After years of disuse, the Sarayba Ancestral House — also known as Bahay Kastila — in General Trias City, Cavite has been restored and repurposed as a museum.
Built in the late 19th century, the bahay na bato was originally owned by Jose Trias and Maria Dolores Gomez-Trias, grandparents of Gen. Mariano Trias, the first vice president of the Philippine Revolutionary Government. General Trias was formerly known as Malabon or San Francisco de Malabon and was renamed in 1920 through Act No. 2889. It became a city in 2015 following the passage of Republic Act 10675.
Maria Dolores Gomez-Trias was also the sister of Fr. Mariano Gomez, one of the three priests martyred in connection with the Cavite Mutiny of 1872.
During World War II, the house served as a Japanese garrison before being used as a school in the postwar years.
The restoration was carried out through a partnership involving the local government, the Trias-Sarayba family, and conservation architect Gerard Lico and his team. Lico described the project as a deeply meaningful restoration journey and credited Mayor Luis Ferrer IV with articulating a vision that treated the house as both a historical structure and a cultural anchor for the city. The year-long restoration involved structural stabilization, roof replacement, repair of damaged elements, and the use of lime plaster in place of incompatible concrete. Engineer Jero Pascual led the engineering component, working closely with Lico to ensure structural safety, historic integrity, and interior curation were treated as a unified effort.
One of the most delicate interventions involved the painted canvas ceiling, a rare surviving feature of the house that was beyond repair. It was replaced with a similar canvas, with foliage and pastoral designs reinterpreted by architect-muralist Brylle Patiu. Fragments of the original canvas are now displayed inside the house.
Following its years as a residence, part of Bahay Kastila was used as a pares eatery, a function that Lico said kept the house integrated into the daily life of the community. He explained that the restoration built on these layers of memory rather than erasing them. The house remains privately owned by the Trias-Sarayba family, who entered into a usufruct agreement with the local government for its protection and public use. During its soft launch on December 12, the house was declared a local heritage site.
Bahay Kastila is expected to fully open to the public later this year as a museum featuring a heritage café and cultural and educational programs.