MANILA, Philippines?Xavier House, a property of the Society of Jesus on Pedro Gil Street in Sta. Ana, Manila, that served as a broadcast hub of the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution, has been sold to the SM Group.

Fr. James B. Reuter, a living hero of the historic 1986 People Power, said he had been asked by SJ superiors to move out of Xavier House and relocate to either Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City or Xavier School in San Juan City.

A representative of the country?s leading mall developer confirmed the sale Monday.

But Fr. Jose Cecilio Magadia, provincial superior of the Jesuits in the Philippines, denied Monday night that a deal had already been reached. ?Not true,? he said of the reported sale of Xavier House to the SM Group.

Fr. Bobby Yap, treasurer of the Philippine Province of the Society of Jesus, said ?the property has not been put on the market. We have not spoken to SM at all.?

Yap, nevertheless, confirmed plans to sell the Sta. Ana property and other Jesuit-owned real estate ?in light of financial problems the province is facing.?

The representative of SM, who declined to be named for lack of clearance to speak publicly on the matter, said that the sale had been consummated.

?A supermarket is being planned in the area, which will serve the community and at the same time enhance the value of real estate in the area,? the representative said.

There was a ?willing seller? and that this seller didn?t say anything about opposition coming from conservation groups regarding the sale, the SM representative said.

The SJ compound comprises two houses: The Xavier House that already stood in 1859 when the Jesuits returned to the country after being exiled by the Spanish colonial regime, and an adjoining house that was built in 1970.

Reuter, who turns 94 on May 21, said Xavier House carried not only the memories of the Jesuit fathers but also of the entire country.

?That house is a natural memorial of the history of the Philippines,? said Reuter, who has been living in the house for over 40 years.

Reuter not leaving

Asked to choose between Ateneo or Xavier School as his new home, Reuter said: ?My answer is, ?I don?t want to go.??

?Money is nothing, and this house is something,? he said. ?The memorial we have in this house is worth more than money.?

The Heritage Conservation Society (HCS) has mounted a drive it dubbed ?Save Sta. Ana Heritage? to preserve the district?s historical buildings.

Buildings demolished

HCS officer Ivan Anthony Henares said he and other HCS officers recently visited Sta. Ana and found that several historical buildings were being demolished or set to be sold.

In an article posted on March 22 on his blog (www.ivanhenares.com), Henares said SM was behind the demolition of some of the buildings, such as the Emilio Aguinaldo College (previously the Columban Fathers? residence), former residence of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary and birthplace of Student Catholic Action.

He urged SM to preserve at least the façade of the buildings so that the historicity of the district would be preserved.

Also being demolished are the Sta. Ana Racetrack buildings designed by the National Artist for Architecture Juan Nakpil.

?The shells of the buildings are still there and I am hoping that they preserve these and incorporate them into the shopping mall,? Henares said.

Pasig River

Reuter said the Xavier House ?might have been built earlier? than 1859. The house, which has been well maintained through the years, faces the Pasig River.

This means the house was built before the street was even built, Reuter pointed out.

?This house was the main base of the Jesuits for 50 years. The Society of Jesus is identified with Xavier House. It carries the life of the Society of Jesus that goes back 150 years,? he said.

He said the building ?carries the memories of men who lived here, worked for the people.?

The living room, he said, ?has been the center of so many things. During EDSA, this house was the center of the EDSA Revolution.?

Radyo Bandido broadcast

It was from this house that Reuter directed the historic ?Radyo Bandido? broadcast that fueled the Filipinos? courage to peacefully overthrow the 20-year Marcos dictatorship.

During martial law, Reuter was put under house arrest in Xavier House for two years. There was constant guard to suppress whatever communication he tried to get out to other opposition members.

When then Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and then Philippine Constabulary chief Lt. Gen. Fidel Ramos broke away from Marcos in February 1986, Reuter said the two men asked him to have someone go on air to give the people courage and guidance.

June Keithley-Castro was then working at Xavier House, which served as the center of the Philippine Federation of Catholic Broadcasters (now known the Catholic Media Network).

Cardinal Sin?s appeal

From Xavier House, Reuter sent Keithley to the Catholic Church-run Radio Veritas, which broadcast the historic appeal of the late Jaime Cardinal Sin urging the people to go to EDSA to protect the anti-Marcos soldiers.

When Radio Veritas was shut down by government forces, the team turned underground and took the name ?Radyo Bandido.?

Keithley became the voice of Radyo Bandido that transmitted from dzRJ, while Reuter directed the broadcast from Xavier House. He was in command of what was being said and what was being done.

?When she became the voice of the people, she became the voice of this house,? Reuter said. ?What she was saying was being fed from here because we had links all over the country.?

There was constant danger as the Marcos agents who kept watch over the house knew what Reuter and his team were doing.

Strafed

During one of those tense mornings, gunmen strafed at the house. Several shots were made ?enough to shatter the windows.?

?When that happened we were already on the floor,? Reuter recalled. The bullets lodged on the wall. ?But I don?t think they had courage to execute us. What they did was try to quiet us down,? he said.

Reuter said he fully understood that the SJ had run into serious financial need to sustain its operations.

?There was talk, there is talk of selling Xavier House for money. The superior apologetically said that. That to my mind will be a terrible mistake,? he said.

?It?s not that they want to sell this house, but they need money, and that?s a terrible thing. Love of money is a vice and the Jesuits don?t have that. They need money, which is a different thing,? said Reuter.

He shuddered at the thought that the house would be demolished to give way to business. ?You shouldn?t sell a place like this for money,? he added, saying the money could be raised in ?some other way.?