Bahay na Pula, San Ildefonso, Bulacan | The Horror Goes On
Bahay na Pula of San Ildefonso, Bulacan was once a lively mansion built on a sprawling hacienda covered in Duhat, Camachile and Tamarind Trees, has now become an epitome of horror and of a painful past.
“At nang magsawa na kami’y pinawalan,
Halos ang hininga’y ibig nang pumanaw.
Sa laki ng hirap na pinagdaanan,
Sira na ang isip pati na katawan.”
Then as now, this song composed by Maria Quilantang Lalu, 80, resonates their tragic fate during the World War II. Within the walls of the mansion in Anyatam, San Ildefonso, Bulacan, these women were abused by the Japanese Soldiers.
The Haunting of Bahay na Pula
When I was a kid, we usually pass by this mysterious red colored house on our way to Aurora. What got me curious is even in broad daylight, cars honk their horn whenever they pass by.
My cousin would often joke around that there are stories about a white lady that usually crosses the road.
It is said to be one of the most haunted places in Bulacan. Persistent stories of ghostly apparitions from the veranda down to the mansion grounds still haunt the place.
Local villagers often report wailing cries of help in the area. Skulls and bones are still dug up around which gave it its ghastly reputation.
Several local television shows featured this house for their Halloween specials. Who wouldn’t remember episodes from Noli De Castro’s Magandang Gabi Bayan and Jessica Sojo’s KMJS Kasindak-sindak.
The blood red color of the house endured the test of time. Although as of today, it is now just a shell of its former self – only the foundations and roof remained of the imposing Ilusorio Mansion as it was partially demolished in 2016.
The Horrors of 1944
Built in 1929 by Don Ramon Ilusorio, this 2-story mansion painted in red stood out in his hacienda. Little did he know that the color of its walls is a foreshadowing of the gory events that will take place during the World War II.
On November 23, 1944, the Geki Group of the 14th District Army under Japanese Imperial Army attacked Mapaniqui, Pampanga.
They rounded up all the villagers suspected to be guerillas of the HUKBALAHAP. The Japanese soldiers in turn, pillaged and burned the entire village.
All the men and boys were rounded up, beaten and executed in a genocide-like fashion. Accounts told about some of them had their sexual organs severed and forced into their mouths. Their corpses were thrown into a large pit and was set ablaze.
Comfort Women
All the women and children were compelled to watch the atrocities done to their kin. Afterwards, around 200 women were forced to march two miles south carrying the soldier’s loot.
Japanese forces took ownership of Bahay na Pula and used it as one of their garrisons. Afterwards, the women were held prisoners at the Ilusorio Mansion. This is where the sexual abuses commenced.
They were routinely raped inside the mansion. Girls who had not yet begun menstruating saw no respite. In addition, pairs of mothers and daughters were raped in the same room.
They were turned into Comfort Women or sex slaves. Further into their crimes, those who resisted were either stabbed by bayonets or drowned.
In a horrific narrative by some of the survivors, it was said that a beautiful girl was the “favorite” of many soldiers and she was raped up to 20 or 30 times in a day.
The Horror Goes On
If only the walls could talk, the Ilusorio Mansion was a silent witness of the hardships of the women of Mapaniqui under the Japanese soldiers.
Out of the 96 survivors who called themselves the Malaya Lola’s who fights for their rights and compensation for the losses from the war, only 32 remains. Despite the documentation collected, the Asian Women Fund, denied their claims in 1997.
In 2014, the Supreme Court of the Philippines denied the motion for reconsideration filed by Malaya Lolas. Until this very day, justice has not been served, nor a single centavo has been released for them.
The horror goes on…
Biking Under The New Normal
This adventure is a part of my solo bike ride last August 16, 2020 under the new normal. This covers my 109 kilometer trip to the towns of Bulacan and Pampanga.
The Horror Goes On – Bahay na Pula
Updated August 26, 2020
