Manila Post Office fire highlights need for active heritage conservation

via The Manila Times, 23 May 2023: A massive fire gutted the historic Manila Central Post Office on May 21. This editorial reflects on the need for active heritage conservation in the Philippines.

ON late Sunday night, a massive fire struck the Manila Central Post Office, one of the capital’s most iconic heritage structures and a declared important cultural property. So great was the inferno that the Bureau of Fire Protection said dozens of fire trucks responded to the blaze, which raged for nearly eight hours before it was put under control. The fire struck while the country is marking May as National Heritage Month.

Questions are naturally being raised on what would become of the gutted, Juan Arellano-designed neoclassical building following what architect Gerard Lico, a leading advocate of heritage architecture and conservation, described as that “heartbreaking” fire. Would it be restored to its former beauty? Would it be repurposed as a hotel, as some people have speculated years ago? Do the city government and relevant agencies have post-fire plans in place?

Source: Manila Post Office fire highlights need for active heritage conservation | The Manila Times