Ellen Adarna addressed a netizen who seemingly complained over the “pricey” entrance fee of the Temple of Leah, which the actress’ grandfather built for his late wife.
“The story about the Temple ‘dai, that was not built to be a tourist spot. It was built to be a storage for my grandmother’s things,” Ellen said of the Cebu City landmark in a video posted on her Instagram story.
The actress continued that the family decided to make it business since people started visiting it.
“But then since the view is nice and I guess of the structure, people started going,” the actress said.
“So ganun yun ngayon, expand na lang, pero malaki din ang gastos, kung alam mo lang,” she told the netizen.
“So kung nagrereklamo ka, wag ka na lang pumunta. Ganun na lang,” Ellen said.
In an interview with CNN Philippines in 2017, Ellen’s grandfather, Teodorico Adarna, said he lost count of the fortune he spent for the construction of the temple he built to show his undying love for his wife.
His wife Leah Albino-Adarna died at the age 69 years old in 2012 due to cancer.
The Temple of Leah, situated at Brgy. Busay in Cebu, serves as a repository of the items Leah collected from her travels.
“There’s nothing I can do but to keep the memories alive for many many years,” said Teodorico.
The 500,000 square meter property, which drew inspiration from the Ancient Greek architecture of The Parthenon, houses a nine-foot statue of Leah, a collection of her favorite books, among others.
“I would like to leave a footprint in my life, when I’m gone everybody will forget me, but when they see this, they will still remember me, so as my wife,” added Teodorico.
