Boracay Mansion

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Boracay Mansion
Map
General information
TypeResidence
LocationNew Manila, Quezon City
Address100 11th Street,
Barangay Mariana
Town or cityQuezon City
CountryPhilippines
Coordinates14°37′22″N 121°01′59″E / 14.62275°N 121.0331682°E / 14.62275; 121.0331682
CompletedNever Completed
Demolished2013
OwnerSt. Peter Holdings
(1999-2005; legal owner)
Joseph Estrada
(c. 1999-2005; de facto owner)
Quezon City Government
(2005-2013)

The Boracay Mansion was an unfinished residential building in the northern part of the New Manila neighbourhood of Quezon City, Philippines. Formerly owned by Joseph Estrada, the 13th President of the Philippines and former Mayor of Manila, the house was reportedly built for his mistress, former film actress Laarni Enríquez.

The structure has since been demolished, with the Quezon City Reception House built on the site.

Background[edit]

Reported by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism as one of President Joseph Estrada's 17 palatial properties,[1] it became one of the focal points of his impeachment trial in 2001.

The property occupied by the mansion was bought by St. Peter's Holdings Corp. on October 1, 1999, but the owner of the firm, Jose Yulo, has stated that the real owner of the mansion was Jaime Dichaves, a friend of Estrada. Estrada denied owning the mansion, saying he only borrowed the property from Dichaves.[2]

The mansion occupied 7,145 square meters (76,910 sq ft) of two adjacent lots in the historic and posh neighborhood of New Manila in Quezon City.[2] The moniker "Boracay Mansion" was inspired by the powdery white sand said to have been brought from Boracay to adorn its pool equipped with a wave and mist-making machine.[1] Tropical cabanas once adorned the pool area, with the two-storey white mansion as the focal point. A presumed Presidential Security Group facility, a pelota court and treehouses once adorned the property.[3]

Forfeiture[edit]

Originally registered as the property of St. Peter Holdings,[4] the property was forfeited by the Sandiganbayan in favor of the Quezon City government.[5] The firm owed the city government in delinquencies amounting to 1.7 million. On September 15, 2005,[2] the city government put the property into auction, but no firm placed a bid for the property.[4] The city government tried to contact St. Peter Holdings at its registered address before the auction, but found out that the company was no longer occupying its given address at Strata 100 Building in Ortigas Center.[6]

In November 2007, the Sandiganbayan ordered the Quezon City government to relinquish its title to the property so it can be auctioned off to the national government.[6]

For a time, the structure was used by Barangay Mariana, the adjacent barangay, as a waste-processing facility in August 2009.[2]

A second auction held on January 26, 2010, following a failed bidding made five years earlier in September 2005,[6] still did not gain any bidders and was also declared a failure. The property was then pegged to value at least 142.9 million, even though it was too deteriorated for residential use at that time.[4] This prompted the city government to take full possession of the property for use by the Office of the Mayor.[2] On the property, the Quezon City Reception House was built as the official residence of the Mayor of Quezon City, which later became the official residence of former Vice President Leni Robredo.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Erap mansions revisited". The PCIJ Blog. Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. 10 September 2007. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e Hofileña, Chay (26 April 2014). "Remember the 'Boracay Mansion'?". Rappler. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  3. ^ "Remember the 'Boracay Mansion'?". RAPPLER. 2014-04-26. Retrieved 2022-11-02.
  4. ^ a b c "No takers for infamous 'Boracay Mansion'". POC. Philippine Online Chronicles. 27 January 2010. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  5. ^ "Erap properties, including Boracay Mansion, forfeited to government". Philstar.com. Retrieved 2022-11-02.
  6. ^ a b c "In The Know: Boracay Mansion". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Inquirer Research. 19 June 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.