The place could be quite familiar to many as it was used as Eddie Garcia’s home in Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon (1976), where he played Don Tibor, a mestizo lawyer during the Spanish occupation who sought comfort in having a sense of belonging and self-righteousness in being a Filipino. But the place could also be familiar as it is one of the most preserved bahay na bato in Biñan which is now utilized for the Jacobo Gonzales Museum, the Biñan Congressional District Office, and the Tourism Information and Assistance Center.
It was originally owned by Don Eulalio Gana, a capitan (mayor) of Biñan in 1850 and in 1867-1868. The ownership was passed from one person to another until Don Jacobo Gonzales, a descendant of Maestro Justiniano Aquino Cruz, bought the place from Don Filomeno Gana because he wanted to have a property he could call his own. As with any bahay na bato that was built in the 1800s, the house had served different purposes—a municipal hall during Mayor Agustin Gana’s term in 1916-1922, a witness to the assassination of Mayor Julio Antiporda in 1938, then a hospital during the Japanese occupation.
