Batasang Pambansa Complex

Batasang Pambansa Complex
The East Front of the Main Building
Location within Metro Manila
General information
Town or city	Quezon City
Country	Philippines
Coordinates	14°41′35.93″N 121°5′39.83″E / 14.6933139°N 121.0943972°E / 14.6933139; 121.0943972
Completed	1978
Design and construction
Architect	Felipe M. Mendoza

The Batasang Pambansa Complex is the headquarters of the House of Representatives of the Philippines. It is located at Batasan Road, Batasan Hills, Quezon City.

The complex was initially the home of the Batasang Pambansa, the former parliament of the Philippines which was established as an interim assembly in 1978 and finally as an official body in 1984. Under the 1973 constitution, it replaced the bicameral Congress of the Philippines established under the 1935 Commonwealth constitution.

When the bicameral Congress was restored in 1987, the complex was set aside as the home of the House of Representatives. The Main Building of the complex is often referred to as the Batasang Pambansa.

Following the naming of Quezon City as the new capital city of the Philippines in 1948, a cornerstone for a Capitol building was laid on Constitution Hill, now Batasan Hills, in Quezon City on October 22, 1949. The location was part of a larger National Government Center, which was meant to house the three branches of the Philippine government (legislative, executive, and judicial). In 1956, architect Federico S. Ilustre laid out the master plan for the location, which was set aside to be the new home of the Congress (made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives). Ilustre had also designed the buildings for the new legislative center. Public reception to the building's design was lukewarm, so a newer design by the National Planning Commission under architect Anselmo Alquinto replaced the Ilustre-designed one. By 1963, however, only the concrete foundations and steel frame were laid out. Ultimately, due to lack of funding, the Capitol was never completed. The uncompleted structure sat in the area for more than a decade before being torn down.

During the presidency of Ferdinand E. Marcos, the plans for a legislative complex were revived. By that time, the 1973 constitution had replaced the bicameral Congress with the Batasang Pambansa, a unicameral parliament. The new complex was accordingly designed to house only one legislative body. Felipe M. Mendoza was designated as the architect of the complex, and its surrounding area. The uncompleted structure for the Capitol building was torn down to make way for the new complex. The North and South Wing Buildings were completed in December 1977. Meanwhile, the Main Building itself finally opened on May 31, 1978. However, the rest of the intended government buildings and public spaces around the complex were never built.