Philippine International Convention Center - History

History

Presidential Decree No. 520 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. Thus, the PICC was organized under the Corporation Code.

The construction of the state-of-the-art PICC Complex was undertaken in a short span of 23 months, from November 1974 to September 1976, with Leandro Locsin as architect, who was subsequently named a National Artist.

From its inception to the present, the PICC has also hosted the annual Awards Night of the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS), the Philippine equivalent of the Oscars, mostly at its Plenary Hall.

On September 5, 1976, the PICC, Asia's first international convention center was officially opened to the world when it hosted the 1976 IMF-World Bank Meeting.

Presidential Decree No. 995 created the Batasang Bayan to function as a legislative body before the Interim Batasang Pambansa convened in 1978. So on September 21, 1976 on 4th Anniversary of the birth 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 is dedicated to the task of bringing peoples and nations together and providing a place where they can meet and exchange ideas that may perhaps open doors to better world understanding and peace.

As a venue of meetings, conferences, exhibitions, and special events, it caters to organizers of international, regional Asia Pacific, and local events by providing highly advanced conferencing equipment and facilities and, most importantly, friendly, efficient, and professional service.

Philippine International Convention Center was the venue of Miss Universe 1994.