Nuts!

The coconut nut may not be a nut, according to the popular ditty, but it sure is a wonder plant. From the traditional export copra to the now trendy coco water, from coco lumber to the now-lost bunot – the traditional foot-powered polisher that buffed the wooden floors of many a home to a sheen – the coconut is indeed a gem.

The Philippines is the world’s second largest coconut producer, accounting for a fourth of global production last year. Sadly, over 33 million coconut trees were destroyed or damaged by Super Typhoon Yolanda, affecting the livelihood of over a million farmers, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the Philippine Coconut Authority.

The coconut is as versatile as the Filipino, who can find a use for each part of the “Tree of Life.” This versatility and ingenuity is showcased in the Coconut Palace, now the office of the Vice President, who gave us an apres lunch tour of the refurbished structure and its sprawling grounds.

Swathed in controversy when it was built in 1978, supposedly as residence for Pope John Paul II when he visited in 1981 – the pontiff shunned such “extravagance” – the palace instead housed the likes of the late Libyan strongman Muammar Khadaffy and actress Brooke Shields. It also served as a pit stop for “The Amazing Race” when the reality show came to the country in its fifth season.

The Coconut Palace – also called, according to records, Tahanang Pilipino – is actually not totally made of coconut, but of different types of Philippine hardwood. The structure is octagon-shaped, echoing the core of the coconut trunk as well as the way it is cut when served as a refreshing drink. The roofs are like the salakot or traditional grass hat.

Coconut shells and coco lumber are used in quite ingenious ways as adornment, for example the striking chandelier featuring 101 coconut shells.

We had lunch in the main dining room, under a recessed ceiling with lights like those on the carrozas used in religious processions. We sat at one end of a really long narra table. A battalion of young boys – under 12 years – from Laguna were reportedly conscripted to do the barong tagalog inspired inlay – 40,000 tiny pieces of shells from young and mature coconuts form the callado pattern that runs the length of the 37-foot long table with, it was repeatedly pointed out, only five legs – two at each end and one in the middle – so that the madame’s female guests in their splendiferous gowns would not be discomforted by table legs when they sat down to dine.

The swimming pool with the spectacular view of Manila Bay has since been reconfigured because, it is said, the original pool’s shape was too much like a coffin. The garden, after years of neglect, has since been re-landscaped, courtesy of the Vice President’s wife, with flowering oleanders, hedges and palms – altogether a lovely garden that must be a sight to behold at sunset.

“Ang suerte ng susunod na vice president,” the current occupant said, noting all the repairs and improvements his office has put in since taking it over in February 2011. And who might that be? We mentioned a name, and our host chuckled.