Quezon City Reception House

Quezon City Executive House

Snippet of the Google Street View, showing the house under construction, 2014.

Originally named as the "Quezon City Executive House"^[1] meant to serve as an official residence of the Mayor of Quezon City and host foreign dignitaries and other guests of the local government, work on the property formally broke ground on April 5, 2013 and covered two stages. With an budget of ₱45 million for the first phase, initial works on new structural foundations started on March 1 and was expected to be accomplished by August 28, 2013. The total budget allotted for the project was at least ₱90 million. The executive residence structure occupies only 900 square meters (9,700 sq ft) of the almost 7,200 square meters (78,000 sq ft) property^[2] and includes five bedrooms, four of which includes a full bath with a bathtub.^[3] The building's ground floor features three conference rooms, an adjacent facility with 8 office spaces for transient staff, and a museum of Quezon City's history.^[4]

As the Philippine Vice President residence

Then Vice President-elect Leni Robredo eyed the property as the new official seat of the Vice President; Robredo deems the house as a simpler alternative to the previous workplace of the Vice President, the Coconut Palace, which has proven to be expensive to maintain.^[5][6] Robredo's inauguration was held at the mansion.

In June 2016, after getting wind of then Vice President-elect Leni Robredo's search for a new official seat for the Vice President of the Philippines, Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte approached the transition team of Robredo and offered the Quezon City Reception House for Robredo's consideration.^[7][8] After an initial misunderstanding concerning City Administrator Aldrin Cuña's press statement regarding the mayor's supposed disagreement,^[7] Mayor Herbert Bautista in a press conference at the Reception House denied being against Belmonte's offer and stated that his office would find it an honor to host the Office of the Vice President.^[9]

Robredo's chief of staff, Undersecretary Boyet Dy, clarified to the media that the Office of the Vice President was to still occupy its offices at the Coconut Palace and the Philippine National Bank Financial Center in Pasay until the expiration of the existing contract.^[10] By June 18, works by contractor Marigold Development Corp. in preparation for the Vice President's use are 80 percent complete.^[1] However, the Mayor's Office in the Reception House would already be made available for Robredo's use as early as July 1.^[11]