THE HOUSE ON ZAPOTE STREET

Truth as they say, is stranger than fiction. Pablo Cabading’s murder of his family and son-in-law seems
like something out of an Amityville-esque movie (which was also based on the DeFeo Murders in 1974).
Only this time, it is no mystery why one man decided to pull the trigger and put bullets into his own
family. In 1961, almost all of the newspapers in the country featured one article on their front pages
with the headline that goes along like this: COP KILLS DAUGHTER, SON-IN-LAW, HIMSELF. This is in
reference to one of the horrendous crimes that shocked 1960’s Philippines: the carnage in the house on
Zapote Street. In January 1961, then newly-weds Dra. Lydia Cabading and Dr. Leonardo Quitangin were
killed by Lydia’s father, Pablo Cabading in Lydia’s room at the house on Zapote Street. Lydia’s mother,
Anunsacion, was the sole survivor of the ordeal. After shooting at his family, Cabading then turned the
gun into himself and pulled the trigger twice, once on his temples and once near his chest. It is a story
that culminated into a horrifying end, all rooted from one man’s possessiveness and jealousy. Since
then, this case has been featured in several works such as Mike de Leon’s fourth feature film released in
1981, Kisapmata (Arriola 272). Another notable work that was inspired by this event is a reportage by
Nick Joaquin titled, The House on Zapote Street.

In the House on Zapote Street, Nick Joaquin does not just start his story on the day of the crime. He goes
way back into the first meeting of the two main players in the story, Leonardo and Lydia. He starts by
chronicling the relationship of the newly-weds, from their first encounter at UST then to their wooing
days. In this stage, Pablo Cabading comes into the equation. An officer of the then Manila Police
Department, Pablo Cabading has been initially described as a “fine strapping man, an Ilocano, who gave
the impression of being taller than he was and looked every inch an agent of the law: full of brawn, and
guts and force, and smoldering with vitality.” (Joaquin par 4). Lydia’s mother, Anunsacion, has been
characterized as a mousy woman who only beckoned at the commands of her husband. At first,
Leonardo wondered if this was where Lydia inherited her quiet nature, however, as he finds out soon
enough, there is much more the to the silence of the two in the House on Zapote Street.

The tension in the story starts during the married life of Leonardo and Lydia. Instead of finding a place of
their own as most couples would, the pair were persuaded by Pablo Cabading to stay in the House on
Zapote street, insisting that he built the house for her daughter to live in. it is during this living
arrangement that Leonardo started to sense something wrong with the household, with his father-in-
law placed at the centerpiece with every member of the household bending to his will. At first, it
seemed like adjusting to the eccentricities of his father-in-law was a natural part of adjusting to the
married life. However, it soon became apparent that Pablo Cabading’s attitudes were not mere
eccentricities. He was a dangerous man with his own troubles that is more than capable to bring about
harm to the people around him.

Pablo Cabading’s controlling and subsequent violent attitude evokes a sinister feeling as you read
through the text. His actions were unpredictable to say the least. This is remarkable given that Joaquin
was able to piece together a visage of a man through the stories he gathered from other people. His
reportage become something of a different caliber compared to other reports of the crime during its
time. Newspaper reports of the time often wrote Cabading as nothing more than a name on paper. He
was depicted as this policeman who had murdered his own daughter and son-in-law before killing
himself. In Joaquin’s House on Zapote Street, Pablo Cabading become more than ink on paper, he
becomes flesh and blood. He is given dimensions and a character aside from being a murderous
policeman. Instead, he becomes this figure that evokes dread and consternation. The juxtaposition of his
character and his wife’s also makes for a more vivid imagination of what the Cabading household
 THE HOUSE ON ZAPOTE STREET
would’ve looked and felt like. This is something that would not have been observed in ordinary news
reports. Where most reports usually focus on the when, what, where, why and how, reportage seems to
go beyond the five questions and fill in the gaps. It gives the readers more details and fuels the
imagining of the crime. In a sense, a more intimate connection is established between the reader and
the case.

Another interesting aspect of this story is its title, The House on Zapote Street. The House itself was
described as an architectural work that subscribed to the trends during the sixties. The fancy furniture
and suburban design of the house signified that the Cabadings have ‘risen high enough to justify their
split-level pretensions but were expecting to go higher’ (Joaquin par 6). In the course of the story, the
House on Zapote Street does not only serve its purpose as a setting. Somehow, the structure itself
becomes an entity that would trigger some sense of doom as you read through the story. It somehow
became an extension of the patriarch’s imposing and frightening nature. Architectural structures that
have witnessed murders often become the center of attention. Murder houses, as they call it. These
houses have witnessed deaths and it is believed that such occurrences linger in the structure or the
house. However, it is not only the carnage of Leonardo, Lydia and Pablo that seem to stay within the
walls, but the household itself led by Pablo Cabading.

Nick Joaquin’s reportage on what happened that faithful day in 1961 immortalizes the events in a way
that news reports are not able to. Through a varied and vivid description of not only that events that
transpired that day but also of the events that led to its end, Joaquin renders the events at the House on
Zapote Street in living memory.