Presidential Inauguration: Transitions and Traditions
By Julia Garcia
President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Romualdez Marcos Jr. chose the
National Museum of the Philippines as his inauguration venue. His oath taking
as the 17th President of the Philippines took place on June 30, just as President
Rodrigo Duterte’s term came to an end.
The presidential inauguration marks a new beginning for the Philippines, sparking hope for Filipinos to rise above challenges and achieve development under the leadership of the new president. Most presidents post- 1986 have taken their oaths at the Quirino Grandstand which offers a beautiful background of the Manila Bay while facing the Rizal monument. This time, presidentelect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Romualdez Marcos Jr. made inaugural history as he chose to take his oath at the National
Museum of Fine Arts.
The choice of venue was part of the decisions made during the transition period from the presidencies of Duterte to Marcos Jr. Then-Manila congresswoman and now Presidential Management Staff Secretary Zenaida “Naida” Angping shared that the Marcos team established an inaugural committee that inspected the National Museum. The building and its environs met the requirements of the committee, finding it as a
“suitable venue” for the historic event.
The committee also considered the Quirino Grandstand as possible site of Bongbong’s oathtaking ceremony but, the surrounding areas were still being used as COVID-19 response facilities, which the Marcos team did not want to disrupt.
To give way to the preparations for the event, the museum was temporarily closed to visitors from
June 6 to July 4. Meanwhile, the operations of the adjacent National Museum of Anthropology and
the National Museum of Natural .....