MANUEL ROXAS ANCENTRAL HOUSE

Manuel Roxas Ancestral House

Birthplace of Manuel Roxas (Roxas City) Located in the city proper, corner Rizal and Zamora Streets, Roxas City, Philippines. A two-story hardwood and stone house of First Philippine President Manuel Roxas, now a historical shrine. 

It was well preserved by Atty. Mike Albar, a cousin of President Manuel Roxas. Hopefully his daughter, Emily will continue to carry on the tradition to allow people to see the historical house. 

Corner Rizal and Zamora Streets, Roxas City, Philippines

Manuel A. Roxas
1st President of the Philippines

Manuel Acuña Roxas (January 1, 1892 – April 15, 1948) was the first president of the independent Third Republic of the Philippines and fifth president overall. He served as president from the granting of independence in 1946 until his abrupt death in 1948. His term as president of the Philippines was also the third shortest, lasting 1 year 10 months and 18 days.

The house is a typical stone house, which was quite common during the Spanish era. Its basement, which used to serve as a garage and storeroom, is made of stone, while the upper floor is made of wood. Today the ground floor houses a law office and an antique shop. Upstairs, there is really not much to see. The original furniture is gone and some of the rooms have been restructured. There is a big sala, the room where Pres. Roxas was born, a family dining room, a wash room, etc. The windows are all made of wood with panes made of capiz.

Given the small size of the place, it would take you only about 15-20 minutes to visit the entire house ... just enough for some selfies and quick shots of the house's interior. The house, by the way, was declared as a national historical site and a historical marker.

Main Entrance Door to the main formal living room.

A well preserved historical house of our President Manuel Roxas.

Foyer

ROXAS CITY BRIDGE

The Roxas City Bridge

The Roxas City Bridge is one of the most iconic landmarks of the City of Roxas, capital of the province of Capiz. Built in 1910 as Capiz Bridge, it was then later renamed as Roxas City Bridge, coinciding with the renaming of the municipality of Capiz to Roxas City.

The bridge crosses the Panay River with one end facing the city's rotunda and the Immaculate Conception Metropolitan Cathedral at the background. The best spot to take a photo of the bridge is Altavas Street located the southern terminus of the bridge.

To get to the bridge, you can simply take a tricycle within the city and ask the driver to drop you off at the cathedral. From there, you can just cross the street towards the bridge.

AYAGAO BEACH

Ayagao Beach

One the Capiz best place “beach” in Roxas City, you inadvertently mean Baybay – the strip of fine grey sand beach in the heart of the city dotted with resorts and seafood restaurants.  It is the favorite week-end get-away destination of Roxas City residents. A strip of coarse off-white sand beach very near the city – Ayagao Beach know as Capiz best place located in Barangay Talon.  It is a mere 20 minute leisurely ride from the city proper over well-paved roads (until the last 200 meters which is rough road already).  The beach also faces the Sibuyan Sea, like Baybay beach and offers a spectacular view of the sunset.  Unfortunately, it also shares the same seasonal problem of pesky jelly fish.  But the beach and the water is so inviting especially during this summer heat.  And it isn’t as crowded as the more accessible Baybay beach. 

CADIMAHAN- LIBOTONG RIVER

Cadimahan-Libotong River Tour

The thriving mangroves along the banks of Cadimahan river reflect the community’s effort to augment their quality of lives using the best resources they have.

From Roxas City proper, get a tricycle and ask the driver to take you to Sitio Lawis. Just like in Palina Greenbelt Ecopark, it is best that you contact the management days ahead to book a tour and for you to just enjoy and relax when you get there.

Cadimahan River Tour offers the same attractions, services, and food like the ones offered at Palina Greenbelt Ecopark. However, Cadimahan River Tours offers additional services such as foot spa, manicure/pedicure, and traditional Filipino body massage.

PALINA GREENBELT ECOPARK

Palina Greenbelt Ecopark

A wide blue-gray river flowing into the horizon, bright green mangroves, and bamboo rafts turning almost golden in the sunlight greeted me and my travel companions as we crossed the bamboo bridge to Palina Greenbelt Ecopark in Roxas, Capiz.

And save for a gentle breeze, all was quiet. In fact, we were the only people that afternoon going on a river cruise across Palina River.

Quiet and idyllic Palina River

We hopped on a cabana, a bamboo raft with a nipa hut on it, and glided over Palina river for the next two hours. I say “glide” as our cabana was just pulled by a small pumpboat. Soft guitar strains and sweet melodies from two Capiz locals serenaded us as our cabana passed by more mangroves, as well as fish ponds and different fishing contraptions.

While the green mangroves and their equally green reflections were a welcome sight here as in many swamps and rivers, it was the different fishing contraptions, most I have seen for the first time, that struck me as unique.

The surambaw, a gigantic fishing contraption used by locals

Salvacion, a local and a Palina Greenbelt Ecopark staff, gamely told us about the different fishing equipment we saw along the cruise. Towering and majestic among them was the surambaw. (Coincidentally, one of the cabanas we saw upon entering the ecopark is named “surambaw.”) Made from metal and bamboo, it is designed to catch huge batches of fish, especially at night. The light from the surambaw attracts fishes to its net. Every 30 minutes or so, the net is hauled with the expectation of a big catch. Salvacion and her family operate a surambaw, and she said catching fish was still a challenge, even with the aid of the light.

This cabana has the same name as the largest fishing contraption in Palina.

This colorful toilet on our cabana caught my and my companions’ eyes too!

Eventually we found ourselves with only the calm sea in our horizon, before stilt houses and a green hill broke the seemingly continuous open water much later. It was one of the fishing communities in Roxas City. Fishing boats with brightly colored roofs were “parked” outside some of the houses.

Fishing community along Palina River

Occasionally, we passed by boats loaded with piles of timing, a cage made of net and wood. Salvacion explained to me that these were used to catch crabs. Timings were left several hours underwater before being retrieved, hopefully with some fresh crabs.

A boat loaded with timings, cages used to catch crabs