Metro Manila · Presidential Museum & Library
The Presidential Museum and Library in Manila is one of the oldest structures in the country. It displays a number of art pieces connected to the country’s former executives and their first ladies.
The Presidential Museum and Library, located at the primary home of the country’s executive, is among the oldest buildings in the vicinity. In the 1970s, tours to the palace and its museum and library were discontinued due to security concerns. Today, it is among the most visited museums and libraries in the country. The building, a neo-Renaissance structure, was designed by Ralph Harrington Doane and features a number of pieces that evoke the different eras of Philippine government.
The Old Waiting Room Gallery, for example, is reminiscent of the Spanish era with pieces dating back to Spanish times. The museum’s Quezon Executive Office, where the President of the Commonwealth Manual Quezon used to hold his day-to-day activities during his term as president, features Czech crystal chandeliers.
The library’s main hall, the former location of the palace’s eight guestrooms during the American occupation, was turned into a large hall by former First Lady Imelda Marcos. It is where the palace houses its library today. The library contains a vast collection of books, and according to historians, most of them were owned by the late President Ferdinand Marcos. The library also has a goldmine of illustrations depicting the political atmosphere in the Philippines during the American occupation. Some of these satire pieces are posted by Palace staff on the palace’s Tumblr page.
Among the most interesting valuables in the museum is the blackboard used by Marcos’s generals during Martial Law. The board was used to plan the attack on Camp Crame during the EDSA Revolution.
Location & How To Get There
Kalayaan Hall, Jose P. Laurel Street, Malacañang, Manila City
Tel: (63) 2 784 4286
For reservations please click here and fill out the form. Your reservation should be sent to the Palace two weeks before your tour date. Foreign nationals must scan their passport’s identity page and send said information to the following email addresses: email@example.com, firstname.lastname@example.org.