Samar has been recorded as one of the poorest provinces in the country, probably another reason why we, the children weren’t very much interested in its affairs. Blame it on the geographic location, which is directly on the path where most tropical typhoons take during the wet season. Blame it on lack of industry. Years ago, Catarman was only known for rice and coconut and the New People's Army. Blame it on too much politics, which is endemic in any part of the country (the irony is that my family were very much involved in politics).
Admittedly, we were not fond of our hometown, even in our adult years. However, I had always imagined restoring something in the province. I dreamed of a house where we could keep all the memories of our family. In the late 90s, I had talks with my architect friend Alvin Matias, to design a bahay na bato that would replace the old Moore residence. I also asked him to do sketches for future residential and commercial structures on the abandoned lot. His original plan was a beautiful and grand recreation of our old ancestral home, which I am certain would pop out in the town. But it also looked too expensive (tegula tiles alone for roofing would run in the millions!) and impractical in the future. Besides, the big fire of 1965 already gutted two beautiful ancestral homes down. I couldn’t imagine losing another one.
Thanks to Alvin for his vision and patience all these years. To my surprise, Mama has kept the original designs and I’ve uploaded it here should Alvin by chance get to read this. Sadly, he’s not part of the final redevelopment, which I had hoped he would be.
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