ANGELES CITY – “Apung Guindang” took center stage last Saturday in Concepcion, Tarlac when the Pres. Aquino and other members of his family attended rites that declared the Aquino ancestral house in the town as a “national historical landmark.”
Apung Guindang was the late Dona Aurora Aquino, the President’s paternal grandmother whom the President credited with providing him and his family strength in times of adversities.
The President, along with third generation members of the Aquino clan, assisted in the unveiling of the historical marker of the house.
National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) chairperson Maria Serena Diokno led the ceremonies.
Built in 1939, the Aquino house had been home to three generations of famous Aquinos – General Servillano Aquino (1874 – 1959); Benigno Aquino Sr. (1894-1947); and Benigno Aquino Jr. (1932-1983).
Servillano Aquino was a general during the Philippine Revolution against Spain in 1896 and in the Philippine – American War in 1898. He was the grandfather of the late Benigno Aquino Jr.
Servillano’s son Benigno Aquino Sr. was Speaker of the Second Philippine Republic National Assembly from 1943 to 1944.
He also served as Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce of the Philippines in1938 to 1941 and had a stint as senator. He married Apung Guindang.
The President’s late father, Benigno Aquino Jr., became governor of Tarlac at the age of 29 in 1961, and later was elected as the youngest senator in the history of Philippine politics in 1967 at the age of 34.
He was the most vocal critic of the Marcos regime in the 70s and 80s. He was assassinated in 1983.
The ancestral house, which withstood World War II, has undergone some renovations but its architecture remains as it was when built.
Its interiors were done by woodcarvers from Betis in Guagua, Pampanga.
According to Ludovico Badoy, executive director of the NHCP, the Aquino ancestral house is now protected by law.
In his speech during the ceremonies, the President especially mentioned the influence made by his grandmother Apung Guindang on the Aquino family during the many years she had lived in the house.
He noted his grandmother’s advice to “live life with others,” a principle she passed on to the three generations of Aquinos.
The President said his “lola” touched the lives not only of her children and immediate family but even those of ordinary people in her life.
“There may be times when some of us choose to cross distinct directions leading to the same destination, but at the end of the day, we still go home to our family to seek strength and guidance,” he said.
