A new office building within the Port of Manila (POM) was inaugurated Tuesday, Oct. 13.
It was built to provide a workplace for personnel whose offices were affected by the fire that destroyed the historic building of the bureau in February of 2019.
The prefabricated office building is intended for the port’s operations and administrative offices.
The port’s district collector and deputy collectors also have offices in the new building.
According to the bureau, the office building is a bi-level structure made up of prefabricated materials designed for quick assembly and disassembly as needed.
The 1,004.8-square-meter office is designed “to maximize flow of transactions thus enhancing efficiency and coordination among the occupants.”
A centralized Public Address System is also installed to enable quick information dissemination.
The historic Port of Manila building was destroyed due to a fire and the building was then deemed unsafe for occupation.
Hundreds of the port’s personnel and offices were displaced as a result, POM District Collector Michael Angelo Vargas said.
During the inauguration, Vargas expressed his happiness on being able to provide a workspace for all POM personnel.
Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero congratulated the efforts of the port’s personnel, who had to carry on with their work even though most of them had to make do with makeshift offices or conduct work in other Customs offices.
The inauguration was led by the Customs Commissioner, Department of Finance Assistant Secretary Dakila Eilten Napao, and the deputy commissioners of various Customs units.