Topping off ceremony for the new Senate building in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. Photo courtesy of the Office of Senator Nancy Binay
MANILA, Philippines — The Senate is on track with its planned move to a new home in Taguig City, even if for limited operations, by July 2024.
“With the topping-off [ceremony], the Senate is on target to open for partial operations by July 2024,” Senator Nancy Binay said in a statement Thursday after the topping-off rites for the new Senate building (NSB) in Fort Bonifacio.
Binay cited the instruction of Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri to conduct the session opening next year in the NSB.
READ: Senate frowns on new gov’t buildings, except its own
Aside from Binay and Zubiri, Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda, Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, and Senators Cynthia Villar, JV Ejercito, Ronald dela Rosa, and Christopher Go led the ceremony.
They were joined by former Senate President Vicente Sotto III, Batangas 6th District Rep. Ralph Recto, Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan, Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano, and Bases Conversion and Development Authority chairman Delfin Lorenzana, among others.
Currently, the Senate rents a building inside the Government Service Insurance System complex in Pasay City for some P127 million per year as of 2018.
Construction of the NSB was approved in 2017 despite criticisms about its location and billions-worth cost.
READ: Senate goes to BGC: New building design rouses mixed reactions, plus jokes
READ: Duterte OK with new Senate building in Taguig
The groundbreaking for the NSB was done in March 2019, but its construction – initially to be completed by 2021 – was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
READ: Senate to have own building in Fort Bonifacio by 2021
Binay touted NSB’s sustainability, saying it might be the first green building-certified government facility under the Building for Ecologically Responsive Design Excellence program.
“In the face of climate change, the government should walk the talk in promoting the use of sustainable structures,” she said.
RELATED STORY
Search is over for the design of Senate’s new home