The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) assured on Tuesday the Philippine Postal Corporation PHLPost of various assistance, including a temporary workplace, after its building in Intramuros, Manila was gutted by fire before midnight on Sunday.

GSIS President and General Manager Wick Veloso offered the state pension fund’s warehouse in Pasig City to serve as PHLPost’s temporary office.

“Philpost needs a transitory workplace to allow it to seamlessly maintain its vital services while its restoration is going on,” Veloso said noting that the damaged Philpost building and its contents are insured with GSIS for PHP604 million.

“To facilitate the insurance claims, we immediately dispatched our adjusters to the fire scene today even though no fire-out has been declared yet. We also deployed drones to completely evaluate the affected structures. We are very much aware of the historical significance of the building and we would like to assist in its rebuilding efforts in every possible way,” he added.

Apart from this, Veloso said GSIS is also offering PHLPost a loan that could help for the reconstruction of its building.

“The building has been declared an Important Cultural Property by the National Museum of the Philippines and its loss will have a huge impact on our rich cultural heritage. We need to bring it back to its original splendor,” the GSIS chief said.

GSIS is just awaiting for the Bureau of Fire Protection’s clearance before conducting a full-blown site inspection to determine the extent of damage sustained by the insured PHLPost property. (PNA)