Aired (April 22, 2024): Sa Batangas City, isang tirahan sa tabing-kalsada ang may tinatagong lihim at kasaysayan — ‘yan ang tahanan ni Mang Rufino. Ang bahay kasi ni Mang Rufino… isang lagusan o tunnel! Panoorin ang video.
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00:00We, Filipinos, are very emotional and sentimental, right?
00:05There are things that are really hard for us to let go of.
00:08So what if behind the things that we care about,
00:12is what you are trying to hide from this history?
00:15Are you going to stay in the cave?
00:18That is the story of Oscar Oida.
00:25If this road is paved in Batanga City,
00:28you will see houses and structures on both sides.
00:31But there is a house on the side of the road
00:34that hides something mysterious and historical.
00:38Outside, the door of the house will immediately open.
00:42When you enter, the living room and kitchen are separated.
00:46And if you continue walking, the dark place will be covered.
00:51Rufino's house is just another tunnel.
00:59Rufino has been living in this house for 12 years
01:03with his wife and children.
01:06According to him, when he was young, he used to go here.
01:10When I was in high school, I learned how to ride a tricycle.
01:14We made a garage out of it.
01:16Rufino and his siblings used to live on top of the house.
01:21But when he got married,
01:23they moved and lived with his family in Caloocan.
01:27But when he was old enough to find a new body,
01:31he decided to come back here and make it his home.
01:36Before I moved him here,
01:38I promised him that since we don't have a child yet,
01:40I will help him in his business.
01:42I said, let's just settle down down there.
01:45I said, let's just fix it.
01:47Even if I don't have a place to live.
01:49And we don't have our own land.
01:52According to his sibling, Elisa,
01:54they don't agree with Rufino's decision.
01:57My brother wanted to live there.
01:59We said, why don't you live here?
02:03He said, he wants to live down there.
02:06To be comfortable,
02:07Rufino slowly put his things in the pond.
02:11This is my wood stove.
02:15This is my bathroom.
02:17This is where I wash my dishes.
02:22This is where I eat.
02:24This is where my son sleeps.
02:26I made a hole in the ceiling
02:29before I painted it.
02:31So that the floor won't fall down
02:35when the wind blows.
02:37This is where I lay down.
02:39This is my bed.
02:41This is where I sleep.
02:43This is where I lay down.
02:45This is where my wife sleeps.
02:47This is where she sleeps.
02:51This is where we bathe.
02:53We bathe together, fight.
02:55This is our bathroom.
02:57I have a bathroom here.
02:59I made a hole.
03:02There's a hole here.
03:04This hole is deep.
03:08This is our bathroom.
03:14This is our bathroom.
03:16This is our bathroom.
03:18This is our bathroom.
03:20He's lucky because the place is not flooded.
03:23Even after several decades,
03:26the place is still flooded.
03:28You should know that
03:30according to a history professor,
03:32Rufino's house was used during World War II.
03:37It's historical in the sense that
03:39it was used as a pond
03:41for the Japanese
03:43who came from the Kalumpang River
03:45to the inside of Cabayanan and vice versa.
03:48And of course, based on our researches
03:50and the stories of our country,
03:52it was used by Bihag Filipinos.
03:55We still have a lot of Yungis,
03:57but this one is significant
03:59because it's the only one
04:01in the middle of the population.
04:03Rufino wanted to move
04:05to a decent house,
04:07but they're broke now.
04:09Rufino's wife works as a janitor
04:12after she had an accident
04:14and had a hard time walking.
04:16Sometimes, they're visited
04:18and asked to move to Batangas City.
04:21But Rufino is worried
04:23because it's far from his wife's job
04:26and it has a big impact on their daily income.
04:29You're just going back and forth.
04:32It's far from the highway.
04:34You should know that
04:37Batangas City has approved
04:39the relocation of Rufino's family,
04:42but they haven't given an answer
04:44to our team yet.
04:46I want my son to stay here.
04:48I don't want him to grow up here.
04:50He'll tell his classmates
04:52that he's a different person,
04:54that he's a kid.
04:56At first, he's fine,
04:58but I don't know what to do.
05:00If I can't move,
05:02I won't be able to move.
05:05A safe and decent house.
05:08This is the wish of many of our countrymen,
05:11including Rufino.
05:13Even though it's hard to get now,
05:15his love for his family
05:17is his strength
05:19so that one day, he'll achieve it.
05:22I'm Oscar Oida,
05:23and that's the story you need to know.