Fire at the Manila Central Post Office building. (Photo from the Facebook page of the Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office)
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Tourism (DOT) on Wednesday vows to assist in rehabilitating the historic Manila Central Post Office, which was gutted by a fire on Sunday.
“The incident concerning the unfortunate burning down of the Post Office is a tragedy in terms of heritage and it is such a cultural treasure that deserves national attention and support. We note the remarks that have been made by the City Government of Manila that has assured that it will not be torn down,” Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco in the public forum Kapihan sa Manila Bay.
“From our end [in] the Department of Tourism, recognizing the heritage value of this structure, we are prepared to follow through on the direction that the Marcos Administration would wish to take in terms of how to rehabilitate the structure, especially considering that our attached agency TIEZA [Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority] has long lent assistance in terms of rehabilitation of heritage structures,” she said.
In 2018, the National Museum of the Philippines declared the Post Office building as an Important Cultural Property (ICP) for possessing “exceptional cultural, artistic, and historical significance.”
According to the Bureau of Fire Protection, an estimated P300 million worth of assets were lost due to the conflagration, along with parcels, government IDs, documents, and paintings.
The fire started in the building’s basement, the general services office.