New Malacañang Facebook page seeks pics from Palace visitors

Toured Malacañang recently and made like Marcos' last hurrah on the famous veranda? There's a new place to share the photo. In a bid to make the Palace more accessible to the public, Malacañang on Monday unveiled the official Facebook account of the official presidential residence.  

“The official Facebook page of Malacañan Palace by the Presidential Museum and Library was launched today in advance of the sesquicentennial of Malacañan Palace next year,” Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a briefing. The palace also launched a Tumblr account, to add to the growing roster of official online portals handled by the Palace. The Facebook account has the added feature of allowing visitors to the Palace to upload pictures of themselves and to tag the account, thereby becoming a part of history.

 

“There is a portion in the Facebook page where somebody who has visited the Palace and has taken pictures within the Palace can post their pictures. So it’s open to the public kung gusto niyong mag-post ng inyong pictures ng dumalaw kayo sa Palasyo,” Lacierda said.

 

“Through Facebook, citizens online can contribute their own pictures and memories of the Palace thereby harnessing the Internet as a space for remembering. This way, Malacañan Palace is open to the public through inclusive and people-centric social media,” the Presidential Museum and Library said in a statement. According to Lacierda, the Facebook account of Malacañang differs from the official account of the president in that it is more cultural in nature. “The PNoy account is focused on the President. [The] Malacañan Palace FB focuses on the history and institutional role of the palace, from its origins up to the present,” Lacierda told GMA News Online.

 

As of posting time, the Facebook account has garnered 1,944 ‘likes,’ proof, according to Lacierda, that there is a strong public interest in the Palace. The account makes full use of the timeline feature of the social networking site, including past events and speeches by former presidents, dating back to 1802, the year the Palace was founded.

 

“The idea is to reinforce public ownership of the Palace by sharing information, being a resource for learning and understanding,” Lacierda also said to GMA News Online.

 

“Dubbed 'Malacañan Palace,' the Facebook page features a rich heritage from its beginnings as a riverside rest house owned by the Rocha family to its establishment as the seat of power where Spanish and American Governors-General held office, and as the official residence of the presidents of the Philippines,” a statement from the Presidential Museum and Library said.

 

The account is in keeping with the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office's mandate of “official custodianship of the institutional memory of the Office of the President.”

 

Lacierda also announced the creation of the official Tumblr account of the Palace. “The initiative is aimed at harnessing social media to share the history, residents, traditions, and legacy of Malacañan Palace to a diverse online audience,” Lacierda said, reading from the Presidential Museum and Library’s statement. — TJD/HS, GMA News