After years of renovation, the Manila Metropolitan Theater may reopen to the public four months from now, Manila City Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso announced on Monday.
“The tentative opening is on May,” he told reporters in a text message. “We are bringing back one of the lost jewels of Manila.”
The local chief executive conducted another inspection at the newly renovated theater with officials of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP).
The MET, fondly dubbed as the “Grand Old Dame of Manila,” is one of the country’s oldest theaters and its last few surviving art deco buildings.
It was first opened in 1931 and had been host to various concerts, plays, and other theater productions. However, it deteriorated and became a home for illegal settlers.
In 2015, the NCCA bought the theater from the Government Service Insurance System and jumpstarted its renovation.
Last year, Domagoso, a former actor, told the NCCA to return the MET to the city government after it failed to properly implement its plans for renovation. (Minka Tiangco)
