The Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) has found a new home in Manila after apparently getting evicted from the Malacañang compound.
Led by Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar, the PCOO has started to rent an office space at the Times Plaza Building along UN Avenue in Manila. The lease contract amounted to P18.5 million based on government records.
With a year left in the Duterte administration's term, Andanar's team has vacated its home at the New Executive Building (NEB) along Jose P. Laurel St, San Miguel, Manila last week after the Office of the President (OP) regained occupancy of the building.
Apart from the OP's administrative offices, the New Executive Building is expected to continue to house the Office of the Presidential Spokesperson, the Malacañang Press Briefing Room, and press working area.
The plans for the transfer of the PCOO to a new office address were apparently sealed last May.
A lease contract for the 8th floor of the Times Plaza building was granted to RHL Properties and Development Corporation based on the Notice of Award issued by the PCOO on May 24. The document is posted on the PCOO website.
"Please be informed that, upon the recommendation of the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), the contract for the LEASE OF OFFICE SPACE FOR THE PRESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS OPERATIONS OFFICE (PCOO) in the amount of Eighteen Million Five Hundred Sixty-Four Thousand One Hundred Forty-Eight Pesos & 23/100 (₱18,564,148.23) is hereby awarded to you. The contract shall be prepared and signed by the parties," the notice of award read.
The awarding of the contract to the real property company was upon the recommendation of the government's bids and awards committee. A notice to proceed was issued on June 1.
Despite the leaving its old nest, Andanar said the PCOO would continue to fulfill its mandate to disseminate government information and programs.
"The physical structure of the workplace si expected to blend with the architecture of our thoughts, our dreams, our legacy," Andanar said. "And it is within our hearts, that our task of information dissemination continues to be conceived, executed and preserved," he added.
The PCOO earlier had an approved budget of P28.4 million for its office space lease and set several technical specifications on availability, location, among others, in its request for quotation.
Among the minimum specifications are the office space must ready for occupancy on June 1 and seven-month contract with possibility of renewal subject to PCOO evaluation.
The office space must likewise be within three kilometer radius to and from Malacanang Complex, accessible to major roads and public transport, in good sanitation and health condition, and has adequate measures against floods, and secured parking space.
PCOO also wanted the leasable space to be at least 3,500 square meters with standard finish, proper lighting and ventilation, uninterrupted power supply. It must also comply with COVID-19 preventive protocols and open for renovations and improvement, among others.