An all-new Malacañang Museum

Newly appointed presidential adviser Cesar N. Sarino, chairman of the Malacañang Heritage Foundation, a private, non-profit organization given responsibility by the Office of President to manage and operate the Malacañang Presidential Museum, recently announced future plans for the museum.

Sarino said that they envision a walk-through museum designed to acquaint visitors with the political and economic history of the country.

The new museum will be a far cry from the one originally set up during the administration of President Corazon Aquino that showcased the excesses of the Marcos years.

The shift in focus to a more forward-looking institution is a welcome development. "The vision is that of a world-class, interactive museum with state-of-the-art audio-visual faciliies," says Sarino.

The museum is now housed in Kalayaan Hall, which was formerly the Malacañang Press Office. For the moment, a temporary exhibit had been set up at the hall’s second floor, while Kalayaan Hall is being redesigned to accommodate new exhibition spaces.

The formal opening the new museum is expected to be six months from March of this year, when the renovations and installation of the exhibits shall have been completed.

The new museum will feature a permanent exhibition on each Philippine president. To be presented are the vision of each president and the highlights of each presidential term.

The permanent exhibit promises to be very interesting as it will also be a venue for showcasing the valuable items in the museum’s inventory. Among these are the left shoe that survived the Magsaysay plane crash, jewelry and personal items of Philippine presidents and the saber of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, rare and vintage photographs of Philippine scenery and old houses, among others.

Aside from the permanent exhibits, Sarino says there will also be revolving exhibits on various subjects relating to Philippine history and current developments from time to time.

The MHF began managing the museum since the time of Pres. Fidel Ramos.

The museum used to be at the Malacañang Palace, but since the place has been re-laid out to be the living and working residence of current president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, it was moved to Kalayaan Hall.

The members of the Board of Trustees include Roberto de Ocampo, Vice Chairman and National Artist Napoleon Abueva, Jaime Laya and Cid Reyes. Executive director is Mae Gaffud.

Sarino served in the cabinet of President Aquino. He was also president and general manager of the GSIS. It was during his term that the construction of the present GSIS headquarters at the CCP complex was completed. He also envisioned the establishment of the GSIS Museum of Contemporary Arts and a theater for the performing arts within the center.