Sustainable Tourism: The Preservation And Restoration Of Casa Real (Royal House)
A historic but long abandoned house is coming back to life at the heart of the town of Lingayen. Casa Real (royal house) was built in the 1840s by the Spanish colonial government and has been neglected for 8 years because of a typhoon. As early as 2012, the provincial government of Lingayen, Pangasinan has planned on renovating the once seat of power of the North.
Casa Real in Lingayen, is not just a house of grandeur and history to the people of this province, but they also consider it as one of the symbols of the state. Historians have said that since it once served as the seat of political power in the North, Casa Real’s renovation is not just a matter of fixing one of the oldest buildings in the province, but also restoring the integrity of its character. The two-story Casa Real is sandwiched by the municipal building and the carcel (provincial jail), another historical landmark. It used to have thick brick walls, ornate ceilings, a staircase made of piedra china (granite stone) and wooden balustrades. It was then declared as a National Landmark by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines and noted it as "An Outstanding and Unique Example of Civil Architecture from the Spanish and American colonial Periods". Local offices that were housed by the building abandoned it when Typhoon "Cosme" ripped off its roof in 2008. The provincial government of Pangasinan has already allotted funds for its renovation, which will turn it into a museum.
Before the restoration of Casa Real could start, a hundred families, who lived at the back of the property, had to be relocated. Putting new roof and walls for the building required several agencies to chip in. Five million pesos was allocated for its initial phase of renovation, to turn the currently inhabitable building into a museum which will house old books, documents, artifacts, archaeological relics and other memoirs of historical and cultural values of Pangasinan during the Spanish and American Periods. Governor Espino said another P50 million budget coming from the Tourism Infrastructure and Economic Zone Authority (TIEZA) is allotted to complete the final phase of the restoration. He also said a budget of P10 million will be readied for the training and curatorial works of the museum. “And if the weather permits we can finish this in April next year in time for the 438th celebration of “Agew na Pangasinan, ” the governor said. The government plans to convert Casa Real into a museum and it will definitely boost the tourism industry in Pangasinan Sector. The government funds in the renovation is almost 65 million and government won’t waste a lot of millions just for nothing.
Casa Real is one of the most important historical structures built in Pangasinan way back in 1940. The National Historical Commission of the Philippines said that Casa Real was “a silent witness to Pangasinan’s history”.
