MANILA, Philippines – The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) will close its doors for two to three years starting January 2023 for renovation and structural retrofitting works.

CCP President Margarita Moran-Floirendo announced this during a hearing of the Senate committee on cultural communities on Thursday, September 1.

CCP Chairman Jaime Laya also shared that they aim to reopen the building on March 15, 2025.

Floirendo said they would need more funds as the CCP offices would have to be relocated by November of this year in preparation for the renovation.

“We will need more funds than what we expected because we did not expect to move out and because when they started to open the little theater, they saw the structural retrofitting that are needed. So the whole staff are moving out of the building for next year,” she said.

The lease for the offices and theaters in the next few years would require an extra P390 million, after using corporate funds for the lease this year. 

Only the reconstruction of the main building was considered in the proposed 2023 national expenditures program because they were initially doing the renovation per floor of the decades-old building. 

They are planning to lease space at the Design Center of the Philippines to accommodate the artistic department, while executive ofices will transfer to the Ramon Magsaysay Center in Malate, Manila. The request for more funds also covers the construction of the Liwasang Amphitheater. 

Earlier in June, Floirendo reported that the CCP had been dealing with numerous site damage caused by water seepage and earthquakes, among other things. The vision behind the rehabilitation is to turn the complex into a global and self-sustaining tourist destination.

The CCP was built in 1966 by National Artist Leandro Locsin and has since then housed Philippine arts and cultural events. – with reports from Sydney Cañamo/Rappler.com

Sydney Cañamo is a Rappler intern.