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Malacañang sa Sugbo still the president's official residence in Cebu


Malacañang sa Sugbo remains the Philippine president's official residence in Cebu province, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Friday amid a looming "tug-of-war" over what to do with the property. "We confirmed with the Office of the Special Assistant [to the President], the Malacañang sa Sugbo is the official residence of the president and thus they will maintain it as such," said Lacierda at a press briefing. Lacierda said the property will remain under the Office of the President "whether [Aquino] uses it or not." It was earlier reported that the Cebu City government and the Bureau of Customs are at odds over what they want to do with Malacanang sa Sugbo, which former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo established in 2004 and used as her official residence in the province. The BOC, owner of the area where Malacañang sa Sugbo was built on, said they wanted to take back the property after Aquino said he was not interested in using it as his official residence in Cebu. Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, however, reportedly wanted to convince Aquino not to allow the BOC to reclaim the property because he wanted to convert it into a museum with memorabilia of the past administration. — Jam Sisante/RSJ, GMANews.TV

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