Palace: 3 weeks needed to fix Noynoy's target home

Refurbishing the Bahay Pangarap may go beyond June 30, the date its intended occupant — President-elect Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III — will assume office. This was after the Arroyo government said it needs at least three weeks to improve the Bahay Pangarap and get it ready for Aquino should he decide to use it as his official residence during his term. According to Presidential Management Staff secretary Ma. Elena Bautista-Horn, they still have to add at least one extra room in the area to accommodate Aquino’s close-in security details. She said members of Arroyo and Aquino transition teams toured the place Friday night after a dinner and agreed than an additional room is needed for Aquino's aides. "Binigyan sila ng tour at pinakita rin na, kasi iisa ang kwarto doon at walang kwarto iyung mga aides. Pinakita rin natin kung saan potentially pwedeng magtayo ng kwarto para sa mga security ng Pangulong Aquino kung doon sila mag-decide na manirahan," Bautista-Horn said in an interview by Radyo ng Bayan. (We gave them a tour of the house and we saw that there’s no room for President Aquino’s aides. We also show them the exact spot where an additional room could be built.) The Bahay Pangarap was originally built in the 1930s by then president Manuel Quezon as a presidential rest house and recreation hall. It has a master bedroom and a swimming pool. Known then simply as Pangarap, it was renamed Bahay Pangarap Pangarap in the 1960s by President Arroyo’s mother, then First Lady Eva Macapagal during the Presideny of Diosdado Macapagal. During the Marcos presidency, National Artist for Architecture Francisco Mañosa added Filipino details to the house like a pitched roof, narra flooring and capiz windows and was eventually used as a golfer’s hangout after a game in the nearby golf course and later as a venue for meetings of the Presidential Security Group. Architect Conrad Onglao in 2008 oveersaw the refurbishing of Bahay Pangarap under the Arroyo presidency before it was used for social functions and meetings with visiting diplomats and world leaders. Aquino, a bachelor, had earlier said that if it was his choice, he prefers to stay at their house in Times Street in Quezon City, but concerns for the security and the welfare of his neighbors prompted him to agree to look for another place. Aquino, son of the late President Corazon Aquino, had earlier said he is not keen on staying in Malacañang. - KBK, GMANews.TV