PHLPost seeks P500M budget to restore historic Manila Central Post Office

The Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) on Monday said it is seeking a P500 million budget for the restoration and retrofitting of the Manila Central Post Office that was razed by a fire in 2023.

“The restoration of the building will signal the new era of the postal service in the country, as we all know have been declining in the past years,” said PHLPost acting postmaster general and chief executive officer Maximo Santa Maria III during the Senate Committee on Finance’s hearing on the proposed budget of the state-owned firm for 2026. 

“It will restore to its original structure which includes the interior and the foundations. So the project will cover not only the restoration, retrofitting, and rehabilitation of the entire structure,” Santa Maria added. 

In May 2023, a fire broke out at the historic MCPO’s basement and gutted its top floors. The blaze lasted for over 30 hours and caused P300 million in damage.

The Bureau of Fire Protection said the fire was an accident and began when a discharged car battery heated up and caused an explosion around other combustible materials in the building’s storage room, which housed office supplies, thinner, and paint.

During the hearing, Senator Mark Villar asked PHLPost if it has considered relocating its headquarters from the MCPO. 

“The design obviously was done way before any of these technologies were available… Have you ever considered some other possible uses?… Maybe you could hold office somewhere where it’s more ideal for the nature of your business?” he asked. 

In response, Santa Maria said: “When it was declared as an important cultural property in 2018, it’s pre-pandemic. So we immediately did a conservation management plan, consulting heritage experts on how to preserve the structure. The conservation management plan includes not only the significance and the integrity of its design and engineering, but also future use.” 

The PHLPost official said the restoration plans include turning the lobby into a postal museum. One of the MCPO's floors will be an innovation hub which will serve as a space for technology and knowledge sharing with startups. 

Santa Maria explained that the Department of Public Works and Highways will handle the design and construction, with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts supervising the restoration.

The target completion of the restoration is in 2027.

“The design and built will be done by the DPWH, and with the supervision of the NCCA, under the RA 10066, being them as the implementing agency for conservation and restoration of heritage properties,” Santa Maria added. — JMA, GMA Integrated News