NHCP stops Admiral Hotel demolition

The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) has issued a cease-and-desist order on the demolition of the Admiral Hotel along Roxas Boulevard in Manila, one of the city's "heritage buildings" placed under "redevelopment" efforts.

Tourism advocate Carlos Celdran posted a copy of the order, issued last Friday, on his Facebook page on Monday, saying that demolition is still ongoing despite it.

Cultural activists have expressed outrage over the demolition, which they said happened under the guise of redeveloping the property, designed by eminent architect Fernando H. Ocampo, into a 150-room boutique hotel to be completed in the last quarter of 2016.

The façade of the structure has already been demolished, as the demolition started last September 20, Heritage Conservation Society president Ivan Henares said.

The NHCP earlier said it found "no historical events that transpired" at the landmark structure when Anchor Land Holdings, Inc., the company in charge, requested a certification of its cultural significance "to remove the presumption that the Admiral Hotel is an important cultural property."

However, it recommended that Anchor Land apply "adaptive reuse" on the redevelopment of the property, as well as to approach "pertinent cultural agencies" particularly the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), which may find the architecture's "Old World-charm... worth of conservation."

In the cease-and-desist order, the NHCP stressed that Anchor Land had merely asked for "information on the historical significance" of the hotel "rather than permission for its demolition."

Anchor Land also failed to secure permission from other agencies, such as the NCCA and the National Museum, it added.

"This Commission thus has nothing to do with the Demolition Permit issued by the Office of the Building Official of the City of Manila to the Admiral Realty Co., Inc., dated 4 September 2014," the Order read. "Moreover, the Commission notes that Anchor Land failed to obtain permission for the demolition from other cultural agencies that may have an interest in the Admiral Hotel as a cultural property."

In its letter, NHCP asked Anchor Land to submit its "final development plan for the property, preparatory to a hearing on the propriety of the lifting" of the order.

The confusion over the agency responsible has prompted the NCCA Board of Commissioners, including the NHCP and the National Museum, to decide that the NCCA "will be the frontline agency for all built heritage concerns," Henares said in a Facebook post on Monday night.

Anchor Land has not posted a statement on the matter on its Facebook account. In a statement last week, it said the decision to rebuild the structure “was made with the interest of all its future guests, staff, and the general public in mind.”



In March, Anchor Land announced it was spending more than P1 billion to rebuild and rehabilitate the historic landmark along Roxas Boulevard that once catered to prominent figures such as Gen. Douglas MacArthur and British military general Lord Mountbatten.

Solon eyes probe

Meanwhile, Kabataan party-list Rep. Teddy Ridon said Tuesday that he will be filing a resolution to start an inquiry on the demolition.

"The Admiral Hotel is a presumed national heritage site due to its age, and it cannot be readily demolished wihout permission by the NHCP, consistent with the provisions of RA 10066 or the Philippine Cultural Heritage Act," he said in a statement.

Ridon said that Anchor Land is "criminally and administratively liable for demolisihing [a] historic landmark."

The resolution will be filed within the week, he said.  —RSJ/KBK, GMA News