Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) president Margie Moran-Floirendo said the more than 50-year-old CCP building, considered a national icon, will be closed for two to three years.
Floirendo said the closure of CCP, a venue for performances and exhibitions for various local and international productions will be closed starting January 1, 2023.
She said the closure is recommended for repair and retrofitting of the CCP building. About P400 million will be needed for the renovation of CCP.
The said amount, Floirendo said could even go higher depending on the need for renovating other parts of the building.
“The CCP is closing its doors in January 2023 because we are now renovating the whole building and structurally retrofitting. So we will need more funds than what we expected because we did not expect to move out and the Little Theatre needs structural retrofitting,” Floirendo told the Organizational meeting of the Senate Committee on Culture and Arts chaired by Senator Loren Legarda.
“So the whole staff is moving out of the building,” Floirendo said.
Since the building will be closed, Floriendo said the CCP will also need additional funds to pay rent for their offices and theaters for performances.
Dr. Jaime Laya, CCP chair said the cultural center has been viewed as an elitist institution.
“Probably, it is because the building is so magnificent but right now, the building is in terrible condition, it’s 53 years old,” he said.
While the ceiling of the building is concrete, he noted that it is leaking in the main lobby.
“So the P400 million already budgeted is even a preliminary figure because we don’t know what kind of structural defects exists,” he said.
By January, he said the renovation will immediately start. They hope to open the CCP to the public by March 2025.
Despite its closure, Laya assured they will continue their programs and their movements across the country