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Standing at the crossing of Legazpi and Zamora Streets is the ancestral house and birthday place of Manuel Roxas, the last president of the Commonwealth and first president of the Philippine Republic. The house predates all the structures surrounding it. As a bahay na bato, it is a two-storey structure, with the bottom floor used as the garage of kalesas and stock area for household supplies.
I was eight years old when Lolo and I passed by the centuries-old structure. It was during the Holy Friday procession when he told me it was where the Manuel Roxas was born. I innocently asked him, “does Mar Roxas (his grandson) lived there?” He answered no. “He is now in Manila where he works in the Congress.” From that day on, my fascination with the Roxas ancestral home never ceased. Every time I passed along the house, I cannot help but take a glimpse at this proud, old structure.
Indeed, upon looking at the Manuel Roxas’ birthplace, I cannot help myself but imagine what it was like to live like a well-off in the past. I have longed to get inside the house but it’s doors and windows are always closed. Besides, it’s now in the private hands and seldom is the house opened to the public.
