The Manilay Ancestral House, a goldmine of the rusty, chipped, and vintage

By Maya M. Padillo

GENERAL SANTOS CITY — Apart from tuna, they say there’s nothing more to see in this city. But that is not necessarily so, because sprawling in a half hectare property in the downtown area is a goldmine of valuable things that are rusty, weathered, chipped, and vintage.

The Manilay Ancestral House is a home to almost 300 antiques, from old telephones to early model mobile phones, typewriters and teacups, kitchen utensils and statues, old furniture, and a whole lot more. Some of these items are on loan.

“Meron pa akong mga items sa bodega (I have more items in storage). My favorite items are the old telephones. My first beeper and cellphones are also on display,” said Warren A. Manilay, owner of the Manilay ancestral house. He is also the chief executive officer and chairman of the board of the Goldenstate College in GenSan.

The house is also home to a number of religious statues including life-sized statues of the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ, various saints, and a statue of the pregnant Virgin Mary made in Pampanga which is said to be more than 500 years old — also the most expensive item in the collection.

“Ang isa dyan galing pa sa lola ko. Nakita ko na ’yan noon pa sa bahay namin (One of those comes from my grandmother. I would see it there in our house back then),” Mr. Manilay said.

At the verandah at the side of the house are vintage cars and motorcycles on display. The cars are all functional. A scooter which was signed by boxing champion and now senator Manny Pacquiao is a crowd drawer. A 1941 Harley Davidson is under repair and will be on display soon, as well as a Mini Cooper that is currently being rehabilitated.

The idea to build the Manilay Ancestral House started with his wife, Sara, who loves collecting antiques. Their house quickly filled with her purchases, which included many large pieces of furniture, aside from the life-size statues.

“Our sala (living room) filled with her collections transformed our house into a bodega (warehouse),” Mr. Manilay said.

Thinking of putting all the items in one place, he decided to build a house in a property near their home. They hired an architect who gave up in the middle of the construction because the design was constantly being adjusted. It was during a visit to Batangas that the solution presented itself.

“When we visited our old house in Batangas we discovered the roof was gone, the flooring was already drenched, and some of the wood was sold to be used as firewood. Other parts of the house were [stored] at the back. I gradually brought [the house over], item per item, here to Gensan. Thrice a year we would buy surplus items/furniture for the school… [and] sinisingit ko ang lumber, windows, dingding, pintuan sa barko (I would slip in the old house’s lumber, windows, walls, doors, in the ship),” he said.

It took one and a half years to transport the pieces of the 100-year-old Batangas house to GenSan where it was rebuilt. What became known as the Manilay Ancestral House opened in 2007.

It was during the process of recreating the house that Mr. Manilay started to appreciate the antiques that he used to see as trash and thought would bring bad spirits into their lives. His interest turned into a passion, and he too started collecting a wide variety of old things.

These included rubbished vehicles from his friends in Manila that could be repaired or rehabilitated. He also visits junk shops in search of antique motorcycles.

“I even found one stashed in a sack, already in complete pieces,” he said.

These days the house is educational destination for GenSan visitors, and is also part of tourism classes’ tour guiding programs. Even grade-school children and pre-schoolers pay the house a visit.

“Our tagline for the house is ‘discover something new with something old.’ Ang iba hindi pa nakakita ng mga katulad nyan (Other people have never seen things like these). This will also aims to stimulate others to appreciate antiques,” Mr. Manilay said.

He said the plan now is to make the Manilay Ancestral House commercial, and to cater to small groups interested in using the place for wedding related events, meetings, dinners, honeymoons, and entertainment. He said plan also include building a small church — similar in design to the old churches of Bohol — to house their religious collections.

“The plan is [also] to build another similar building in front of the house to put other items. Camera clubs from Davao go here for a pre-nuptial photo shoots,” he noted.

A fountain is currently under construction, and, when the property is fully commercialized, they are planning to open a coffee shop and a restaurant.

Currently, a P30 entrance fee is required for bigger groups. Photoshoots cost P3,000 for first three hours and P500 for succeeding hours.