The Senate will move in its new home in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City by January 2021, when its new iconic building would have been completed, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said on Wednesday.
Lacson spoke with reporters after the Senate accounts committee, which he chairs, held a briefing of the five firms shortlisted to design the new Senate building.
“Everything is on schedule. So we just hope when the 3rd regular session of the 18th Congress opens, we won’t be here anymore, we’re already in our new site in Fort Bonifacio,” he said.
The senator said that the committee’s board of jurors would choose the design of the new Senate building from among the five shortlisted design firms on May 28.
He cited four requirements of the new Senate building and these were, it must be green, secure, functional and iconic.
Lacson underscored the need for the designer to have a design that was “flexible” in the event that the country goes federal and thus, increasing the number of senators from 24 to 64 or 65.
Construction of the new building would start in January 2019 and would be completed by December 2020, as per the commitment of the Department of Public Works and Highways, Lacson said.
The Senate has recently signed an agreement with the Bases Conversation and Development Authority to purchase the new home of the chamber, which is made up of 18,230 square meters of land at the Navy Village Property, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.