Sneak Peek: This Perennially Flooded Post-War House Is Now a Museum

(SPOT.ph) To complement Valenzuela City’s rehabilitated parks and the recent restoration of Arkong Bato, the Museo ni Dr. Pio Valenzuela is slated to open in January 2023. The two-story bahay-na-bato-style structure will soon become one of the cultural and historical destinations in the city.

The museum project was taken on by Arc Lico under Dr. Gerard Lico, who also worked on Arkong Bato and the restoration of the Rizal Memorial Coliseum. Initially conceptualized by the heirs of Dr. Valenzuela, their wish was for the existing post-war house in Polo to be restored and converted into a museum, though there were not enough funds for this to push through. Eventually, the Valenzuela City LGU stepped in to provide the budget for this project to honor the revolutionary doctor and civic leader.  

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Who was Dr. Pio Valenzuela?

Valenzuela was a Katipunero of the Philippine Revolution, and along with Andres Bonifacio and Emilio Jacinto, was one of the three highest leaders of the Katipunan. Valenzuela ran as provincial governor of Bulacan and served two terms. After retiring from public office, he built a house in Polo, Bulacan (now Valenzuela) where he continued practicing medicine.

This 1920s house was built in the bahay-na-bato style, complete with an azotea and a clinic on the ground floor where he treated his patients. Unfortunately, this pre-war house was burned to the ground by the Japanese in 1945. A more modest house was rebuilt after the war and was inhabited by members of the family after Pio Valenzuela’s death in 1956.

A House Perennially Submerged in Floodwater

The post-war Pio Valenzuela House, though generally intact, presented a unique problem: it was perennially submerged in floodwaters. Because the street was raised several times and tidal floods had seeped in, the house—along with most of its yard—was under waist-deep water. This slowly deteriorated the structure and made the ground floor uninhabitable.

Although the initial plan was to restore the existing post-war structure, the decision was made to rebuild the house as it was in the 1920s. The pre-war bahay-na-bato house best represented the times when Pio Valenzuela was most active as governor and doctor, and gave a glimpse of turn-of-the-century life in old Polo. Clearance from the National Historical Commission was granted for this.

Rebuilding the Pio Valenzuela House From Memory

According to Lico, a hybrid approach was used in building the house-museum. Pio Valenzuela’s pre-war bahay-na-bato was built with the post-war house’s materials integrated into it. The new structure was designed based on the pre-war plan of the house as recalled by Pio’s grandson, Architect Arturo Valenzuela.

This method is what Lico refers to as a framework of "reflective nostalgia."

"It’s a different approach…the stakeholder’s wish to recreate the pre-war house governed over my insistence to retain the 1940s house," he tells SPOT.ph in an interview, explaining that this project is a pioneering approach using intangible memory. In this case, it was a more appropriate solution to the site and overall situation to rebuild the pre-war Valenzuela house, incorporating modern-day building requirements for a museum, including fire resistance, exits, accessibility, acoustics, data connectivity, and other factors.

Lico also cites that some remnants of the pre-war house were also found on the site, including the adobe azotea and an aljibe (old-fashioned well). These pre-war features were given the spotlight in the new museum. Materials from the post-war house, such as the mid-century callado transoms, were incorporated into the interiors while roof eaves were installed in the exterior structure.

A Nostalgic Museum for Modern Times

Now, the Museo ni Dr. Pio Valenzuela stands on the old house’s site, with the entire area elevated one meter above street level to avoid any potential flooding. The structure itself is also raised to metaphorically show the site’s importance in the community.

On the ground floor, you can find the museum reception area, the exhibition areas with dioramas of historical scenes and a see-through panel where visitors can get a glimpse of the old well, a multi-purpose hall, a recreation of Dr. Valenzuela’s clinic and library, and other visitors’ facilities.

On the second floor are all the living areas, much like how it is in a typical turn-of-the-century bahay-na-bato. These living areas are a reconstruction through the memory of the pre-war Valenzuela house. Visitors can also walk through the spaces as one would do in an actual house. Photos, memorabilia, and the doctor's actual medical equipment from the Valenzuela family are displayed in the interiors.

Lico hopes that with this museum and its memories, Valenzuela residents and outside visitors alike will have a chance to learn and get a better appreciation of the life of a revolutionary man, public servant, and the country doctor after whom the city is named.

Museo ni Dr. Pio Valenzuela is at Velilla Street, Barangay Pariancillo Villa, Valenzuela City. It opens to the public in January 2023.