These are just a handful of the Lopez family mansions and homes in the Iloilo Region. . This is one of the Philippines' leading business families. The Empire they have been able to assemble touches almost everyone who lives and breathes in the country.There are more of their mansions and homes to discover and we see new ones almost everytime we go exploring in the area. We will report on them as we discover them...

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Just a few of the Lopez Family
Mansions of Iloilo
Sights & Sounds of Ilo²

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I am getting really confused. I suppose you could say, that it’s not surprising,
since I’m a ‘foreigner’ and don’t yet fully understand the intricacies of Filipino
society.
I am confused, because of the sheer magnitude of this family called the
Lopez’s of Iloilo. There are just so many of them, I mean I have seen homes and
mansions all over the region and have been told incessantly: “hey that house
belongs to the Lopez’s…and a few blocks later, the same thing. It just happens
over and over again – it just never stops.
I’ve therefore decided to talk about the Lopez’s I have been able to discover
something about and the others well, we’ll see! Enjoy!
And please remember, I mean no slight to any member of the august family. I’d
love to tell the full story, but I can’t, there’s not much information out there. I’m
sorry, I’m doing the best I can with the hand I’ve been dealt…

4. 12 February 2015
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So, on this beautiful January day, the team and I have been out visiting all
manner of locations, homes, mansions and some other buildings for some of
our upcoming articles for the website.
We’ve been at it all morning and I’m starting to get grumpy – which for me is a
normal condition. I’m usually grumpy most of the time…but once you get past
the grumpiness I’m really a very nice guy…
Anyway, we’ve just explored the site of the Old Provincial Jail next door to the
Iloilo Provincial Capitol, the sun is out and it’s just a glorious day. I spy that
Mansion across Bonifacio Drive from the Legislature and the Museo de Iloilo.
I’ve seen it before as we were driving by, but never this close up. No one at the
time seems to know much about it, except me, I’ve got this idea that it must be
pretty damned important so we take the time to fight the traffic and cross this
busy road and spend about 45 minutes photographing it and just looking and
admiring it. I’d just love to be able to see and photograph the interior…PLEASE
MR VILLANUEVA! Right! I discovered it was the Eusebio Villanueva Mansion and
that it has a very interesting back story which I’ve reported in an earlier Sights &
Sounds of Ilo² story…

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So, it’s getting later and I’m getting grumpier and grumpier ‘cause I’m getting
hungrier and hungrier.
I just quit smoking after 50 years of addiction and I’m sorry to say that food has
taken the place of my nicotine addition and I’ve gained almost 50 pounds in the
past 7 or 8 months. I need my fix!
We mount up – and the “wreck of the road” under the captaincy of Sir Nilo
heads along Bonifacio towards Jaro and the wonders that await us over there.
Now these days on the road sort of go by like a blur…I try to keep meticulous
notes - but with my tremor I find it hard to write long hand and so lately I’ve
been using my tablet or cell phone to dictate note to. But, they’re not always
that reliable.
In any event. I’m not quite exactly sure in what precise order we saw these
homes, so you’ll have to excuse if this old guy with the failing memory didn’t
put them in the right order. And I’m still hungry!

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Well, Nilo points out this monstrosity, which he claims belongs to the Lopez
family. Apparently, it’s called the Lopez Pink Palace Mansion. With my sincere
apologies to the family…Nilo shouts over the traffic: “Hey Bro! Want me to
stop?” “No way says I - I’m not wasting with something like that.”

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Well, our next stop is a little more promising. It’s called the Lopez Boat House.
(What’s with these people? A Pink Palace Mansion and A Boat House? Weird or
what!).
We stop in the middle of traffic, as is the habit in this town and step out of the
car to do our business completely disregarding the inconvenience we have put
the other drivers to…it’s just the way things are done around here.
Problem with this place is that it’s surrounded by an 8 foot block fence. It’s
painted pink too! So I’m trying to find a way to peer over that damnable fence. I
managed to perch myself on the seat of the car, sticking out the door and the
result can be seen on the next photo. A Good thing I have a 60X telephoto lens
on this camera, because I was able to get a picture of the Commemorative
Plaque beside the door. And then I found another great picture of the place on
another website…and I thank AGBoi.Blogspot.Com for the use of their photo…

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Don Eugenio Hofileña Lopez Sr,
he’s the one who started it all.
And guess what? He started it all
with a small bus company here in
the province. Well, he was given
the ‘Boat House’ by his children .
Interesting! Sounds familiar in
our family too…

