page_title: Malacañang Palace
section_title: Rizal Ceremonial Hall
hierarchical_section_title: Malacañang Palace / Buildings / Malacañang Palace / Rizal Ceremonial Hall
caption_attribution_description: President Marcos presiding over a meeting during the Manila Conference of SEATO nations on the Vietnam War, at the Malacanang Palace, Manila, Philippines. Various leaders of SEATO nations are seated at the conference table, including Lyndon B. Johnson of the United States.
context_page_description: Malacañang Palace is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the Philippines. It is located in San Miguel, Manila and is commonly associated with Mendiola Street. The term "Malacañang" is often used as a metonym for the president and his advisers. The sprawling Malacañang Palace complex includes numerous mansions and office buildings designed and built largely in bahay na bato and neoclassical style.
  The original structure was built in 1750 by Don Luís Rocha as a summer house along the Pasig River. It was purchased by the state in 1825 as the summer residence for the Spanish Governor-General. After the June 3, 1863 earthquake which destroyed the Palacio del Gobernador in the walled city of Manila, it became the Governor-General's official residence. After sovereignty over the Islands was ceded to the United States in 1898, it became the residence of the American Governors, with General Wesley Merritt being the first.
  Since 1863, the Palace has been occupied by eighteen Spanish Governors-General, fourteen American Military and Civil Governors, and later the Presidents of the Philippines.
context_section_description: This room, the largest in the Palace today, is also known as the Ballroom, used for state dinners and large assemblies, notably the mass oath takings of public officials begun by President Ramos. The upholstered benches are lined up for guests on such occasions. When the room is used for state dinners, the benches are removed and round tables set in place. Orchestras sometimes play from the minstrels' galleries at two ends of the hall.
  Three large wood and glass chandeliers illuminate the Hall. Carved and installed in 1979 by the famous Juan Flores of Betis, Pampanga, the chandeliers are masterpieces of Philippine artistry in wood.
  The Hall used to be much smaller and was in effect merely an extension of the Reception Hall. It had a coved ceiling similar to those of old Philippine homes, and glass doors opening to verandahs on three sides overlooking the Pasig and Malacañang Park. Many an al fresco party was held here, with round tables set on the azoteas and verandah for dinner and the Ceremonial Hall, doors thrown open, cleared for dancing. Fireworks lit the skies promptly at midnight from the Park across the river at New Year's Eve parties. The azoteas (covered patios), verandas and the intimate pavilion in the middle were combined in 1979 into the present enormous Ceremonial Hall.
  A recurring Palace ritual is the presentation of credentials when a new Ambassador arrives. During the Marcos Administration and prior to the 1979 renovation, new Ambassadors presented their credentials in an impressive ceremony. A flourish of trumpets accompanied the arriving Ambassador as he mounted the Grand Staircase and marched the full length of the Reception Hall. The yellow-gold curtains to the old Ceremonial Hall were parted to reveal the President standing alone at the far end, with members of the Cabinet lined up on the left. The Ambassador presented his documents of credence to the President, who handed them to the Foreign Secretary. The President then delivered his welcome speech and offered a champagne toast to the head of state of Ambassador's home country. The Ambassador then delivered his response, offered a toast to the President, and after small talk, left in another burst of trumpets.
  Presidents Corazon Aquino and Ramos were less formal, receiving new Ambassadors in the Music Room without ceremony. The old rituals were revived by President Estrada, when an arriving diplomat disembarked from his car at General Solano Street and boards what is called a chariot, a luxurious open jeep where the occupant stands on a red carpet holding onto a stout bar while progressing up J.P. Laurel Street to the Palace grounds. He received military honors in the garden outside the main entrance and to fanfare, is escorted up to the Reception Hall. He marched through two columns of guards in gala uniform to present his credentials to the waiting President.
caption: President Ferdinand Marcos presiding over a meeting during the Manila Conference of SEATO nations
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