Manila Central Post Office building here to stay — Lacuna
Fire breaks out at the Manila Central Post Office building (Photo from the Facebook page of the Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office)
MANILA, Philippines — Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna on Monday dispelled suspicions that the fire that damaged the Manila Central Post Office will lead to the construction of another structure on the site.
“Sa mga agam agam na baka sakaling may ibang gustong ipatayo sa lugar na kung nasaan ang Manila Central Post Office, ‘wag po kayong mag alala. Ang lugar po kung saan nakatayo ang post office, ayon po sa aming zoning ordinance, ay isang institutional zone,” said Lacuna in a televised briefing.
(To those who have doubts that something else will be built on the Manila Central Post Office site, don’t worry. The area where the post office is located, according to our zoning ordinance, is an institutional zone.)
“Maliban pa po doon, ang Manila Central Post Office po ay nadeklara na noong 2018 ng National Museum bilang isang important cultural property,” she added.
(Apart from that, the National Museum declared in 2018 that the Manila Central Post Office as an important cultural property.)
According to Lacuna, the entire area is a heritage zone, which prohibits any other structure from being constructed apart from the Manila Central Post office.
“Ang pamahalaang lungsod ng Maynila o kahit ang national government po ay hindi maaaring magpatayo ng kahit anong infrastructure sa lugar na ‘yon maliban po sa Manila Central Post Office,” said Lacuna.
(The city government of Manila or even the national government cannot build any other structure in that area except for the Manila Central Post Office.)
Lacuna vowed to work with the national government in restoring the historic building.
The Manila Central Post Office was struck by a Sunday fire, lasting over eight hours until Monday.
According to the Bureau of Fire Protection, seven people were reported injured, and an estimated P300 million worth of assets were lost due to the conflagration.
The fire originated from the building’s basement, specifically the general services office.
