Old Customs Building Cebu
The historic Old Customs Building or Aduana Building is at the heart of Cebu City’s harbor area. Designed and built in 1910 by architect William Parsons, the Aduana sits on reclaimed land, and its construction marked the city’s movement towards modernization and urban development. The building was originally conceptualized as a customs house serving Cebu’s Port. In World War II, the building managed to survive several bombings.
In 2004, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo converted the Aduana into the President’s residence in the Visayas and called it “Malacañang sa Sugbo”. However, in 2013, the Visayas was hit by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake, necessitating its closure.
On December 13, 2019, after negotiations, the Cebu Port Authority and the National Museum of the Philippines signed a usufruct agreement, giving the NMP the right to use the structure to house the National Museum – Central Visayas Regional Museum (NM Cebu) for 25 years. With the intention to build a museum for Cebuanos run by Cebuanos, the NMP commenced the conversion of the Malacanang sa Sugbo into NMP Cebu in 2020.
This August, the Cebuanos will have their own National Museum in Cebu.