Coconut Palace

The Coconut Palace, also known as Tahanang Pilipino (Filipino Home), is the official residence and principal workplace of the Vice President of the Philippines. Located at the CCP Complex, in Pasay, it was commissioned by former First Lady Imelda Marcos for Pope John Paul II's visit in 1981. However, the pope declined the offer, saying that it was too ostentatious a place to stay while in the poverty-stricken Philippines. The Palace's architect Francisco Mañosa, later claimed that the Coconut Palace - a showpiece on the versatility of the coconut and its viability as an export - was planned long before the Pope even decided to visit the country.

The Coconut Palace, built in 1978, is made of several types of Philippine hardwood, coconut shells, and a specially engineered coconut lumber apparently known as Imelda Madera. Each of the suites on the second floor is named after a specific region of the Philippines and displays some of the handicrafts these regions produce.

The palace is shaped like an octagon (the shape given to a coconut before being served), while the roof is...
Read More