In 1974, then President Ferdinand Marcos signed the Presidential Decree No. 520 which authorized the Central Bank of the Philippines (now Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) to construct an international conference building, acquire a suitable area for that purpose, and organize a corporation to manage a conference center.[3] Thus, the PICC was organized under the Corporation Code.
This was a part of Marcos' efforts to make Metro Manila as one of Southeast Asia's financial centers.[4] The PICC building, along with other buildings in the Cultural Center of the Philippines complex, has been associated with what has been termed Imelda Marcos' "edifice complex,"[5] which one writer defined as "obsession and compulsion to build edifices as a hallmark of greatness or as a signifier of national prosperity."[6]
The construction of the PICC Complex was undertaken in a short span of 23 months, from November 1974 to September 1976[citation needed], with Leandro Locsin as architect, who was subsequently named a National Artist.
On September 5, 1976, the PICC, Asia's first international convention center was officially inaugurated when it hosted the 1976 IMF-World Bank Meeting.[2]
Presidential Decree No. 995 created the Batasang Bayan to function as a legislative body before the Interim Batasang Pambansa convened in 1978.[7] So on September 21, 1976, on 4th founding anniversary of the Bagong Lipunan (New Society), the Batasang Bayan held its inauguration at the PICC. For the first time, the PICC was used to house a legislative body from 1976 to 1978.
The PICC was the venue of the World Chess Olympiad and the Miss Universe in 1994, the APEC meeting in 1996, and the 3rd Informal Summit of the ASEAN in 1999.[8]
Renovation work of the PICC was completed in 1996, which took around seven months for the APEC Meeting after the aging structure has been neglected since 1985. Renovations were headed by Raul Locsin, the cousin of the original architect of the facility. The endeavour was funded by the facility's owner, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.[9]
In March 2011, Bro. Bo Sanchez, the founder of Light of Jesus Family, transferred "The Feast" from Valle Verde Country Club, Pasig to PICC. The Feast PICC has an attendance of 3,000 at the Plenary and Reception Halls combined. Similarly, PICC was a venue of the Kerygma Conference (now Feast Conference) in November 2013 and November 2014.[10][11]
The Philippine International Convention Center is composed of five building modules: the Delegation Building, Secretariat Building, Plenary Hall, Reception Hall and The Forum. The facility, which was designed by Leandro Locsin, who would be later named National Artist was built in reclaimed land and has a floor area of more than 65,000 sq ft (6,000 m2).[2]
^ ab"APEC Sculpture Garden". Philippine International Convention Center. April 22, 2015. Archived from the original on July 30, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
(2019-03-14).jpg)
