Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 6) — Presidential memorabilia such as former President Corazon Aquino’s yellow piano, the “Las Nereidas” by Spanish painter Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida, and Imelda Marcos’ ivory-white plaster of paris bust are among dozens of exhibits you can do a virtual tour of on your smartphone.
Google, in collaboration with The Presidential Communications Cooperation Office (PCOO), launched on Wednesday a virtual tour of the Presidential Museum and Library in Malacañang on Google Arts and Culture, a web platform that features over 1,200 museums and galleries worldwide.
You can do a virtual, 360-degree tour of the nearly 100-year-old Kalayaan Hall’s interiors on the website and catch a glimpse of more than 70 presidential memorabilia up close.
The Presidential Museum and Library, which features relics acquired from each Presidents’ administration, also has two virtual exhibits for visitors looking to brush up on their history.
Its first exhibit, “Relics of Power: Remembering the Philippine Presidents,” traces the country’s past through artifacts and artwork featuring the Philippines’ former Presidents.
The tour allows visitors to navigate rooms in Kalayaan Hall and zoom up close to historical items displayed in them. After exploring the street view, visitors can also scroll down the page and read a writeup detailing some of the memorabilia’s’ backgrounds.
The “Malacañang as Prize, Pulpit and Stage,” puts the spotlight on the Presidential residence as a seat of power in the Philippines.
It details how the Palace has become, in its own words, “a tangible symbol of the people’s trust… the platform from which decisions and orders that affect the the Filipinos’ lives emanate; and the stage from which the pomp and pageantry of the Philippine presidency is presented.”
Both exhibits feature artwork, furniture, books, and journals taken from collections of the Presidential Museum and private institutions.
These include items like campaign leaflets from the 1946 presidential elections of Sergio Osmeña and Manuel Roxas, and the chair Ferdinand Marcos sat on when he announced his declaration of martial law on television in 1972.
At the exhibit’s launch at Malacañang’s Kalayaan Hall, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said bringing the museum and library online was part of President Rodrigo Duterte’s efforts to make the Palace more accessible to Filipinos.
“President Rodrigo Roa Duterte said this is the Palace of the people. He started opening the doors of the Presidential Museum and Library, at no cost. All one needs is to schedule an appointment. This collaboration with Google takes it one step further,” Andanar said
President Duterte has said he wanted Malacañang to be made closer to the public. In August 2016, he said he considered changing Malacañang’s name to “People’s Palace.”
“They will see Malacañan Palace not just as a venue of frivolity and authority, but as the repository of a collective story about a nation of individuals who struggled and fought for a better life with each leader and government,” Andanar added.
The Presidential Museum and Library was established in 2004 by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who merged the Presidential Museum and the Malacañang Library into one office.
Netizens looking to explore its collections online can view the exhibits by visiting the Google Arts & Culture website or downloading the similarly-named mobile application on their phones.
Those who want to see the exhibits firsthand can also visit the museum free of charge.
The Presidential Museum and Library is open 9:00 a.m. to12 noon and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. from Monday to Friday except public holidays.
Requests for tours may be sent to the Tours and Visitor Relations Coordinator through regular mail or email at pml@malacanang.gov.ph or malacanangmuseum@gmail.com, and must be received at least three workings days before the preferred tour date.
