A president lived here

Although the late President Ramon B. Magsaysay was born in Iba, Zambales, he spent much of his childhood in a nearby town called Castillejos. Magsaysay was seven years old in 1917 when his parents moved into a Spanish-style home located on the main road of the town.

There is no record of when the house was actually built, but the architecture of the house is a fusion of Spanish and American designs. The house has since been converted into a museum which contains various memorabilia of the President.

A perennial visitor to the house and the town is Francisco Magsaysay, the 40-year-old grandson of the President. The only son of former Senator Ramon Magsaysay, Jr., Francisco, or Paco, as he is called by everyone, does a lot of business in Castillejos and the neighboring towns of San Marcelino and San Narciso. He owns a cable TV service company, and he’s usually seen dining with the local folks in one of the town’s many restaurants.

He occasionally drives by the ancestral home to explore the place. "It was just a short time ago when I discovered Zambales," he explains. "I grew up in the US, and whatever I know about my grandfather and this place was just relayed to me by my parents."

Paco says he’s at an age when a person longs to escape the daily grind of urban living. He has a home in Alabang, but the place is getting to be as busy as Makati. Thus, he always looks forward to driving to Zambales where he has an office and a small apartment. The drive to the province itself is a pleasurable experience, thanks to the new Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway, which has cut traveling time to Castillejos to just over two hours.

An avid photographer, he usually gets behind the wheel of his SUV in the early morning and drives out of Castillejos to the Zambales coast to shoot the scenery. He’s also shot several pictures of the ancestral house. "I’ve never slept in this house," laughs Paco. "It’s now being maintained by the National Historical Institute."

Prior to being taken over by the institute, the Magsaysay clan had meticulously maintained the house. However, it was partially destroyed when the nearby Mt. Pinatubo erupted in 1991. Due to the ash fall, the roof caved in. It took a few years before the house was completely restored by both the NHI and the family.

The house now has a new roof, ceiling, hardwood flooring, and a fresh coat of paint. Most museums, particularly the Rizal home in Calamba, present the look or lifestyle of a particular era. The Magsaysay museum, on the other hand, features a variety of eras, of which the President was a part of. For instance, the look of the house is unmistakably early 20th century. The furniture and accessories on display, however, aren’t limited to a single time period. In the living room are two hi-fis of 1950s vintage. A record collection is displayed at a nearby table. And due to the intensive restoration, the interiors look as if the house was built just a few years ago.

A portion of the ground floor has been converted into a two-car garage. One of the tenants is a stately 1955 Cadillac Series 75 Limousine, which was used by the President as his official vehicle. The second is a WWII Willy’s Jeep, which the President drove during the war. The NHI museum curator says the Cadillac, which is in running condition, will soon be transferred to the NHI headquarters in Manila. There, it will reside along with the other presidential limousines of yore. The rest of the ground floor contains memorabilia, including the barongs Magsaysay wore and other personal possessions and awards.

As Paco tours the premises, he looks as curious and fascinated as any tourist. (The world of politics is also alien to him as he has no political ambitions.) Like the other visitors, he is just happy to have himself photographed standing next to the Cadillac, wearing the trademark Magsaysay hat. -- Reprinted from The Manila Bulletin