Duterte’s new digs: Learn more about Bahay Pangarap

"Ghosts" may have dissuaded President Rodrigo Duterte from choosing to move into Malacañang Palace, the traditional residence of Philippine Presidents, but in picking Bahay Pangarap as his domicile he is following in the footsteps of his immediate predecessor, former President Benigno Aquino III.

The country's 16th President will move into Bahay Pangarap next week. The building—on the Malacañang Park grounds, on the opposite side of the Pasig River from Malacañang Palace—will become Duterte's residence for the duration of his term.

Bahay Pangarap was not meant to become the official residence of the Chief Executive.

Before the war, President Manuel L. Quezon ordered the acquisition of the rice fields on the opposite bank of the Pasig River from the Palace. According to the Official Gazette, the land was turned into a recreational park, and a rest house for the President and his family was built on it.

The rest house was designed by architects Juan Arellano and Antonio Toledo, and built by the Bureau of Public Works.

The park also had other buildings for official entertaining, as well as tennis courts.

Subsequent presidents added elements to the park: a golf course, a gazebo, a garden. In the 1960s, First Lady Eva Macapagal continued the refurbishment of the park and the buildings, and renamed the Rest House (as it was known then) Bahay Pangarap.

In the 1990s, President Fidel V. Ramos and First Lady Amelita Ramos commissioned architect Francisco Mañosa to restore Bahay Pangarap. It became the club house for the golf course and an alternative venue for official entertaining. The New Bahay Pangarap was inaugurated in 1996.

However, it didn't last long. In 2008, the Arroyo administration had Bahay Pangarap demolished and rebuilt by architect Conrad Onglao. According to the Official Gazette, Onglao updated elements of the house, including the swimming pool, but kept the distinctive sloping roof of the original design.

While previous presidents have made use of Bahay Pangarap, Aquino was the first one to make it his official residence. Duterte will now be the second to do so.

Take a look at Bahay Pangarap through the years.

— BM, GMA News