VP Binay to transfer office to Coconut Palace in March

An elated Vice President Jejomay Binay announced Friday he will start transferring his office in March to the P32-million Coconut Palace in Pasay City. In statement, Binay said he and Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) general manager Roberto Vergara have signed a contract turning over the Coconut Palace from the state-run insurance agency to the Office of the Vice President (OVP). “Today, Vice Presidents will now have an official residence that gives honor to the second highest seat in the land," Binay said. “We intend to make history at the Coconut Palace by making the Office of the Vice President a more active participant in shaping government policy for the poor, and in helping our president fulfill his aspirations for the country," he added. Binay likewise thanked President Benigno Aquino III for offering the Coconut Palace as an official residence of the Vice President, as well as the GSIS for facilitating the turnover. (See: VP Binay to hold office at the Coconut Palace by next year) “The Coconut Palace gives the Office of the Vice President the dignity that has been lacking for the past years. And it does so at a much lower budget, assuring savings for the taxpayers," Binay said. He added the OVP is expected to cut rental costs by half upon transfer to the Coconut Palace. The OVP is paying around P800,000 monthly for its current office at the PNB Building at the President Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard in Pasay City, while the rent at the Palace is set at around P400,000. “Hindi na kailangang mag-isip kung magrerenew sa isang privately owned building o kung saan lilipat sakaling paalisin ng may-ari," the Vice President quipped. (We now no longer have to worry over renewing our rent in a privately owned building, or looking for a new office in case we get booted out by the owner.) The OVP is expected to begin the move to its new home in the first week of March after scheduled renovations are done at the Coconut Palace. The contract signing was attended by officers from the OVP, as well as representatives from the GSIS and the key shelter agencies of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, which is also chaired by Binay. The Coconut Palace gets its name from the tropical palm tree that yields coconut lumber, which makes up about 70 percent of the building. It was built in 1978 reportedly at the cost of P37 million on the instructions of then First Lady Imelda Marcos, wife of strongman Ferdinand Marcos, to serve as Presidential Guest House. It is said that Mrs. Marcos offered the late Pope John Paul II to stay at the Coconut Palace during his visit to the country in 1981, but the pope declined because it was too opulent given the widespread poverty in the country.—Jerrie M. Abella/JV, GMA News