Palacio del Gobernador
| Palacio del Gobernador | |
|---|---|
Facade of the Palacio del Gobernador | |
Interactive map of the Palacio del Gobernador area | |
| General information | |
| Location | Manila, Philippines |
| Current tenants | Commission on Elections[1] Intramuros Administration |
| Completed | 1976 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Otilio Arellano |
| Designations | NHCP marked structure |
| Website | |
| www | |
The Palacio del Gobernador (transl. Governor's Palace) is a government building located in Intramuros, Manila, Philippines. It is located southwest from Plaza de Roma[2] and built in its current form in 1976. At present, the building houses the Intramuros Administration, the Commission on Elections and the Home Development Mutual Fund National Capital Region Office. It also previously housed the Bureau of the Treasury until it relocated across Plaza de Roma to the Ayuntamiento de Manila on July 2013.
History
Original Governor's Palace
The present building lies on the footprint of the former residence of the Governor-General of the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. Alongside Palacio del Gobernador, the original building was also known as the Casa Real (Royal House) or Real Audiencia (appellate court), references to the governor's role as representative of the Spanish monarch and justice in the Philippines. The first Casa Real was constructed in Fort Santiago in 1599, but was destroyed in the 1645 Luzon earthquake.
The second palace was constructed as one of the four buildings flanking Manila's Plaza de Armas (collectively known as the Casas Reales or "Royal Houses") in the mid-17th century, along with the Ayuntamiento, Manila Cathedral, and the Cabildo (no longer standing). It was originally the residence of Manuel Estacio Venegas, secretary to the Captain General, until he was imprisoned in 1660 and had his residence confiscated and given to the Governor-General.
The Palacio del Gobernador was a two-storey building, with a rusticated ground floor, second-floor piano nobile, and attic topped by a tiled hip roof. It was rebuilt in 1733 and 1745. The building underwent a comprehensive renovations in the European style in 1845, although its back retained a typical bahay na bato style, with the second floor covered by capiz shells windows.[3] The governor's residence was located in the palace until an earthquake destroyed it on June 3, 1863. Governor-General Rafael de Echagüe y Bermingham moved upriver to Malacañang Palace after the earthquake,[4][5] and it became the governor-general's official residence.[6] The move to Malacañang was intended to be temporary until the original palace was rebuilt, but this plan was soon abandoned, leaving only the stone foundations. The lot of the palace eventually was planted with trees and became a park-like extension of the Plaza de Armas.
The lot was the site of an air raid shelter during World War Two, and 80 men were killed there in 1945.[7]
Present building
In 1976, construction began on a condominium at the site of the old Governor's Palace. Jaime Laya, then Minister for Budget, was alarmed by the construction of a modern building in the Intramuros district, particularly in close proximity to Manila Cathedral. He alerted President Ferdinand Marcos, who took an interest in the preservation of Manila's colonial heritage[8] and immediately ordered that construction be halted. He relented after the president of the Land Bank of the Philippines, Basílio Estanislao, which was building the new Palacio, pointed out the structure had already reached three storeys. However, the appearance of the modern Palacio in Intramuros sufficiently shocked the national government to pursue a comprehensive heritage preservation scheme in the walled city. The Intramuros Administration, which regulates new constructions in the district, was founded in 1979 in reaction to the building of the Palacio. Ironically, the Intramuros Authority eventually occupied offices in the Palacio, and remains one of its principal tenants.[9]
Despite alarm voiced at the Palacio's modern appearance, the eight-storey building's ground floor was built in a historicist style on the footprint of the old palace. The ground floor also holds items from the Intramuros Authority's museum collections, mostly religious art.
The building's exterior was used in the Chuck Norris film Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection for a scene set in Rio de Janeiro during a Brazilian Carnaval parade.
References
- ^ Esmaquel II, Paterno R. (December 1, 2017). "Comelec faces eviction from Palacio del Gobernador". Rappler. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
- ^ Torres, Jose Victor Z. (2005). Ciudad Murada: A Walk Through Historic Intramuros. Jointly published by Intramuros Administration and Vibal Publishing House. p. 59. ISBN 978-971-07-2276-1. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
- ^ "GOVERNMENT AND ADMINISTRATION". www.armada15001900.net. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
- ^ Medina, Marielle (June 3, 2020). "Did You Know: Palacio del Gobernador damaged in 1863 quake". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
- ^ East Asian Cultural Studies (in Spanish). Centre for East Asian Cultural Studies. 1970. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
- ^ Former Palace of the Governors General [sic] (Marker on building facade). Palacio del Gobernador in Intramuros: Historical Research and Markers Committee. 1936.
- ^ "Former Palace of the Governors General Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
- ^ Levina Viray, Bryan (July 29, 2025). "Dissonance in the national cultural heritage policy of the Philippines". International Journal of Cultural Policy. 31 (5): 694–713. doi:10.1080/10286632.2025.2514046. ISSN 1028-6632.
- ^ "Trivia no. 2: The Palacio del Gobernador and the Intramuros Administration". Renacimiento Manila. April 17, 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
![Former Palace of the Governors General [sic]](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Historical_marker_Palacio_del_Gobernador.jpg){kind=link}