Batasang Pambansa Complex
The Batasang Pambansa Complex, or simply the Batasan (lit. 'legislature'), is the seat of the House of Representatives of the Philippines. It is located along the Batasan Road in Batasan Hills, Quezon City.
"Batasan" and "Batasang Pambansa" redirect here. For the former legislature of the Philippines, see Batasang Pambansa (legislature). For other uses, see Batasan (disambiguation).Batasang Pambansa Complex
1978
Felipe M. Mendoza
The complex was initially the home of the Batasang Pambansa, the former legislature of the Philippines which was established as an interim assembly in 1978 and finally as an official body in 1984. Under the 1973 Constitution, it replaced the bicameral Congress of the Philippines established under the 1935 Commonwealth Constitution.
When the bicameral Congress was restored in 1987, the complex was set aside as the home of the House of Representatives. The main building of the complex is still often referred to as the Batasang Pambansa.
The Senate, the upper house of Congress, does not meet in the Batasan, but in the GSIS Building across Metro Manila in Pasay.
History[edit]
Construction[edit]
Following the naming of Quezon City as the new capital city of the Philippines in 1948, a cornerstone for a Capitol building was laid on Constitution Hill, now Batasan Hills, in Quezon City on October 22, 1949.[1] The location was part of a larger National Government Center, which was meant to house the three branches of the Philippine government (legislative, executive, and judicial). In 1956, architect Federico S. Ilustre laid out the master plan for the location, which was set aside to be the new home of the Congress (made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives). Ilustre had also designed the buildings for the new legislative center. Public reception to the building's design was lukewarm, so a newer design by the National Planning Commission under architect Anselmo Alquinto replaced the Ilustre-designed one. By 1963, however, only the concrete foundations and steel frame were laid out. Ultimately, due to lack of funding, the Capitol was never completed. The uncompleted structure sat in the area for more than a decade before being torn down.[2]
During the presidency of Ferdinand E. Marcos, the plans for a legislative complex were revived. By that time, the 1973 constitution had replaced the bicameral Congress with the Batasang Pambansa, a unicameral parliament. The new complex was accordingly designed to house only one legislative body. Felipe M. Mendoza was designated as the architect of the complex, and its surrounding area.[3][4] The uncompleted structure for the Capitol building was torn down to make way for the new complex. The North and South Wing Buildings were completed in December 1977. Meanwhile, the Main Building itself finally opened on May 31, 1978.[5][6] However, the rest of the intended government buildings and public spaces around the complex were never built.
The legislative body first convened at the Main Building on June 12, 1978.[7]
Turnover to the House of Representatives[edit]
However, under the 1987 constitution, the legislative branch again became bicameral. The numerically larger House of Representatives retained the session hall and offices of the old Batasang Pambansa on the grounds of the complex. The smaller, newly reinstated Senate returned to the original legislative building in Manila (reinstated as capital city in 1976) and held their plenary sessions there until the building was turned over to the National Museum of the Philippines under the presidency of Fidel V. Ramos. The Senate has since moved to the GSIS Building on reclaimed land on Manila Bay in Pasay, holding their plenary sessions there since May 1997.
Plans and scale models for the expansion were developed in 1978, but were not implemented.
In March 2001, the Ramon V. Mitra Jr. Building was completed. Currently headquartered in the building are the Legislative Library, the Committee offices, the Reference and Research Bureau, and the Conference Rooms.
The South Wing Annex Building started construction in 2008 and was inaugurated on June 29, 2010.[8]