EDWIN BACASMAS
MANILA, Philippines–A showdown of purses is brewing between the Manila city government and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) for the right to own the Manila Metropolitan Theater, the iconic Art Deco building in Arroceros, Manila, that has stood neglected for decades.
The NCCA is now preparing to match the P267.155 million bid made by the city government to the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) for the theater more popularly known as the Met.
Based on documents shown to the Inquirer, the NCCA was exercising its right of first refusal on the sale of national cultural treasures such as the Met as provided for by the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009. This allows the agency to match the city government’s offer to buy the theater.
“While we laud the efforts and plans of the City of Manila on the Met, the NCCA Board of Commissioners in its meeting on March 26 has agreed and decided to exercise its right of first refusal on the purchase of the theater,” NCCA chair Felipe de Leon Jr. said in a letter to Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada dated April 15.
The NCCA has also asked Budget Secretary Florencio Abad to allow it to use part of the agency’s National Endowment Fund for Culture and the Arts (NEFCA) to fund the purchase and the subsequent restoration of the theater. The agency has requested over P500 million from the NEFCA.
The NCCA’s bid to reclaim the theater is the most recent development in the latest saga to restore and reopen the Met.
Estrada last year expressed his wish to buy the Met from GSIS which holds the titles to the property after it was allegedly mortgaged to the agency during the martial law era.
Negotiations came to a head in February when the city government offered GSIS P35,000 per square meter, or P267.155 million. for the purchase of the Met.
Estrada also wrote the NCCA to “waive any rights it has to purchase the property from GSIS in favor of the Manila City government.”
While the NCCA’s bid is backed by the NEFCA, the city government’s offer will be funded through the city budget on top of a loan from Landbank worth P767 million, which will become active once ownership of the Met has been transferred to the Manila government. The loan will be used primarily for restoring the theater.
Estrada wants to use the Met as the home of the Universidad de Manila’s Institute for Performing Arts which will offer two-year diploma courses in theater, music and dance, among others.
The GSIS notified the NCCA of the Manila City government’s offer and gave it 90 days to respond with a counter offer. NCCA officials said an offer to match the city government’s bid would soon be submitted to the GSIS.
For its part, the NCCA assured Estrada that it has noted its plans for the Met and will take it into account once the theater opens for business.
“Recognizing the efforts and initial work done by the City of Manila toward the restoration of the Met, the NCCA will … give the city government, particularly the Universidad de Manila and the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, priority in the use of the theater and assistance in setting up the future Institute of Performing Arts,” De Leon’s letter to Estrada said.
The Manila Metropolitan Theater was built in 1930 and launched a year after. It was designed by architect Juan Arellano, who also designed the Manila Central Post Office Building in nearby Lawton, and the Old Legislative Building in Padre Burgos Avenue, now the National Museum Building.