Courtesy: Manila Public Information Office
DEPUTY Speaker and Batangas Rep. Ralph G. Recto said Monday the government should rebuild the National Post Office Building after a fire destroyed the historical landmark Sunday night.
“Government should rebuild the National Post Office Building. Fast, and not in slow mail fashion. So when they come knocking on the doors of Malacanang for help, the postmen must not ring twice,” said Recto.
“Pwede pagkunan ang P13 billion contingent fund, which is the national emergency fund, which the President controls. Nandiyan din ang NDRRMC 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 suggested.
Under RA 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.”
He also called on Taipans to help in reconstruction, and their donations, under Section 35 of RA 10066 “shall be exempt from the donor’s tax and the same shall be considered as 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. 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,” he added.
The Post Office is an art work designed and built by Filipino geniuses. It was an architectural jewel of the bygone Pearl of the Orient. This is not the first time it was destroyed. Firebombed by US and Japanese forces, it was reduced to rubble during the Battle of Manila.
“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. Because they believed then, as we must do now, that to let it physically disappear is to purge it from our people’s memory,” Recto said.
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.
