MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles® ) – Pope Francis recently urged Christians across Europe to open up their homes to refugees as he revealed that the Vatican will take in two families “fleeing death” in the middle east.

Following the Pope’s example, Philippine Vice President Jejomar Binay offered his official residence — the Coconut Palace — to eight refugee families from Syria.  Each family will occupy one of the eight guestrooms in the palace.

The Coconut Palace, also known as Tahanang Pilipino (Filipino Home), is a mansion of the Philippine Government on the campus of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, in Manila, the Philippines. It was commissioned in 1978 by former First Lady Imelda Marcos as a government guest house. It was offered to Pope John Paul II during the Papal visit to the Philippines in 1981 but the Pope refused to stay there because it was too opulent given the level of poverty in the Philippines.

It cost 37 million Philippine pesos to build. It is owned by the government-owned and controlled corporation the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS). In 2011, it became the official residence and principal workplace of the vice president.

A devout Catholic,  Binay challenged President NoyNoy Aquino to do a similar humanitarian act by opening the presidential palace, Malacañang, to refugees.

“During times of calamity, the world community has come to the aid of the Filipino people,” the vice president said . “Now it is our turn to help those in need, especially the refugees from Syria.”

Shortly after making the announcement, Binay’s poll numbers in the 2016 presidential race jumped by almost double.  He is now tied with Senator Grace Poe, who still has to officially declare her candidacy.  Aquino’s anointed candidate, former Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas is still in a very distant third place in the polls.