Senator Nancy Binay said the Senate is targeting to partially operate and use the new Senate building (NSB) in Taguig City by July 2024.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri led the topping-off ceremony for the new building in Fort Bonifacio on Thursday.
Binay said that the topping-off is a tradition to remember the completion of the structural frame of a building by attaching its last structural beam.
She added that “there was an instruction from Senate President Zubiri to conduct the opening of session next year in the new Senate.”
Binay said NSB intends to be one of the first green buildings for the government under its “Building for Ecologically Responsive Design Excellence (BERDE)” program.
“In the face of climate change the government should walk the talk in promoting the use of sustainable structures,” Binay said.
Binay said that the NSB integrates sustainable features such as energy-efficient systems, water conservation measures, and the use of eco-friendly materials.
It would also consume between 30 percent to 50 percent less energy than standard buildings.
Its construction was green-lit by the 17th Congress in 2017 after former Sen. Ping Lacson, the then-chair of the Committee on Accounts, in 2016 called for the need to relocate to a new site due to increasing space limitations and the need for enhanced facilities.