DOT sec wants to rehab Post Office
TOURISM Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco reiterated support for the rehabilitation of some historical sites, including the Manila Post Office.
She said this following the unveiling of the P15-million Pasig River Urban Development (PRUD) project led by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos to revitalize Pasig River and its surroundings.
The Department of Tourism (DOT), through its infrastructure arm Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), earmarked the fund for the Detailed Architectural and Engineering Studies (DAES) for the pre-restoration work of the Manila Central Post Office building.
“Apart from the promotion of our tourism gems, the Department of Tourism views it imperative to support the preservation, rehabilitation, and restoration of our country’s cultural and heritage sites, very much our tourism assets.
The Manila Post Office has witnessed the life and times of our nation, forging friendships, familial ties, commerce and trade, and etching history through its postal services,” Frasco said.
In August 2023, Frasco, who sits as the chairman of TIEZA, proposed to assist in the rehabilitation of the Manila Post Office during Inter-Agency Task Force for Cultural Heritage (IATF-CH) meeting composed of cultural authorities, NCCA, the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP), and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost), the DOT and the City of Manila.
The restoration project requires an integrated and multi-sectoral approach considering the depth of the damage and the cultural relevance MCPO holds.
Under the Terms of Reference (TOR) submitted by the NCCA to TIEZA, the cultural commission said that the “endeavor is deemed necessary in finding ways to preserve the remnants and assess its conservation potential.”
The DOT, through TIEZA, has earmarked a total of P15 million for the DAES.
There will be two parts to the conduct of the DAES. The first phase is the creation of plans for the pre-restoration work, and the second phase is for the creation of the rehabilitation and conservation plan that will be implemented.
A P6 million fund was allocated for the design of the shoring, the design of construction scaffoldings to access the walls, the design of the temporary roof, and the methodology for the said work.
Another P6 million was for the condition assessment plans and building of diagnostic results which mainly touches on plans for the damaged areas, and P3 million was for the process of cost analysis of the state of damage of the MCPO.
