THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS & HIGHWAYS BUILDS A NEW HOME FOR THE SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES IN BGC, TAGUIG

DPWH Starts Building of

New Senate House in Bonifacio Global 

City

Construction of the New Senate Building in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City formally started Monday, March 18, 2019 with a ground-breaking ceremony led by Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III. 

Also present in the ground-breaking ceremony were Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto; Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri; Minority Leader Franklin Drilon; Senators Panfilo Lacson, Loren Legarda, Gregorio Honasan, Nancy Binay, Sonny Angara, Joel Villanueva, Sherwin Gatchalian, and Joseph Victor Ejercito.

The 40-month construction of the new Senate building is set to be completed in 2022 with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) overseeing the construction and implementation of the project.

“After much planning and review, we are glad to finally start the implementation of the new Senate Building. The project is in line with the Senate’s Vision – Bagong Senado Sa Ika-Dalawang Siglo, which is to build a permanent home to the upper house as it commemorates its hundred-year legacy and ushers in its next centenary,” said DPWH Secretary Mark A. Villar in a message read by DPWH Undersecretary Roberto R. Bernardo.

DPWH Undersecretary Bernardo assisted the Senate President and the distinguished Senators in the ceremonial placing of the following documents inside the capsule before it was lowered inside the hole: Masterplan of Senate Building; Committee Report 170 “Construction of Senate Building”; Senate Resolution No. 293 “Resolution Creating an Ad Hoc Committee Tasked to Conduct a Feasibility Study on the Construction of A New Senate Building and Relocation of the Senate Thereto”; Adopted Senate Resolution No. 110 “Resolution Confirming the Winner of the Global Conceptual Design Competition for the New Senate Building of the Senate of the Philippines”; the History of the Senate; first page of newspapers of the day; and copy of keynote message of Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III.

The “green, secure, functional and iconic” P8.9-billion new Senate Building project will rise in the 18,320 square meter parcel of land at the Navy Village in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City

The future Senate complex will consist of four (4) towers with eleven (11) floors each and three (3) basements with a minimum of 1,200 parking spaces to accommodate the required functions and operation of the Senate and its constituents.

The state of the art design of the building was conceptualized by architectural firm AECOM Philippines after being declared the winner of the Global Conceptual Design Competition conducted by Senate Committee on Accounts chaired by Senator Panfilo Lacson, which was tasked to pursue the relocation and oversee the eventual construction of the new and permanent home of the Senate.

Beyond the aesthetic design of the building which will be clothed in Barong Tagalog to herald the Philippines iconic symbol for honor and Filipino culture, the New Senate Building will be a model of energy efficiency and will also be the cornerstone of the new development of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City known as the Bonifacio South Pointe.

Others who attended and participated in the historic groundbreaking rites are Taguig City Representative Pia Cayetano, BCDA President & CEO Vince Dizon, Philippine Navy Flag Officer-in-Command Vice Admiral Robert Empedrad, DPWH Assistant Secretary Antonio Molano Jr., DPWH National Capital Region Director Ador Canlas, DPWH Project Director Johnson Domingo and Project Manager Jose Aguinaldo of Buildings Management Cluster-Unified Project Management Office,  and other government officials. (VerGarciaBlogs)