New Senate home will be iconic, world-class, says Lacson

The Senate building at the GSIS Complex in Pasay City (Photo by LYN RILLON / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

The Senate is expected to move to a “world-class” and “iconic” home in Taguig City by 2020, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said on Wednesday.

A day after senators voted to relocate to Taguig City and build a new home there, Lacson said that they will hold an international competition on the best design for the new Senate home, which will be located in a complex that will also house members of the House of Representatives.

Lacson, who chairs the accounts committee that made a study on the new home for the Senate, said he hoped the design of the Senate building would be as iconic as other famous parliamentary buildings such as the Houses of Parliament or the Palace of Westminster in London and the Hungarian Parliament Building.

The senator told reporters that the construction of the building will be in the third quarter of 2018.

He said he expected the construction to be completed in 2020.

Lacson said it happened that the government was set to develop the roads there starting 2019 which will include widening the road and boulevard there as well as connecting it from the Skyway and the Southern Luzon Expressway.

“I proposed an amendment in the (proposed 2018 national) budget to allocate an initial P1.5 billion for a multi-year budget for the Senate relocation,” he said.

Senators voted 14-2 to approve the relocation of the Senate from its present premises in the (Government Service Insurance System) GSIS building in Pasay City to Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City. —Christine O. Avendaño