Somewhere in the quaint municipality of Barili, specifically in the poblacion, a few blocks before the parish church of Sta. Ana, stands a gem that is without doubt described as the grandest house in town. Rarely can one ignore this two-level house, a bahay-na-bato, as its massiveness coupled with some woodcarvings in the exterior easily catches the eye of someone eager to take a photograph. One can even mistake it as a convento.

Built in 1878 by Marciano Duterte Pañares, the Casa Pañares has withstood the elements of time and is a veritable showcase of how an illustrious family lived town life in the later periods of the Spanish era. Marciano was a native of Naga, Cebu who amassed his wealth from the copra and tobacco business. He was a friend of Don Pedro Cui, the man behind the Hospicio de San Jose de Barili. Marciano married Juliana Paras, a scion of a wealthy family in Barili with whom they had four children although only one survived, Bartolome. Don Bartolome grew up to become the Capitan Municipal and eventually earned the title as Cebu’s Southwest King of Coconuts due to his enormous coconut plantations.

Bahay-na-bato

The Casa Pañares is typical of any other bahay-na-bato in the country. The lower level of stone is used primarily for storage while the main living area is at the second level. The huge posts of the house, as oral tradition has it, came from Bohol and were transported to Barili through rafts. It is said that Don Bartolome utilized the lower level of the house to store copra. A principal stairway from below leads to a large receiving room where a wall partition leading to an anteroom can be folded thereby transforming the entire space into a one big ballroom. To the right of the stairway is a door that opens into a spacious formal living room where large capiz-shell windows with Persianas or wooden jalousies open into the streets below. Ventanillas beneath the main windows provide added ventilation. The wooden floor is made up of two kinds of hardwood alternating each other thus giving it a parquet look. The exteriors are decorated with relieves of floral motifs.

Muebles Fuertes

Being the grandest house in town, it was furnished with Muebles Fuertes or “Finest Furniture.” Glittering crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling. There were period sala and dining sets, porcelain oil lamps, and chinaware from Hong Kong. There were also two upright pianos for the Pañares children. At one time, the house was leased to the Spanish Government and temporarily became a Casa Tribunal or municipal hall. One interesting find in the house is that of an electric guitar which probably was the first to be imported in Cebu. It is said that when the customs official inspected the item, he gave it a duty of only P60 since it wouldn’t resonate like any other ordinary guitar.

Among the interesting finds include a cabinet full of preserved stuffed birds made by a descendant of Don Bartolome who is a taxidermist. There are also documents mostly deeds of sale dated 1878, 1879, 1880 executed by Don Marciano bearing the signatures of the town’s well-known figures of yore as well as an original wooden face and hands of the Mater Dolorosa, letters of President Ramon Magsaysay to Don Bartolome, and some old photos of the family and the town of Barili.

The Casa Pañares is a museum in its own right thanks to the present owners. When Don Bartolome died in 1966, the contents of the house were divided by his sons and daughters. Nevertheless it still has retained its old world charm. Entering it for the first time will surely take one back in the past.