{"id":50391,"date":"2015-05-27T19:08:16","date_gmt":"2015-05-27T11:08:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=50391"},"modified":"2015-05-27T19:08:16","modified_gmt":"2015-05-27T11:08:16","slug":"abad-p270-m-release-first-step-to-repairing-long-neglected-metropolitan-theater","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2015\/05\/27\/abad-p270-m-release-first-step-to-repairing-long-neglected-metropolitan-theater\/","title":{"rendered":"Abad: P270-M release first step to repairing long-neglected Metropolitan Theater"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gov’t to kickstart restoration of Historic Manila Theater <\/em><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Manila Metropolitan Theatre (Wikimedia Commons)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA — After suffering years of deterioration and neglect, the Manila Metropolitan Theater (MET) will finally get a new lease on life under the Aquino administration, beginning with a Php270-million fund release made by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).<\/p>\n

The released funds will allow the NCCA to buy the MET from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS). According to DBM Secretary Florencio \u201cButch\u201d Abad, the NCCA\u2019s move to purchase the MET represents the first crucial step in restoring the historical theater, which is considered a National Cultural Treasure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe MET was once a testament to the richness of Philippine culture and artistry, but decades of neglect brought this beautiful landmark into serious disrepair. The Aquino administration, through the NCCA, has taken the first step to restoring the MET to its former glory. It will take some time, but we are confident that the NCCA has the capacity to take on such a formidable task,\u201d Abad said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot claim to pursue national development if we fail at preserving our culture and heritage,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The amount of P270 million will be charged against the National Endowment Fund for Culture and the Arts (NEFCA). The latter represents the 10-percent share of the travel tax collected by the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA, formerly the Philippine Tourism Authority).<\/p>\n

This initial release will allow the NCCA to create an appropriate conservation program for the theater complex and ensure its future use in the development of the country\u2019s performing arts.<\/p>\n

\u201cAside from supporting the arts, the restoration of the MET also serves the dual purpose of boosting our country\u2019s tourism. That\u2019s why the appropriate budgetary support for agencies like the NCCA or to local governments is important as this empowers them to act on their high-priority or urgent projects,\u201d Abad said.<\/p>\n

Opened in 1931, the MET was designed by architect Juan Arellano\u2014known for his work with Manila City\u2019s Central Post Office Building and the National Museum\u2014in the Art Deco style. Partially damaged in World War II, it had been restored and rehabilitated several times. It has been closed since 2012 due to the theater\u2019s state of decay and issues with regard to its ownership.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gov’t to kickstart restoration of Historic Manila Theater MANILA — After suffering years of deterioration and neglect, the Manila Metropolitan …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":50542,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-art-and-culture","category-news-ph","mauthors-philippines-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50391\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}