MANILA – Members of the Philippine Senate want their own home and are planning to move into a “haunted†government building which was built during the time of former first lady Imelda Marcos, a ranking official of the chamber disclosed.
Juan Miguel Zubiri, the Senate majority leader, said they are now negotiating with the management of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) for the use of the “haunted†Film Center of the Philippines (FCP).
The CCP, the FCP and the Philippine International Convention Center (Picc) are part of a government complex located along a reclaimed area of the Manila Bay in suburban Pasay City, Metro Manila.
Critics said these were constructed as part of the “edifice complex†of Imelda Marcos during the strongman rule of her husband, the late president Ferdinand Marcos.
Zubiri explained the senators want their own home as they are now renting space, including some offices and their session hall, at the state-pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) building located a few hundred meters away from the film center.
Right now, he said the Senate is paying an annual rent to the GSIS equivalent to more than $2 million.
Zubiri pointed out that due to lack of funds, arising mainly from the global financial and economic meltdown, the Senate could not afford to build its own building which is estimated to cost between $10 million and $70 million.
In its negotiations with the CCP management, Zubiri said they are looking at a 25-year rental arrangement. If the deal would be finalized, he added the Senate hopes to move to the film center in time for the start of the 15th Congress in June 2010 after the national polls and with the election of a new president.
It would also be the time, Zubiri said, to invite leaders of the House of Representatives and make the Senate as the host of the 2010 joint session of Congress to hear the state-of-the-nation address of the new president.
According to Zubiri, the engineers deemed the building to be structurally sound, although there was a need for renovating the electrical and water systems.
He also pointed out that most of his colleagues, including the more senior members like Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Senator Edgardo Angara, have agreed with the proposal to have their own home.
At the same time, Zubiri insisted they are not at all concerned about reports that the film center is haunted.
Earlier, the Department of Foreign Affairs moved some of its offices to the film center but it was later abandoned when some of its officials and employees complained they were “spooked†while working there.
The building was built in the early 1980s amid reports that its construction was being rushed 24 hours a day, on orders of Imelda Marcos to meet the deadline of an international film festival to be hosted by the government.
In their hurry to do so, a part of the structure collapsed, burying several workers alive in fresh cement, according to reports.
Reliable sources said the Marcos government tried to “kill†the story about the tragedy, especially in the heavily-censored local media, with orders for the construction to proceed to meet the deadline.
But after hosting the film festival, the building was abandoned and remained vacant for years because the “ghosts†of the workers who were killed were reportedly seen moving around and haunting the place.
Employees of the foreign office also complained that some “eerie†events had occurred, like hearing shrieks and moans as well as encountering “elements†while inside the comfort rooms.
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