What's Next for the National IDs, Parcels Inside the Burning Manila Central Post Office?

(SPOT.ph) UPDATE: The Manila Central Post Office caught fire late Sunday night, gutting the historic building that survived the World War II and the documents it houses—including mails, parcels, and National IDs for those in Manila.

The 1926-built structure in Liwasang Bonifacio, Intramuros houses the corporate operations of the Philippine Post Office and the mail and parcels to be delivered to Manila recipients only, Postmaster General Luis Campos told DZBB in an interview. 

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The building, constructed in 1926, continues to burn as of 9 a.m. Monday. Authorities have yet to determine the extent of damage of the fire, which started at the basement area where it's "mostly records and mails." 

"The whole building has been burned down from the ground floor, from the basement, all the way up to the fifth floor... The structure is still there pero meron mga nasa ibabaw... nagbagsakan na 'yun pero the whole structure is still intact."

Its operations will resume temporarily at the Surface Mail Exchange in Delpan Port Area starting Tuesday, May 23, PHLPost said in a statement.

"Only the mails intended for the City of Manila were affected by the fire. The public can also visit other post offices in Manila and various parts of Metro Manila to send mail and packages conveniently."

Also read: Heritage of the Manila Central Post Office: A Short History

What happens next to the National IDs and other parcels inside the Manila Central Post Office?

The Manila Central Post holds only parcels and mail to be delivered to those in Manila, Campos said. The rest is at the Phlpost Central Mail Exchange Center along the Domestic Road in Pasay City, where domestic and international mails are housed.

"The heart of the Postal Corp is in the... Airport Road po."

Parcels that are for delivery in Manila may be affected by the fire. In this case, authorities will have to assess its value per item.

"I'm sure we're supposed to pay anuman ang assessed value n'yan."

When asked about the National IDs, which some Filipinos have been waiting for years to have delivered to their homes, he said: "Kasama siya but it's only for Manila letter carriers."

"We'll have to assess that and hopefully ma-reprint 'yun and we will have to redeliver that."

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) also said that the National IDs affected in the fire would be replaced by the agency "at no additional cost" to the registered persons.

"We also wish to clarify that PhilIDs for delivery of the PHLPost are sorted and stored at the PHLPost Central Mail Exchange Center (CMEC) in Pasay City and were unaffected by the fire," it said in a statement.

The Manila Central Post office also houses a collection of stamps and "it's all in the building." When asked if all the collectible stamps in the government's side are "totally burnt" inside, Campos said "opo."

"Wala ka talaga makukuha as of the moment pero what we're looking at is hopefully we can bring back the vital service for Manila Cental Post Office para makita namin and we will bring back kung anumang data na dapat naming makuha from different offices."

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