REMNANTS OF A LANDMARK A drone shot taken on Monday afternoon shows smoke
billowing from the Manila Central Post Office as firefighters continue to put out the blaze
that started on Sunday night. Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna assures heritage advocates that no
commercial development will be allowed on the Post Office site, an “institutional zone.”
—GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
MANILA, Philippines — Department of Tourism (DOT) chief Christina Frasco on Tuesday disclosed that the Philippine Postal Corporation (PhilPost) has expressed interest in utilizing the fire-hit Manila Central Post Office as a “cultural corridor.”
Frasco disclosed this during the Senate committee on finance’s deliberations on the proposed 2024 budget of DOT and its attached agencies.
According to Frasco, after the Manila Post Office was razed by fire in May, the DOT immediately reached out to PhilPost, along with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, National Historical Commission of the Philippines, and the National Museum.
“That resulted in a convergence meeting where we all offered our help as well as the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) assistance for whatever it is that they may need first in the short term resolution of the safeguarding of the integrity of the structure,” said Frasco.
“[W]e also discussed the utilization of the Manila Post Office. [A]ccording to the PhilPost, they are open to the utilization of the property not purely anymore as a post office, but as a mixed-use facility that would result in the creation of a cultural corridor within the city of Manila, especially considering its proximity to other heritage sites such as Intramuros,” Frasco added.
Frasco then said that TIEZA is now funding the “detailed engineering design” for the immediate intervention that the post office needs to ensure that there will be no further damage that would ensue from the fire.
Apart from immediate intervention, the DOT chief likewise stressed that “talks are now ongoing” to determine the future of the property.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Fire Protection in June said there is no foul play behind the fire that razed the century-old post office on May 21, 2023.