occupies a prominent position in town. Facing the plaza, it

reflects the high social rank of its builders in prewar Loay society, municipal Judge Jose

Fernandez and his wife Eustacia Clarin. Built around 1920, the T-shaped structure with

its four bays is an impressive sight in the town center. It is surrounded by a well-

maintained, fenced, and landscaped garden. Despite its immense size, the house is rather

simple in layout and design, its only decorative components being plain X-shaped

calados above the unusual swing-out glass window. It is unclear whether these windows

are the original ones; as windows odf prewar houses almost always consisted of sliding

panels, they may be the result of a later alteration. The ground floor, once an open space,

has been rebuilt in concrete when it was converted to residential use. It does, however,

harmonize well the wooden upper floor, as it follows the latter’s layout with four bays

separated by protruding concrete columns. Also, the new ground floor is kept plain four

bays separated by protruding concrete columns. Also, the new ground floor is kept plain

and simple, and even recessed, thus creating a volada so typical of Filipino vintage

houses, though uncommon in Bohol. The current metal is new; the original roof may

have been a thatch roof, or a steeper one of galvanized iron sheets before it was changed

in the late 1960s (Luspo 2006). With its immense collection of memorabilia of the late

Senator Clarin, the Fernandez House is lovingly maintained as the family’s ancestral

home, and its antique ambience carefully preserved.

 THE LAW

The National Cultural Heritage Act, officially designated as Republic Act

No. 10066, is a Philippine law that created the Philippine Registry of Cultural

Property (PRECUP) and took other steps to preserve historic buildings that are over 50

years old. It was signed into law on March 25, 2009.

National Cultural Heritage Act

Congress of the Philippines

show

Long title

Citation Republic Act No. 10066

Territorial extent Philippines

Enacted by House of Representatives of

the Philippines

Enacted December 14, 2009

Enacted by Senate of the Philippines

Signed March 26, 2010

Signed by Gloria Macapagal Arroyo

Commenced April 10, 2010

Legislative history
Bill introduced in House Bill 6733

the House of

Representatives of

the Philippines

Bill citation An Act Providing for the

Protection and Conservation

of the National Cultural

Heritage, Strengthening the

National Cultural Agencies,

and for other purposes

Bill published on August 25, 2009

Introduced by Sonny Angara (Aurora)

First reading August 26, 2009

Second reading August 15, 2009

Third reading October 5, 2009

Bill introduced in An Act Providing for the

the Senate of the Protection and Conservation

Philippines of the National Cultural

Heritage, Strengthening the

National Commission for

Culture and the Arts

(NCCA) and its affiliated

 cultural agencies, and for

other purposes.

Bill citation Senate Bill 3014

Bill published on January 26, 2009

Introduced by Edgardo Angara

First reading January 26, 2009

Second reading February 2, 2009

Third reading February 9, 2009

Conference December 11, 2009

committee bill

passed

Date passed by November 10, 2009

conference

committee

Keywords

Philippine Registry of Cultural Property, cultural

preservation

Status: In force

DEFINITION OF TERMS

I. BAHAY NA BATO
 Refers to the 19th century townhouse during the Spanish colonization in the

Philippines. These residential homes were inspired by bahay kubos, native chieftain houses,

Spanish homes in Intramuros, and monasteries. It is a mix of wood and stone, and the types of

wood and stone may vary depending on the available resources of the area. The term “bahay na

bato” directly translates to “stone house”.

II. Cultural Property

Shall refer to all products of human creativity by which a people and a nation

reveal their identity, including architecture and sites or human activity [churches, mosques and

other places of religious worship, schools] and natural history of specimens and sites, whether

public or privately owned, movable or immovable, and tangible or intangible (Republic Act

10066, Section 6o, pp. 3-4).C.

III. Heritage Zone

Shall refer to historical, anthropological, archeological, artistic, geographical

areas, center district, and settings that are culturally significant to the country, as declared by the

National Museum and/or the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (Republic Act

10066, Section 6q, p. 4).

IV. National Cultural Treasure

 Shall refer to a unique cultural property found locally, possessing outstanding historical,

cultural, artistic and/or scientific value which is highly significant and important to the country

and officially declared as such by the pertinent cultural agency (Republic Act 10066, Section

6ee, p. 5).

V. National Historical Commission of the Philippines

Is one of the significant organizations in accordance to national property and will be

referred to as the Commission throughout the rest of the research paper. Other organizations are

the National Museum, Philippine Registry of Cultural Property (PRECUP), and the National

Museum, among other.

 OTHER MATERIALS

Visitors can view the collections of the Clarin family displayed inside the house.

Most of the exhibits are numerous artifacts dating back to the American era. There are antique

jars, lamps, and rocking chairs, a huge pot filled with American ere centavo coins, kitchenware

and furniture. The bedrooms have old richly carved wooden beds and a collection of old Filipina

dresses and barongs.

HOW TO GET THERE

From Manila, the trip to Tagbilaran takes about an hour or so by plane. By sea It takes

over a day. Buses, jeepneys, and multi cabs play the interior route to and from Tagbilaran City.

Vans and taxis are also available for travel outside the Tagbilaran City. From the city, you can

use public transport to get you to the town of Loay.

 Conclusion

The Clarin Ancestral House is the description of national heritage sites, there may be

somethings that the cultural organizations overlooked such as the financial status of the current

owners. The proposed budget for Culture and Arts for 2017 sank from P188 million in 2016 to

P31 million(Geronimo, J., 27 September 2016). Rather than claiming the title of national

heritage sites, the researcher suggests that the owners (who can already financially maintain their

ancestral homes)continue with what they are doing since they are already exempted from

residential taxations. Perhaps they should instead follow the models of the non-government

organizations that are handling national pieces of art. Or, if they do successfully claim titles of

national heritage sites, perhaps the budget could be allocated to the local government unit and be

allocated into the preservation and reconstruction of some cultural sites that were demolished

prior to being declared local cultural sites.

 Bibliography

Akpedonu, E.; Saloma, C. (2011). Casa Boholana: Vintage Houses of Bohol. Quezon

City:

Ateneo de Manila University Press.