No paper records lost in Land Management Bureau fire, only ‘digitized copies,’ official says

NO records were lost at the Land Management Bureau (LMB) in downtown Manila, which was razed by fire, along with three other buildings, on Monday, an official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said on Tuesday.

Environment Undersecretary Benny Antiporda said the records that were housed at the LMB at the Plaza Cervantes Building in Binondo were “digitized copies” that had back-up files and were forwarded to its various offices.

Antiporada said, however, that it would take awhile before the DENR could reconstruct its digital archive. “As far as I know, the digitization program was about 70 percent to 80 percent complete.  With the fire, we will have to start again from zero,” he said.

The LMB Binondo office served as a warehouse for digitized copies of scanned land records, a project Environment Secretary Ramon J.P. Paje had initiated.

Antiporda said estimated damage to property was at P100 million, adding that no employee was injured in the fire that broke out at 12:30 p.m. on Monday, and spread to nearby Bank of the Philippine Islands Condominium Corporation Building, Moraga Mansion and the Pacific Commercial Company Building, which houses the National Archive of the Philippines.

Fire officials declared a fire out 22 hours after. Two people – a fireman and a volunteer – were injured in the incident. KIMBERLY MALAIT