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The Iloilo Boathouse is a four-storey white mansion owned by
Eugenio H. Lopez Sr. The name "Boat House" was given to it by his
children. The mansion is built in the art deco style and was designed
by Architect Fernando Ocampo Sr. who was in Iloilo at the time.
The designs of the house provide additional effects to its architectural
excellency. These designs, especially the geometric designs, were
used for architectural details. The austere walls are punctuated by
huge colored glass-covered openings. The main door, made of tall
Philippine hardwood-and-glass, opens to a narrow foyer and leads to
the spacious living room and the dinning room. The main staircase is
spiral and made of elegant wood. It leads to the bedrooms on the
second floor. Another circular staircase made of magnificent steel,
connects the bedroom floor to the uppermost floor. At the interior of
the house is furnished entirely in the 1930 style.
The quality of the architectural design of the house can easily be
compared with the architecture of the Modern Movement in Europe
and the United States at about the same time. Its structure is modern
even by present day standards. In the late 1930s it was refurbished
under the supervision of Pando Ocampo, the son of the original
architect.
Architect
Fernando Ocampo

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The Lopez “Boat House”

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AGBoi.Blogspot.Com

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Don Vicente Lopez & Dona Eleña Holfileña y Lopez, the
Builders of Nelly’s Gardens
Don Vicente & Doña Eleña had four children:
• Nelly, married Salvador Zamora
• Benito, married Leonor de la Rama
• Lilia, married Francisco Lopez Jison
• Vicente, married Maria Rita M. Zamorra
In addition they adopted the sons of Don Vicente’s older brother Benito, who was
assassinated when he was the Vice-Governor of Iloilo Province in 1908.
• Eugenio Sr. became the family’s Tycoon &
• Fernando, became a 3 term Vice-President of the Philippines.
It’s also interesting to note that not only were Don
Benito and Don Vicente brothers but their wives Doña
Eleña and Doña Presentaciõn were also sisters.

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Nelly’s Gardens shortly after it opened

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The Lopez’s, Don Vicente and Dona Elena lived quite near the Jaro Cathedral
but the constant sounds of traffic and of the cannons being fired during the
many religious and other festivals led to the family's decision to move to a
more peaceful location.
They eventually settled on a 4 hectare piece of property about a kilometre or so
from the Jaro town center. Construction of the mansion was completed in
1928.
The home was christened Nelly's Gardens, after the couple's eldest daughter,
Nelly Lopez y Hofileña, who was a gardening maven even at her young age.
The house is a classic example of a Beaux-Arts mansion.
During the Second World War, the mansion was very nearly burned down to
the ground when Filipino guerillas under Ilonggo General Peralta who were
ordered to burn every mansion in the province to prevent them from being
used by the occupying “japons” as their headquarters or for prisons

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Don Francisco Jison & Doña Lilia López y Hofileña de
Jison. They managed the Estate after the senior López died
and did so until 2000 when Doña Lilia, herself, died at age
88.
Don Francisco’s & Doña Lilia’s daughters: Lourdes López
Jison Ledesma & Elena López Jison-Golez currently
manage the day to day operations of Nelly’s Gardens and
their brother Francisco Lopez Jison Jr., resides on the
estate year-round

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Doña Lilia Lopez - Jison and her husband begged the guerillas to spare the
house.
Just as kerosene was being poured around the place, a squad of Japanese
soldiers appeared and a heavy exchange of gunfight ensued. By the end of this
encounter, the Guerillas had escaped with members of the family and the
Mansion was spared. By the end of the war, the house had survived in one
piece despite having been the Japanese headquarters for the region.
Over the years, the house has served as a venue for elegant parties and
meetings attended by some of history's most renowned figures such as:
American Governors-General including Frank Murphy and Teddy Roosevelt Jr.,
Thailand's Prince Chupra, Former First Lady Imelda Marcos and late president
Cory Aquino.
Due to its cultural and architectural importance, the National Historical Institute
declared the property to be a National Heritage House on March 28, 2004.

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Don Benito & Doña Presentaciõn with their children Julieta, Fernando & Eugenio

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Don Vicente’s older brother Benito, the then 27 year old Governor of Iloilo
Province was assassinated in 1908. his widow Doña Presentaciõn Hofileña
viuda de Lopez, retired to the old turn of the century house perched on an islet
at the storied “Roca Encantada” on the 400 hectare ancestral Hofileña
“hacienda” in Guimaras island.
Lilia, Don Vicente’s younger daughter spent a great deal of her childhood at
Roca Encantada with her two cousins Eugenio and Fernando as well as Doña
Presentaciõn’s adopted daughter Julieta with whom she had been very close.
The story of Roca Encantada goes something like this Roca Encantada means
‘Enchanted Rock’. The current rest house was built in 1910 as a tribute to Dona
Presentaciõn.

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Jomarie Acallar: friend, navigator, facilitator &
assistant discoverer
Nilo Jimeno: friend, pilot, facilitator & assistant
discoverer
Thank You!• AGBoi.Blogspot.Com
• Constantine Augustin Photography 2013
• Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
• Research Center for Iloilo