Type Residential House | Country Philippines | |
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Address 515 Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong | ||
The Jose P. Laurel Residence or Villa Pacencia is a historic house located at 515 Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila. The three-storey house was built in 1957 and was one of the three houses owned by the President of the Second Republic of the Philippines, José P. Laurel.
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In 1965, two historical markers were installed at the house entrance. The first marker was placed by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines in recognition of the building as the official residence of Jose P. Laurel. The second marker notes of the First Indonesian President Sukarno's stay in the mansion during a Manila Conference on August 5, 1963.
Construction
Years after serving his term as president of the second republic from 1943 to 1945, Jose P. Laurel built a three-storey house near the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club that occupied 1,000 square meters of the land once overrun with cogon. The house was named Villa Pacencia in honor of his wife, Pacencia Hidalgo y Valencia.
Site of Political Events
The house was the venue of several political events. In 1957, Laurel hosted a luncheon at the mansion in honor of James Langley, a New Hampshire newspaper publisher. Laurel and Langley signed the Laurel-Langley Agreement in 1954, which amended the Bell Trade Act of 1946 and provided for an increase in the duties imposed on U.S. products and a decrease in the duties imposed on Philippine goods.
On August 5, 1963, the first Indonesian President Sukarno stayed at the mansion during his working visit in the Philippines for the Manila Summit Conference on Maphilindo. A marker with Filipino and Bahasa Indonesia text was installed at the house entrance on March 9, 1965 documenting this historical event.
The mansion became the de facto Nacionalist Party headquarters when José Laurel, Jr. acquired the property after his father's death on November 1959.
Present
The Laurel family sold the property to former Senator and Nacionalista Party President, Manny Villar, and to his wife, Senator Cynthia Villar. Vista Shaw of Vista Land and Lifescapes, Inc., a real estate company owned by Manny Villar, plans on converting the mansion into a museum, housing various memorabilia from José P. Laurel.