MANILA ON FIRE

Engulfed in flames, the historic Manila Central Post Office met its tragic fate last May, but a beacon of hope shines on the horizon awaiting its return

- Franz Sorilla IV 

The city arose in the dead of the night as a massive inferno swallowed the Manila Central Post Office (MCPO) building on May 22.

It first broke out at 11:41pm the night before in the southern part of the basement, which was the Mega Manila Storage Room inside the General Services department, according to the Bureau of Fire Protection. Purely accidental in nature, the fire was believed to be caused by the self-discharging of the car batteries, which were near a pile of combustible office supplies, thinners and paint cans.

Seeing fiery flames fuming his workplace over the news, Noel Dacasin was distraught—along with about 200 employees of the MCPO and approximately 800 people holding offices in the building.

Dacasin joined the Central Mail Exchange Center, one of the Philippine Postal Corporation’s (PHLPost) distributors near the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in 1985. With almost four decades of experience in the industry, he remembers the MCPO not only as his office and second home but as a venue for him and his colleagues to rally the people for the improvement of the postmen’s welfare and the mail delivery system in the country. Now as MCPO’s postmaster, he has to rally his colleagues towards a new chapter with a heavy heart.

The fire tore through the building, spreading quickly as it was a confined space with heat build-up. At 5:54am, the blaze reached the general alarm, torching the MCPO in a flaming scene reminiscent of the Second World War, which also heavily destroyed this iconic landmark of Manila sitting on the bank of the Pasig River.

MORE THAN AN EDIFICE