The Coconut Palace, also known as Tahanang Pilipino (lit. Filipino Home), is a government building located in the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex, in Manila, Philippines. It was the official residence and the principal workplace of the Vice President of the Philippines during the term of Jejomar Binay.
It was commissioned in 1978 by former First Lady Imelda Marcos as a government guest house and offered to Pope John Paul II during the Papal visit to the Philippines in 1981 but the Pope refused to stay there because it was too opulent given the level of poverty in the Philippines.
The Coconut Palace cost PHP 37 million to build and was partly financed by the coconut levy fund, which was set up to be used for the welfare of coconut farmers. Its construction is sometimes associated with the Mrs. Marcos’ edifice complex, defined by one writer as the “obsession and compulsion to build edifices as a hallmark of greatness or as a signifier of national prosperity.” It is owned by the government-owned and controlled corporation the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).
The Coconut Palace is made of several types of Philippine hardwood, coconut shells, and a specially engineered coconut lumber apparently known as Imelda Madera. Each of the suites on the second floor is named after a specific region of the Philippines and displays some of the handicrafts these regions produce. The palace is located on F. Ma. Guerrero Street at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex between the Folk Arts Theatre and the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Hotel. Before becoming the official residence of the Vice President, the palace was used for wedding receptions