New Senate Building | |
---|---|
Bagong Senado | |
General information | |
Status | Under construction |
Location | Philippine Navy Village, Bonifacio Capital District, Fort Bonifacio |
Town or city | Taguig |
Country | Philippines |
Topped-out | July 20, 2023 |
Cost | ₱8.9 billion |
Height | 54 m (177 ft) |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 11 (+3 basement) |
Floor area | 85,925 m2 (924,890 sq ft) |
Grounds | 18,320 m2 (197,200 sq ft) |
Design and construction | |
Architecture firm | AECOM |
Main contractor | Hilmarc's Construction Corp. |
Other information | |
Parking | 1,200 |
References | |
[1] |
The New Senate (Filipino : Bagong Senado), [2] also known as the New Senate Building is a government building under construction in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig in Metro Manila, Philippines. It is set to be the new building of the Senate of the Philippines starting as early as 2025. [3]
The Senate of the Philippines has been renting space spanning six floors at the GSIS Building since 1997. [4] [5] It has been proposed for years that the Senate relocate to a new dedicated building. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. in 2000 first proposed the move when he was still Senate president. [6] One rationale for the move was the high rental costs [lower-alpha 1] the Senate pays to the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) for the use of their building. [7] [8]
A senate building was constructed at the Batasan area with ₱41.163 million spent for the construction. However the project was discontinued and the building was repurposed for the electoral tribunals of the Senate and the House of Representatives. [10]
It was only in 2017, that plans for a new Senate Building had significant progress. Senator Win Gatchalian filed PS Resolution No. 293 which created an ad hoc committee to conduct a feasibility study for the construction of a new Senate building. [5]
In November 21, 2017, the Senate selected Fort Bonifacio in Taguig as the site of the new Senate building taking into account various factors such as accessibility, costs, and opinion poll from Senate employees. [11] [12] Antipolo in Rizal was the other option considered. [12] [13] In January 2018, the Senate has pledge to purchase a lot from the Bases Conversion Development Authority. [14]
In February 2018, a design competition for the New Senate Building was open to entrants. 40 firms (16 domestic and 24 foreign) expressed interest to participate. Five were shortlisted to come up and present a design for a new Senate building. These firms are AECOM, Aidea, Henning Larsen Architects, Leeser Architecture, and Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects. [4] AECOM's design was selected as the winning entry. [6]
The groundbreaking ceremony for the New Senate Building was held on March 18, 2019, with the structure initially set to be completed by 2022. [15] The Department of Public Works and Highways implemmented the construction for the new Senate building project, which in turn awarded Hilmarc Construction Corporation the contract. [16] [17] A budget of ₱8.9 billion was allocated for the construction project. [18] [19]
Construction would be disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. [20] The building was topped-out on July 20, 2023. [21]
The Senate projects to hold its first meeting in the building in July 2024. [22] However, Senate President Francis Escudero said that the move would be postponed until at least 2025, as the building was not yet ready as of May 2024. [3] On June 10, 2024, he ordered the suspension of construction to review concerns over the rising cost of ₱23 billion. [23] Despite this, the construction, whose Phase 1 was 77% complete at that time, would continue unless Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Accounts, issues an order to halt the project. [24]
AECOM is the architect responsible for the New Senate Building. [6] It is a complex of four office buildings on a podium structure. The Senate plenary hall is situated in the central part of the podium which is adjacent to the four towers. The sun in the Philippine flag served as inspiration for the structure's form, the Banaue Rice Terraces for its internal greening and facade, and the Barong Tagalog for its external facade. [1]
Makati, officially the City of Makati, is a highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines, known for being one of the leading financial center in the country. As of 2013, the city has the highest concentration of multinational and local corporations in the Philippines. Major banks, corporations, department stores as well as foreign embassies are based in Makati. Makati is also known for being a major cultural and entertainment hub in Metro Manila. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 629,616 people, making it as the 47th most populous city in the country and ranked as the 43rd most densely populated city in the world with 19,336 inhabitants per square kilometer or 50,080 inhabitants per square mile. In 2023, the 10 Embo barangays were removed from Makati's jurisdiction as a result of the Makati–Taguig boundary dispute ruling, resulting in a reduction of the city's population to about 292,743. The daytime population of the city is estimated to be more than three million during a typical working day because of the large number of people who go to the city to work, shop, and do business.
The Senate of the Philippines is the upper house of Congress, the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the House of Representatives as the lower house. The Senate is composed of 24 senators who are elected at-large under a plurality-at-large voting system.
Taguig, officially the City of Taguig, is a coastal city located in eastern shores of Metro Manila. It is the fifth-most populous city in the Philippines with a population of 1.2 million people. The city is one of the Philippines' cultural, financial, high-tech, entertainment and media centers with significant influence on commerce, health care, research, technology, education, politics, tourism, dining, art, fashion, and sports. Taguig is also an important center for the country's international diplomacy, hosting several embassies. The city also home to the headquarters of several major multinational corporations. Taguig has the fourth largest skyline in the Philippines, with 289 high-rises, 80 of which exceed 100 m (328 ft).
Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, commonly referred to by its acronym EDSA, is a limited-access circumferential highway around Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. It passes through 6 of Metro Manila's 17 local government units or cities, namely, from north to south, Caloocan, Quezon City, San Juan, Mandaluyong, Makati, and Pasay.
Bonifacio Global City is a central business district and major financial hub located in Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is located 11 kilometers (6.8 mi) southeast of the capital city of Manila. The district experienced commercial growth following the sale of a 440 ha military base at Fort Bonifacio by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA). The entire district used to be the part of the main Philippine Army camp.
Pilar Juliana Schramm Cayetano also known as Pia Compañera Cayetano, is a Filipina politician, lawyer, and television host serving as a Senator since 2019, a position she previously held from 2004 to 2016. She was also the Representative of Taguig's 2nd district from 2016 to 2019 and was one of the Deputy Speakers.
Antonio Fuentes Trillanes IV is a retired Philippine naval officer who also served as a senator of the Philippines from 2007 to 2019. He is known for his involvement in the Oakwood mutiny of 2003 and the Manila Peninsula siege in 2007 in protest against the Arroyo administration, and as a vocal critic of the Duterte administration.
Shangri-La at the Fort is a five-star luxury hotel and mixed-used building in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines. It opened on March 1, 2016, and is one of the three hotels managed by Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts located in Metro Manila. It also hosts residential units.
SM Aura, is a large upscale shopping mall located at 26th Street corner McKinley Parkway, Bonifacio Global City, Barangay Fort Bonifacio, Taguig, Philippines, owned by SM Prime Holdings, the country's largest mall developer. It is the 13th SM Supermall in Metro Manila and 47th SM Prime mall in the Philippines. It was the 2nd SM Supermall to be called "Premier" after SM Lanang. The shopping center is situated near its rival mall Market! Market!, owned by Ayala Malls, a real estate subsidiary of Ayala Land, and affiliate of Ayala Corporation. It is designed by EDGE Interior Designers and Arquitectonica.
The University of Makati, commonly referred to as UMak, is a public, non-sectarian higher education institution in Taguig, Philippines, owned and operated by the City of Makati. It was founded in 1972 by the Makati government as the Makati Polytechnic Community College by virtue of Municipal Resolution No. 242 Ordinance No. 64.
Lawton Avenue, also known as the Fort Bonifacio–Nichols Field Road and Nichols Field Road, is the main road in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines. It follows a part of the alignment of the old Nichols route running roughly southwest to northeast from Sales Interchange to 5th Avenue and the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial. It was named after Henry Ware Lawton, a US Army general killed during the Philippine–American War.
The Kalayaan Flyover, also known as the EDSA–Kalayaan Flyover, is a four-lane flyover connecting Gil Puyat Avenue, Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA), Kalayaan Avenue, and 32nd Street in Metro Manila, the Philippines. Located primarily in Makati with a short portion in Taguig, it facilitates access from the Makati Central Business District to the Bonifacio Global City and, ultimately, to Circumferential Road 5 (C-5).
The 19th Congress of the Philippines, composed of the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives, convened on July 25, 2022. The 19th Congress is meeting during the first three years of Bongbong Marcos's presidency, and will end on June 6, 2025. The convening of the 19th Congress followed the 2022 general elections, which replaced half of the Senate membership and the entire membership of the House of Representatives.
The Makati Park and Garden, sometimes called Fort Bonifacio Riverside Park and Liwasang Bonifacio by local residents, is an urban riverfront park along the south bank of the Pasig River in Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines. It has an area of 35,433 square meters (381,400 sq ft). In the aftermath of the 2021 Supreme Court decision, which favors Taguig with regards to the political and territorial jurisdiction of Fort Bonifacio and the Embo barangays, ownership dispute arises when Taguig attempted to takeover the park on March 1, 2024. The City of Taguig claims the Park and Garden on the grounds of "(Makati's) unlawful possession".
Burgos Circle, also known as Padre Burgos Circle, is a traffic circle within the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, Metro Manila in the Philippines. Developed as part of the Forbes Town Center mixed-use development developed by the Megaworld Corporation and named after martyred priest José Burgos of Gomburza, it serves as the intersection between Forbestown Road, 1st Avenue, 2nd Avenue, and 29th Street.
The Bonifacio Capital District (BCD) is a financial district in Metro Manila, Philippines under the joint management of Megaworld Corporation and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority. It covers the southern area of Fort Bonifacio with the Bonifacio Global City district situated north of the BCD, with McKinley Hill under the jurisdiction of Barangay Pinagsama and the rest under Barangay Fort Bonifacio. Makati claimed jurisdiction of most of the area as part of Barangay Post Proper Southside, which was later transferred to Taguig as part of the 2021 Supreme Court decision on the border dispute.The former Makati barangay has its barangay hall and de facto control of a residential area just north of McKinley West.
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The GSIS Building is the headquarters of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), the corporation that handles social security of the employees of the government of the Philippines. Located in Pasay, it is also the seat of the Senate.
Embo, which stands for Enlisted Men's Barrio, refers to a collective term for ten barangays in Taguig, Philippines. The barangays were originally established to house military personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). The area was formerly disputed between the cities of Makati and Taguig, as well as the municipality of Pateros. As of November 2023, the barangays were transferred from Makati to Taguig.