Malacañang Palace

Malacañang Palace is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the Philippines located in the capital city of Manila. The Palace is in fact a complex of buildings built largely in Spanish colonial and Neo-classical style.The original structure was built in 1750 by Don Luís Rocha as a summer house along the Pasig River. It was purchased by the state in 1825 as the summer residence for the Spanish Governor-General. After the June 3, 1863 earthquake destroyed the Palacio del Gobernador (Governor's Palace) in the walled city of Manila, it became the Governor-General's official residence. After sovereignty over the Islands was ceded to the United States in 1898, it became the residence of the American Governors, with General Wesley Merritt being the first.Since 1863, the Palace has been occupied by eighteen Spanish Governors-General, fourteen American Military and Civil Governors, and later the Presidents of the Philippines. The Palace had been enlarged and refurbished several times since 1750; the grounds were expanded to include neighboring estates, and many buildings were demolished and constructed during the Spanish and American periods. Most recently, the Palace complex was again drastically remodeled and extensively rebuilt during the term of Ferdinand Marcos. Among the presidents of the present Fifth Republic, only Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has actually lived in the main Palace, with all others residing in nearby properties that form part of the larger Palace complex.