The shows go on for the country's premier showcase of the arts, even as it undertakes a P2-billion building renovation to be completed in 2025

By Dennis Ladaw

Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) president Michelle Nikki Junia recently met with the media to give an update on the renovation of the institution’s landmark main building known as the Tanghalang Pambansa.

 Junia was happy to report that the P2-billion project will be completed by the end of 2025. “The CCP will open its doors to the public by early 2026,” she said.

She pointed out it was high time to give the country’s taxpayers a progress report on what’s been happening with the structure which was built in 1969. She explained the rehabilitation project was a result of the building audit done on the main building from 2018 to 2019.  

“The findings necessitated that the 55-year-old building needed more than just the usual maintenance.  It needs a complete overhaul,” said Junia.

At one point during the media briefing, a reporter asked if it would be less expensive to demolish the place and build a new one instead. With raised eyebrows, Junia replied that the building was designed by National Artist for Architecture Leandro Locsin, and it’s been declared a cultural treasure. Thus, the rehabilitation work involves a delicate balance of preserving the design and modernizing the building to keep up with the times.

The first phase of the overhaul consisted mostly of retrofitting. This included mechanical, electrical, plumbing, sanitary, and fire protection work.

“It might seem that the rehabilitation has been slow, but we’re right on target. When we started this following the audit, we saw the wear and tear. We opened the slabs, walls, and the flooring. We saw the damage, the cracks, and deterioration due to age. Repairing these is a very tedious process,” Junia explained.

Junia added that the look of the building interiors will be like the original. The prominent driveway ramp that gracefully adorns the façade and allows audiences to get out of their cars in front of the lobby has also been rehabilitated.

It has been closed to cars for several years, but Junia announced repairs in that area have been finished.

It was also emphasized that despite not having a fully functioning building now, the CCP “forges ahead with a full year of artistic programs and projects.”

“Our work has, in fact, doubled or even tripled, because we are spreading our reach outside the CCP complex and into the far regions. The CCP has been doing outreach programs in the last 40 years and we are intensifying them. We’re creating new partners with local government units (LGUs) and cultural organizations. We’re collaborating with as many artists as we can and producing shows in alternative venues across the country,” said Junia.

‘Baraptasan’

CCP vice chair Margie Moran Floirendo enumerated some of the new programs such as Kanto Kultura, “evocative of street art in any of its forms: music, broadcast and film, literature, theater, dance, and visual arts.”

She said, “The first iteration of Kanto Kultura will be Baraptasan, a modern take on the Balagtasan, in celebration of the centenary of Francisco “Balagtas” Baltazar. The Baraptasan will feature literary jousting in Filipino, Cebuano, Hiligaynon and Ilokano.

“Importantly, the National Performing Companies or NPAC program is finally taking off. Applications are ongoing and by the middle of the year, we shall be announcing NPACs in Dance, Theater, Orchestra, Choral, and Indigenous Performing Ensemble. The NPAC program is a massive boost to the creative industry by conferring national status and providing significant funding to deserving non-government performing arts companies. We can expect a tighter cultural calendar and, notably, more jobs for our artists onstage and behind the scenes.”

Indeed, the CCP has proven to be a fine example of staying true to the adage, “The show must go on!”

The media conference ended on a high note with Sheila Valderrama-Martinez and Arman Ferrer singing songs from Alice Reyes’ “Rama, Hari,” whose 2023 production will have repeat performances on Feb. 16-18, and Feb. 23-25 at the Samsung Performing Arts Center in Circuit, Makati.