Malacañang sa Sugbo seen to reopen by October
DESPITE some damage sustained due to the Oct. 15, 2013 earthquake, most of the facilities and furniture remain intact at the Malacañang sa Sugbo.
SIX years after it was used as the president’s official residence in Cebu, Malacañang sa Sugbo was reopened for inspection yesterday.
Jonji Gonzales, chief of staff of Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (PAV) Michael Dino, said there is an ongoing assessment of the building to identify the repairs it needed.
“Engineers of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) went to the place to check,” Gonzales said.
He said the assessment will include determining how much will be spent for the repairs.
Earlier, Dino said he will hold office in the building which will also be converted into a museum.
Gonzales said they were also asked to submit a floor plan for the office they will be using.
Dino will be using the room at the left wing of the building as the PAV office.
Malacañang sa Sugbo, established in 2004, was Cebu City’s old customs house which then president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had refurbished to serve as her official residence whenever she was in Cebu.
Cebu Daily News photographer Junjie Mendoza was allowed to visit some portions of the building and take photos of them.
Some furniture in the conference room where Cabinet meetings were held during Arroyo’s time are still intact.
Most of the furniture were covered with either a white or blue cloth.
At the back entrance, the X-ray machine that was used to scan bags is still there.
However, some portions like walls along the hallway of the second floor near the staircase of the building have shown signs of termites infesting them.
Some plywood planks of the ceiling along the hallway were also no longer there.
In 2013, the building was declared off limits after the magnitude 7.2 earthquake damaged some portions of it.
Gonzales said they are targeting to reopen the building in October this year.
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