Noynoy should be in Malacanang – not Times Street.

So it’s one of the issues that’s been in the news recently – Noynoy doesn’t want to live in Malacanang, and since Arlegui is supposed to be returned to its original owner, he wants to live on Times Street. Personally, I don’t agree with that decision because 1) it’s not practical and 2) it’s not even symbolic in the right way.

[Yes, there are other more pressing issues out there, but since someone's choice of residence - and how s/he lives there - can give us an insight into how someone thinks, why not use this chance to gain an insight into the president-elect's mind?]

So here’s why I think Noynoy should remain in Malacanang – and not Times Street.

1. It’s not practical.

As described in an editorial from the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the Times Street is a bungalow. Compare that to the sheer size of the Malacanang compound – which you can see from this Google Map. However, the entire Malacanang compound is not just a house nor just the office of the president; it also has a museum, several function halls, and other government offices such as the Office of the Executive Secretary (the Wikipedia article is a quite comprehensive guide to the palace).

Obviously, the government offices won’t fit in the Times Street residence. If Noynoy does want to hold office in Times, then it would be a lot of hassle (especially for his Executive Secretary) coordinating with someone whose office used to be just a few blocks away.

So, let’s say that he’s going to live in Times, and will go to Malacanang everyday to work.

There are several routes from Times Street to Malacanang (or basically the city of Manila) – the long one will be via EDSA (which we won’t tackle here), the other one via Quezon Avenue – Espana (which is shorter, but because Espana traffic is hell you wouldn’t want to use that route), and the Quezon Avenue – Araneta Avenue – Aurora Blvd/Ramon Magsaysay route (which is longer but has a lot less traffic than Espana). You can follow this Google Map to see how far Times Street is to Malacanang.

Whichever route the presidential convoy might take, it’s still going to waste a lot of gas paid with tax money by being stuck in traffic or by taking longer routes to avoid traffic. Not to mention the time spent from getting to and from Malacanang, which can be better spent on other matters.

2. It’s not even symbolic, either.

Times Street cannot be a symbol of the ordinary Filipino neighborhood- most residents in that subdivision belong to the upper-middle class (and I can attest to this fact, having studied near the area and knowing some of the residents there). It is isolated in a way already; on Times Street there are no houses which have walls made out of scrap material, nor entire families cramming themselves into something that you can’t even call a proper room. If Noynoy seriously considers living on Times Street as already connecting with the Filipino people, then we have a problem.

There is also the fact that the presidency is not some day job which starts at 8 in the morning and ends at 5 in the afternoon; it is a 24/7 job that for the most part, doesn’t have weekends nor leaves. It’s not just something that you can leave behind once you step out of the office.

The presidency is, after all, a six-year commitment to the Filipino people. And being in Malacanang will always remind you of that.

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