Marcos to take oath at historic National Museum
The National Museum of Philippines will be the venue for the oath-taking of President-elect Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos, Jr. as the country's 17th President on June 30.
Formerly known as the Old Legislative Building, it has served as the venue for the inauguration of former Presidents Manuel L. Quezon (1935), Jose P. Laurel (1943), and Manuel Roxas (1946).
Former Manila Representative and now Presidential Management Staff (PMS) Secretary-designate Zenaida Angping said the inaugural committee members had recently inspected the area and found it to be a suitable venue.
"The National Museum of Philippines building and its surrounding areas match our requirements for President-elect Marcos' inauguration. Preparations are already in full swing to ensure that it will be ready by then," Angping said.
Designed by the Bureau of Public Works (predecessor of the DPWH) in 1918 as the new home of the National Library of the Philippines, construction work was completed in 1926.
In 1935, it served as the venue for the proclamation of the Philippine Commonwealth and was known as the National Assembly Building.
It was destroyed during World War II and underwent a massive reconstruction from 1949 to 1950.
Angping also said that while the committee considered the Quirino Grandstand a potential venue for the inauguration, the committee's ocular inspection team observed that there were still several COVID-19 field hospitals in the area.
Marcos, who was proclaimed President-elect by Congress on May 25 after winning the 2022 national elections via landslide, has vowed to "hit the ground running" as he started to appoint key cabinet members.
In a press briefing on Monday, Marcos' Press Secretary-designate Atty. Trixie Cruz-Angeles announced Angping's nomination as PMS Secretary-designate together with Liloan, Cebu Mayor Christina Frasco as tourism secretary, and Amenah Pangandaman as head of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
Also nominated were veteran journalist Erwin Tulfo as Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) secretary and lawyer Ivan John Uy as Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) head. Office of Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' R. Marcos Jr
