DEPUTY Speaker and Batangas Representative Ralph Recto on Monday said the government should rebuild the National Post Office Building immediately following a huge fire that destroyed the historic building.

“[Rebuilding should be] fast, and not in slow mail fashion. So when they come knocking on the doors of Malacañang for help, the postmen must not ring twice,” Recto said.

“Puwede pagkunan ang P13 billion Contingent Fund, which is the national emergency fund, which the President controls. Nandiyan din ang NDRRMC (National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council) or Calamity Fund, which has a beginning 2023 available balance of P19.03 billion. The fire which hit this national historical landmark is undoubtedly a certifiable disaster,” Recto said.

Under RA (Republic Act) No. 10066, or the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009, “national historical landmarks, sites or monuments” shall be entitled to “priority government funding for protection, conservation, and restoration.”

Recto said Taipans can also help in reconstruction, and their donations, under Section 35 of RA 10066. “[It] shall be exempt from the donor’s tax and the same shall be considered as an allowable deduction from the gross income in the computation of the income tax of the donor.”

This was how Italian Roman- and Renaissance-era sites were restored – under the auspices of companies, who regarded those as prestige and patriotic projects, Recto said.

“Hindi kaya ng pondo ng Philippine Postal Corporation ang pagbangon. In 2020, net surplus nito ay negative P240 million, lugi pa. Noong 2021, nakapagtala ng positive net surplus na P106 million, kulang pa rin,” Recto said.

The Post Office is an artwork designed and built by Filipino geniuses, according to the House solon.

It was considered an “architectural jewel of the bygone Pearl of the Orient,” Recto added.

This is not the first time it has been destroyed. Firebombed by US and Japanese forces, it was reduced to rubble during the Battle of Manila during World War II, Recto shared.

“But even though short of cash, the newly-born Philippine Republic made sure that it would rise from the ashes of war because such would be proof of a new nation’s determination to rebuild,” Recto said.

“Because they believed then, as we must do now, that to let it physically disappear, is to purge it from our people’s memory. In its renaissance, it can even be mixed-use or be multipurpose in function, enhancing its value, for as long as the original design is maintained,” Recto said.

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Ryan Ponce Pacpaco