NHCP stops Admiral Hotel demolition

The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) has issued a cease-and-desist order on the demolition of the Admiral Hotel along Roxas Boulevard in Manila, one of the city's "heritage buildings" placed under "redevelopment" efforts.

Tourism advocate Carlos Celdran posted a copy of the order, issued last Friday, on his Facebook page on Monday, saying that demolition is still ongoing despite it.

Cultural activists have expressed outrage over the demolition, which they said happened under the guise of redeveloping the property, designed by eminent architect Fernando H. Ocampo, into a 150-room boutique hotel to be completed in the last quarter of 2016.

The faade of the structure has already been demolished, as the demolition started last September 20, Heritage Conservation Society president Ivan Henares said.

The NHCP earlier said it found "no historical events that transpired" at the landmark structure when Anchor Land Holdings, Inc., the company in charge, requested a certification of its cultural significance "to remove the presumption that the Admiral Hotel is an important cultural property."

However, it recommended that Anchor Land apply "adaptive reuse" on the redevelopment of the property, as well as to approach "pertinent cultural agencies" particularly the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), which may find the architecture's "Old World-charm... worth of conservation."

In the cease-and-desist order, the NHCP stressed that Anchor Land had merely asked for "information on the historical significance" of the hotel "rather than permission for its demolition."

Anchor Land also failed to secure permission from other agencies, such as the NCCA and the National Museum, it added.

"This Commission thus has nothing to do with the Demolition Permit issued by the Office of the Building Official of the City of Manila to the Admiral Realty Co., Inc., dated 4 September 2014," the Order read. "Moreover, the Commission notes that Anchor Land failed to obtain permission for the demolition from other cultural agencies that may have an interest in the Admiral Hotel as a cultural property."

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NHCP stops Admiral Hotel demolition