Same Marcos extravagance: Media dazzled by Bahay Pangulo renovation

A SELECT group of journalists were given a tour of the Bahay Pangulo (President’s House), the newly renovated residence in the Malacañang Palace complex located just across the Pasig River. 

Not all reports gave background information about the building. Some noted that the current administration now calls it Bahay Pangulo. A few of the articles (Philstar Life and Manila Bulletin) said that the residence was originally named Bahay Pangarap (Dream House) in the sixties during the term of President Diosdado Macapagal. It was renamed Bahay Pagbabago (House of Change) by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2016.

During their respective terms, Benigno Aquino III and Duterte, both of whom did not have families with them, worked in Malacañang and used Bahay Pangarap as their residence. Refurbished during the Macapagal administration, the Official Gazette also records that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in 2008 ordered Bahay Pangarap demolished and rebuilt in contemporary style for the use of state guests. 

The public unveiling of the renovated compound addressed some of the questions raised when the construction first broke into news last year. 

In January 2023, CMFR jeered the media for failing to verify the news about alleged construction across the Pasig saying that the people deserve to know about construction anywhere in the Palace grounds. But media reports failed to inquire into the cost of the project, which presumably was funded by taxpayer money.” At the time, news of the construction, which sources said began in November 2022, surfaced only in an opinion column, not in any news reports. 

Lifestyle treatment

The tour of the Bahay Pangulo last week enabled reporters to give detailed descriptions of the buildings, including exclusive photos and video footage from inside the lavishly decorated compound. Reports echoed state news channel PTV in justifying the renovations as “overdue” following structural damage incurred from a 2022 earthquake as well as termite infestation. News accounts identified six main structures: the President and First Lady’s house, a gym, a swimming pool, a guest villa, a pavilion-style reception hall, and staff quarters. PTV said that the President Marcos Jr. and the First Lady host the Marcos clan’s weekly Sunday gathering in Bahay Pangarap.

News reports maintained key points of PTV’s narrative: the President’s need to have a place to “relax” after attending to his duties; the hands-on approach of First Lady Liza Marcos who gave the project a “personal touch;” and the project as a well-built structure to be utilized by future administrations.

PTV’s report said: “The cost of renovating the Bahay Pangulo was not disclosed. But the budget was drawn meticulously and spent wisely given the range of cost cost-efficient options.” The few reports (three from ABS-CBN and one from Philstar Life) that brought up the budget concern did not give an informed estimate of the project expense. 

Media gave the story time and space treating the construction as lifestyle news. 

GMA Integrated News aired the same report by Jonathan Andal on its morning, noontime, and late night newscasts on October 9, 2024; but was noticeably absent from its primetime newscast, 24 Oras. Online, GMA published two articles on the renovation: one on GMA Lifestyle, and another on GMA News Online. 

Similarly, separate reports by ABS-CBN News’ Vivienne Gulla kept up the lifestyle approach although in different platforms, in the lifestyle section online and in the primetime newscast “TV Patrol.” ANC’s program “Market Edge,” also aired Gulla’s report. Gulla included the issue of cost, asking project architect Conrad Onglao (who rebuilt the structure in 2008) about the expense of the project. Onglao explained that even he was not “privy” to how much was spent for the makeover but that they were “very conscious,” about cost and provided lower-priced alternatives when asked. 

Philippine Star kept the news in the lifestyle section, publishing two feature stories. Millet Mananquil, lifestyle editor who toured the residence, wrote a lengthy feature, giving generous praise for the First Lady: “Truth is, there was a void during the past three administrations that didn’t really have a working First Lady. Now, Liza is working triple time…”  Unfortunately, it was not clear what she meant exactly. 

Philippine Daily Inquirer’s account by Marge Enriquez on the renovation was a lifestyle piece for its October 13, 2024 Sunday print issue, echoing the recognition of the work of the First Lady, calling it another completed “legacy project,” by the First Lady. The paper devoted an entire page to the article with photos. Digitally, the story is available on its online Inquirer Plus platform.

Manila Bulletin gave the story an entire page in the property and living section of its October 13, 2024 Sunday edition.  

Covering the public’s reaction 

Only online news picked up less than enthusiastic notes from the public. 

Digital news features site Interaksyon went with its usual formula, recording reactions from online users which expressed netizens’ primary judgment of the renovations as a display of misplaced priorities. It gathered snippets of social media posts lamenting that the money spent would have been better spent on public school classrooms and subsidized medical services, for example.

News5 posted an online report noting criticisms from netizens. Luke Espiritu, a labor movement leader, listed hunger, starvation wages, rampant contractualization, the needs of struggling farmers and small business owners as more urgent issues that could be addressed with public funds.

Media’s duty and the public’s right to know

In the past, journalists risked much and worked hard to bring to light lavish lifestyles of leaders, most notoriously Imelda Marcos’ vanity projects using public funds. It is highly disappointing to find coverage sidelining the crucial information of the cost of the renovated Bahay Pangarap. 

Media’s reports should have recounted some of the long history of Bahay Pangarap and questioned the justification for government spending on the overhaul when residential facilities for the president and First family already exist in Malacañang Palace.

In February 2023, CMFR noted media reports seemingly dazzled by renovations done in a different part of Malacañang Palace (the Ceremonial and Reception Halls as well as the kitchen, mess hall, and staff quarters in the Palace proper); showing “how journalists can end up doing propaganda just by having been invited to an “exclusive” Palace tour.” 

Any project presented to the public must include important information; the purpose and justification; as well as the all-important cost to the people — the project budget. Before or after everything else, journalists should get the answer to two small words “how much?” When it comes to Marcos lifestyle tastes, the bill usually amounts to a lot.