FILIPINO SPEAKER
The Pentagon
The Pentagon, headquarters of the Department of Defense, is one of the world's largest office buildings. It is twice the size of the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, and has three times the floor space of the Empire State Building in New York. The National Capitol could fit into any one of the five wedge-shaped sections. There are very few people throughout the United States who do not have some knowledge of the Pentagon. Many have followed news stories emanating from the defense establishment housed in this building. However, relatively few people have had the opportunity to visit with us.
The Pentagon is virtually a city in itself. Approximately 23,000 employees, both military and civilian, contribute to the planning and execution of the defense of our country. These people arrive daily from Washington, D.C. and its suburbs over approximately 30 miles of access highways, including express bus lanes and one of the newest subway systems in our country. They ride past 200 acres of lawn to park approximately 8,770 cars in 16 parking lots; climb 131 stairways or ride 19 escalators to reach offices that occupy 3,705,793 square feet. While in the building, they tell time by 4,200 clocks, drink from 691 water fountains, utilize 284 rest rooms, consume 4,500 cups of coffee, 1,700 pints of milk and 6,800 soft drinks prepared or served by a restaurant staff of 230 persons and dispensed in 1 dining room, 2 cafeterias, 6 snack bars, and an outdoor snack bar. The restaurant service is a privately run civilian operation under contract to the Pentagon.
Choy at the Pentagon
Over 200,000 telephone calls are made daily through phones connected by 100,000 miles of telephone cable. The Defense Post Office handles about 1,200,000 pieces of mail monthly. Various libraries support our personnel in research and completion of their work. The Army Library alone provides 300,000 publications and 1,700 periodicals in various languages.
Stripped of its occupants, furniture and various decorations, the building alone is an extraordinary structure. Built during the early years of World War II, it is still thought of as one of the most efficient office buildings in the world. Despite 17.5 miles of corridors it takes only seven minutes to walk between any two points in the building.
The original site was nothing more than wasteland, swamps and dumps. 5.5 million cubic yards of earth, and 41,492 concrete piles contributed to the foundation of the building. Additionally, 680,000 tons of sand and gravel, dredged from the nearby Potomac River, were processed into 435,000 cubic yards of concrete and molded into the Pentagon form. The building was constructed in the remarkably short time of 16 months and completed on January 15, 1943 at an approximate cost of million. It consolidated 17 buildings of the War Department and returned its investment within seven years.
We hope this information will serve to eliminate some of the myths surrounding the Pentagon and give an appreciation of the size of the building.
I hope Malacanyang Palace Compound is like this.
The Museum displays treasures of nature and of humankind. They tell of forces that generate, shape, and sustain natural and cultural diversity. More than a century of careful collecting and research by scientists has resulted in an unsurpassed world collection of more than 120 million natural and cultural objects. Open the door to this collection during your visit to our virtual museum. Visit any exhibit hall and discover the joys of natural history.
For over two hundred years, The White House has stood as a symbol of decency and wholesomeness to hard-working, freedom-loving people all across Middle America.
Construction on this hallowed residence began in 1792 and ended amongst much patriotic fanfare in 1800. Though never inhabited by George Washington himself, The White House was nevertheless conceived by the Father of Our Nation as a Holy Fortress from which to guard against the tyranny of "big government" and "social programs" while tirelessly promoting the essential freedom of completely unregulated commercial enterprise.
Many of our nation's greatest men have resided at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, where they have steered our country away from Godless anarchy, and into the rainbow-hued horizon of steadfast social morality. From the magnificent Andrew Jackson, who liberated the Indians from themselves, to Grant, whose administration was the very definition of moral character, to Dwight Eisenhower, who single-handedly defeated Nazism - all of these great men called one place home and sanctuary: The White House.
More recently, The White House served as refuge to embattled Cold Warrior and Voice of the Silent Majority, President Richard Milhous Nixon, who successfully skippered this great national supertanker of ours through the rocky and dangerous Straights of Moral Collapse. Nixon, ever the paragon of honesty and fair play, would go on to nobly sacrifice his career so that another brilliant soul, Gerald Ford, might continue the work of saving a valium-popping, sexually promiscuous nation from the greedy clutches of tax-and-spend liberals.
Some years later, The White House would stand witness as the great moral crusader Ronald Reagan would crush the evil Soviet Empire from the Oval Office, and re-invent what it means to portray an honest, faith-loving American. President Reagan would also spearhead the establishment of the beloved "National Nap Hour," from whose ethereal dreamscape would spring the utterly necessary National Missile Defense System. This system, for which he coined the term "Star Wars," will save untold American lives in the very likely event of nuclear missile attacks by the entire world.
Reagan's brilliant crusade was carried on by George Bush, who succeeded in creating a world where children with terminal illnesses could be transported to hospitals in ambulances running on a limitless supply of Kuwaiti petroleum. President Bush's forward-thinking new world was also one in which the rulers of extremist Muslim wastelands would come to know that tyranny has consequences - up to and including almost being stopped from perpetrating genocide against ones own citizens.
The newest resident to occupy 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is George W. Bush, the son of George Bush, who is once again carrying on the tradition of Christian moral superiority and short-winded speeches lovingly crafted by others to inspire the perception of competence.
Construction of the current chancery began in 1991, and was completed in 1993. Located in the northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., near Dupont circle, the chancery was built on a trapezoidal island on Massachusetts avenue that is bordered by 17th and Bataan streets, with N street at its rear. It is a four story beaux-arts building, with its smooth-finish precast, blends nicely with the traditional limestone structures of the embassy row.
Tradition weighs strongly in the building's inset cylindrical corner on the east elevation, and in its granite base and concrete cornice work. Its architects exerted deliberate efforts to create a not-so-discordant theme in the high-tech sheen of the metal window mullions and frames, whose brightness makes a sharp contrast with its photochromic tinted glass. With its complementary landscape, the structure exudes a dignified, elegant and positive presence in Massachusetts avenue.Entering the chancery's main entrance and stepping beyond the security vestibule, one is met by a sweeping double staircase and a distinguished wainscoted marble-floored corridor leading to a commodious receiving room. The intricately designed-carpet in the Ambassador's office were made by a distinctive Philippine carpet company which handiwork graces the Oval Office of the White House.
For all its traditionalism, the building, with 55,000 gross square feet area, includes a nicely tucked-in two-level underground parking garage that was crafted with the convenience of its users and in mind. It is one of the few chanceries in embassy row designed with a pre-wired local area network and an unobstructive electronic security system.
Behind is the place where the plance crashed last September 11, 2011
Choy in the middle of the field of the Capitol Building
Choy at the Museum of Natural History
Choy at the White House West Side
Choy at the Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C.
The Chancery