THE LIZARES MANSION 1939

One of the most elegant reminders of Iloilo's rich and noble past is the imposing Lizares Mansion in Tabuc Suba, Jaro. Built in 1937 by Don Emiliano Lizares for his wife Conchita Gamboa and their two sons and three daughters, the mansion has three floors, a basement and an attic. It has a winding wooden staircase and big bedrooms with floor and doors made of hardwood. It has 59 doors which indicate the intricacy of its layout.

When World War II broke out, the family left for a safe hiding place in Pototan, Iloilo. The mansion was then used as headquarters of the Japanese army. It was believed that the basement became a dumping ground for tortured Filipinos.

After the war, the family went back to live in the mansion, but life was never the same. In 1950, Don Emiliano Lizares died and his widow left for Manila, leasing the mansion to a businessman who turned it into a casino. The city mayor later ordered that the casino be closed, claiming that it corrupted the Ilonggos. After that, the mansion was left to the hands of a caretaker Tio Doroy Finolan who, with his wife, kept it intact.

In 1962 the Lizares Mansion was sold to the Dominicans. In 1963, it was converted into a House of Formation for young Dominicans in the Philippines. In 1978, the Lizares Mansion compound became the home of Angelicum School Iloilo. The mansion now serves as the school’s chapel.