I was surfing the internet yesterday when I saw an article about Bahay na Pula in San Ildenfonso, Bulacan. I remembered one of my officemate told a story about this house. Quite funny, it is a ghost story. Haha! But as I read more about the house, I have known the true story behind it. Bahay na Pula is more than just a house! It is a witness, a living museum of the spirited past of our ancestors.

In 1941-1945, together with -Violago Mansion and Doña Lorenza Veneracion Mansion, Don Ramon Ilusorio Mansion or Bahay na Pula/Red House were occupied and served as Japanese Military Garrisons where they killed many Filipino soldiers and guerrilla fighters. It symbolizes the oppression of the Bulakenyas in the hands of the Japanese forces when they served as “comfort women”.

First Lt. Serafin Violago Gonzales is one the heroes of the town. He died in action fighting the Japanese invaders.

Quick Trivia!

Bahay na Pula named that way because literally the whole color of the house is red. There are some “rumors” that there are living spirits inside the house and seem to be a haunted house for everyone who seen it.

But some interesting facts about the house is that today, this houses together with other old houses adjacent is the shooting location for some popular Philippine horror movies. More surprise is that owners of these houses had expressed satisfaction over the way their ancestral houses had been portrayed in these movies.

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Bahay na Pula, like other old houses all over the country, is not famous because of its haunted stories but because of its landmarks that tells a heart-breaking story about the sacrifices of our fellow Filipinos.

Venture to Bulacan

Dubbed as the "Northern Gateway from Manila," there are a number of buses plying the main Metro Manila highway – EDSA – that go to Bulacan via the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX).