Sunday, November 10, 2019

Located in the heart of Las Piñas City, along Naga Road, inside Mapayapa Village there lies this Kalikasan Homes also known as the Anito Employees Condominium.

This was a housing project for the employees of Anito Group of Companies built in the early '90s.
Four buildings with four floors and each unit size are approximately 36 sqm. for the 2nd floor up to the 4th floor. Ground floor units are for fortunate managers and employees who were able to sign the earliest to acquire.

These units were exclusive for employees only and later on, offered to outsiders as a rentee. The facade of the building was made by Romeo Ramos head designer of Anito Group of Companies way back then. He is the mind behind the signage for the Anito Group of companies logo of a bitten apple with a face of a man and a woman.

We transferred here from Angono Rizal in the summer of 1993 to start anew. This place was not crowded like now. You know the faces of people from one building to another. They were your playmates, classmates, and sometimes enemies.

Life here was good, you knew each other and can definitely talk, and share food with your next-door neighbor. Before those buildings, wall paints faded and those ceilings became dilapidated KYM was there helping with the community.

We shared projects with the Homeowners every week. The youth in this area meet up to discuss new possible projects that we could give. Those were the days, we do a potluck for our lunch while hanging out in the multi-purpose hall that serves as our place. Then we will play Patintero/tubig-tubigan and Tagu-taguan as the night unfolds before our eyes...

Gone are those days. . .

Taken this from the 1st floor of building 1 during the rainy season.

Kalikasan Homes entrance gate picture taken in the Year 2012

Mapayapa Village entrance

This is Mapayapa Village along Naga Road Las Piñas City during the typhoon Ondoy.

The water level went up from the waist up to the chest due to the high tide that day.

Kalikasan Homes picture taken January 2019

Fast forward to 2019...., This is Kalikasan Homes right now...

Still livable despite old buildings with washed-out paint and rusty grills and ground floor extension.

Some informal settlers also occupy the place and only a handful of Anito Employees stayed and still live in this place.

And yes, I grew up in this place.

This place still holds special childhood memory of mine that I will forever cherish as I grew old and gray.

I owned a unit located on the ground floor however I do not live in this place anymore yet I still visit this place of my childhood past.