The Advocates for Heritage Preservation went to San Pablo on the third week of October to experience what San Pablo has to offer as far as tourism is concerned. San Pablo is a first class city and one of the oldest cities in the province of Laguna. It may not be top of mind as a weekend getaway for a group of family and friends, which is a pity, because San Pablo really has many points of interest to offer.
Located in the south of Laguna, San Pablo is nestled at the foot of three mountains: Mount Banahaw, Mount Maikiling and the Sierra Madre Mountains which provide many natural wonders aside from a fertile landscape that allows lush growth of flora. Known by a monicker as the City of Seven Lakes, many visitors go to tourist attractions in San Pablo that are more popularly known and more expensive, when one can just stroll around the city and admire the heritage and natural beauty of the city. San Pablo's seven lakes are : Sampalok Lake, Bunot Lake, Palakpakin Lake, Muhicap Lake, Yambo Lake, Pandin Lake, Kalibato Lake. This visit only allowed us a visit to Sampalok Lake which had a promenade are and some select areas for souvenir shops and quaint little cafes. The view along the boardwalk was divine. But I'm getting ahead of my story...
The tour of San Pablo was organized by AHP members who are from the area. Mark Alvero Fule, Earl Gamboa, and his grandfather who we fondly call Lolo Naning. The first stop was at the Prudencia D. Fule Memorial National High School. A large part of their ancestral home remains standing in disarray because some families under the employ of the school have used this ancestral home for their own use. The school being established on the site was said to have been made possible through a land grant by the venerable Dona who never married.
Our next site visit was the Fule- Malvar Mansion. Previously owned by Eusebia Fule and Potenciano Malvar, the mansion is a study in successful heritage preservation. The stately mansion was purchased by an insurance corporation and repurposed as their headquarters in the area. On special occasions, the mansion is opened to the public. We toured the house and its manicured grounds which was picture-perfect for the AHP visitors.
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Fule-Malvar Mansion
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After the mansion, the group went to the Asinas heritage home. Nestled amid lush fruit trees and stag- horn ferns is a well restored old home purchased from another town in Laguna (Lumban to be precise) in lieu of a Barong Tagalog by its new owner in the person of Mike Asinas. It was an auspicious day for Mr. Asinas while visiting Lumban. The former owner sold the home lock, stock and barrel including the contents of the home. He transplanted the home to a family lot within the boundaries of San Pablo City. This is however, not open to the public. We were special guests for the day. and what a lovely acquisition it was... It seems that this home and another recent acquisition had been there for a century or two... The more recent one Mr. Asinas reconstructed in his lot was purchased right across the Prudencia Fule Memorial National high school.
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| Asinas Home |
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| New acquisition |
Lunch was at Sulyap Café, not too far from where we were. These re-purposed homes had an old world charm that was perfect for the restaurant's native cuisine. We lunched on Pako salad (edible fern) with slivers of salted egg and slices of tomato and onion served with a vinaigrette dressing, eggplant omelette, grilled pork belly and some rice. We also had some time to view the cafe's collection housed in a mini museum. Some personnel served as guides to the museum which had an extensive collection of houseware and furniture. I think they are also in the process of organizing their own bed and breakfast soon.
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| Sulyap Cafe |
After lunch we headed to the old Municipal Hall of San Pablo which is now a museum. This beautiful art-deco building sits on a hill overlooking the entire town with a view of Sampalok lake. Discovered by Juan de Salcedo in 1571, the village became a parish by 1586 and then a municipality in 1647. It was named San Pablo de los Montes after St. Paul the first hermit. placed under the jurisdiction of Batangas in 1756, it was returned to Laguna in 1883. They then established a municipal government under Atty. Inocente Martinez in 1899 and Marcos Paulino in 1902. The locals worked for independence of the province from Laguna froom 1926-1940 until on the 7th of May 1940 the charter bill sponsored by Assemblyman Tomas D. Dizon was signed by President Manuel L. Quezon under the City Charter of San Pablo or Commonwealth Act No. 520.
We were feted with a couple of local folk dances by school kids from San Pablo and allowed to meander around the museum and perhaps purchase some local delicacies and souvenirs. Then we walked towards the Sampalok Lake to enjoy the view and relish in the cool breeze around the lake. We spent a lot of time taking snapshots of the post-card pretty scene and then we motored off to the St. Paul the Hermit Church.
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| Sampalok Lake |
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