ADUANA

  
 

The Aduana was the Customs House where goods coming from abroad were declared.  It was built in 1823 after a plan drawn by Spanish engineer Tomas Cortes. The earthquake of 1863 reduced it to rubble. Upon its reconstruction in 1876, it housed the Intendencia General de Hacienda (Central Administration), the Treasury, as well as the new Casa de Moneda (Mint).  It was damaged by Japanese bombs in 1941 and American Artillery in 1945.


After the war, it served as the offices of the old Central Bank of the Philippines,  the National Treasury and the Commission on Elections.  It was abandoned after a fire destroyed the building in 1979. In 1998, work began for its restoration to house the Records Management and Archives Office (RMAO), more popularly known as the National Archives.

 

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