New Maguindanao capitol ‘White House’ only in name

NOT WHITE HOUSE The structure that actually resembled Capitol Hill in Washington DC, headquarters of the US Congress, is rising in a government complex being built through a P500-million loan from the Land Bank of the Philippines. —PHOTO FROM MAGUINDANAO GOV’T

BULUAN, Maguindanao — Officials of the province had erroneously referred to a new provincial capitol building being completed here as the White House, but Gov. Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu said only the facade of the structure was being touted as a “similar but not an exact copy” of the official residence of the United States President.

The province’s officials had repeatedly said they had invited President Rodrigo Duterte to the capitol building designed after the White House.

Engineer Abdulrahman Asim, provincial administrator, said the building, to be completed by December, formed part of the provincial capitol complex rising in this fast developing Maguindanao capital.

Capitol Hill

It turned out that the building that Maguindanao officials were talking about resembled more the US Capitol Hill, headquarters of the United States Congress, with its dome at the center, than the US White House.

The capitol building was funded in part by a P500-million loan from the Land Bank of the Philippines.

At a press conference early this year, when the building was on its initial stage of construction, Mangudadatu told media it would be a replica of the White House.

He, however, said the building would just be resembling the White House, not an exact copy.

“It will only look like the US White House, the façade,” the governor said.

Complex

Mangudadatu said the capitol building was just one of many structures to rise in the complex.

Aside from the so-called Maguindanao “White House,” a modern three-story hotel, a business process outsourcing (BPO) center and a mall would also rise.

On Monday, Maguindanao officials continued to refer to the new capitol building as White House as they announced their invitation to Mr. Duterte to inaugurate the structure.

Asim said the new capitol building and the complex were part of “reforms and development” by the administration of Mangudadatu, who took power in Maguindanao after the fall of the Ampatuan clan.

Asim said inauguration by the President of the new structure would be “just fitting.” —Edwin Fernandez