Punchline

By September 3, 2008Opinion, Punchline

Casa Real, a ‘legacy’ job for Guv Spines

By Ermin Garcia Jr.

There is one major housekeeping job (in its literal sense) that was made to wait for the likes of Guv Spines, the rare kind who wants to keep working areas of government not only functional, spic and span, but visually attractive.

I refer to the forgotten and abandoned Casa Real building on Nicanor Street in Lingayen, a building that has far more historical importance to our heritage as Pangasinenses, certainly far more than the newly renovated Capitol Building.

Unknown to many, the Casa Real in Lingayen, one of the early public edifices to be constructed of brick or stone masonry, was built in the 1840s by the Spanish government to serve as the provincial seat of government. It was a royal house where the Alcalde Mayor held office as the Provincial Governor and the Judge of the Court of First Instance.

The following excerpts from an article (written by Arabela Ventenilla-Arcinue of the Pangasinan Heritage Society) forwarded to us by PUNCH reader Paul Verzosa, made me realize what many of my own generation failed to appreciate about our Pangasinan heritage.

“The still intact adobe walls, ornate ceilings, the staircase of piedra china steps and wooden balustrades that lead up to the hardwood planks of the second floor are all mute witnesses to the history of the town as well as of the province from the Spanish times to the present…

“In 1886, the Alcalde Mayor was made to retain his judicial function only, that of being the Judge of the Court of First Instance while the executive function went to the Gobernador Civil. Thus, the name Casa Real was changed to Gobierno…

“When the Americans replaced the Spaniards as the country’s colonizers at the end of the century, the building was used for the same purpose but its name was changed to CAPITOL, the same name for their own building in Washington, D.C.”

“On February 3, 1910 the Capitol was the venue of an Exposition that was presented by Americans. It was a very big occasion in Lingayen that attracted many guests from all over the country. Some old people now think it was a carnival because their parents regaled them with stories of seeing wild animals like lions, tigers and elephants for the first time. It was also the first time for the townspeople to see Americans….

“The provincial seat of government moved to the present CAPITOL building in 1919 and the vacated old Capitol (Casa Real) building was used as a public elementary school for about three to four years before it became the JUZGADO that housed the Regional Trial Court Branches I and II, the offices of the Clerk of Court, the Provincial Fiscal and the Municipal Court, among others…

“During the Japanese occupation the Japanese gathered and tortured their prisoners in the Juzgado…

“After the war when the new capitol building needed extensive repair because of damage inflicted by the American naval bombardment, the provincial office had to move back to the Juzgado until the repair work was done…

Now the old building – the Casa Real, Gobierno, Capitol, Juzgado – although in a deteriorating state, is occupied by some municipal government offices like the Sangguniang Bayan, DSWD, and DARAB…”

* * * * *

The PHS has sounded the call to arms to seek the preservation (of whatever is left of it) and to immediately fully rehabilitate it and assign to it the importance it richly deserves before future generations completely forget the historical and political events that helped shaped our province today.

PHS reported that the restoration project was brought to Guv Spines’ attention last year and for some unclear reasons, he did not consider the rehabilitation and restoration of Casa Real a priority. I would surmise, that he thought that money spent on a junk building that provides no immediate benefit to government service should be relegated to the back burner. To a great extent, that stands reason since as a first-termer who wanted to hit the ground running, there were clear priorities he had to pursue.

But now that he has ticked off his major renovation projects off his Christmas shopping list, having reported these in his impressive first 365 days performance, I certainly see no reason why he should not lead the movement today to see to the preservation of the province’s surviving umbilical cord to its glorious past. He can very well launch it while in the US today, linking up with the wide network of Pangasinenses there who can proudly carry the Pangasinan flag for this noble cause – our heritage!

This is one mission for Pangasinan’s soul that Guv Spines’ predecessor failed to do, and definitely he can do better for legacy. Time is ticking away, and the sorely dilapidated building that houses Pangasinan’s soul certainly can’t take any more battering from another super typhoon!

I pray for our children’s children’s sake, that Guv Spines will be up to this new challenge for Pangasinan’s history!

* * * * *

EG Sr. IN NEWSEUM. Maynard Mendoza, a Dagupeño, was recently in Washington D.C. and wrote us about his visit to Newseum, the world’s first interactive museum dedicated to the practice of journalism around the globe. He said he took pride on seeing the name of my father featured in the audio-visual presentation of ‘Journalists Memorial for visitors, acknowledged as one of the press martyrs in the world.

A quick check on the internet shows Newseum is a collaborative project of Diversity Institute, First Amendment Center and Freedom Forum, a nonpartisan foundation established in 1991 “dedicated to free press, free speech and free spirit for all people.” All the organizations are US-based.

The memorial cited:

“ERMIN E. GARCIA, News Organization: THE SUNDAY PUNCH

Died 1966, Location: PHILIPPINES Bio: Shot and killed May 20 by two gunmen as he worked in his newspaper office in Dagupan city. A well-known and highly respected journalist, he had often written columns exposing a money-order racket and a smuggling syndicate. He was 45 and the editor of his publication.”

Thanks for sharing your experience, Maynard.

(Readers may reach columnist at punch.sunday@gmail.com. For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/punchline/
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