National Printing Office (Philippines)

The National Printing Office, formerly Bureau of Printing and later renamed Government Printing Office sometime in 1972, was created as the Bureau of Public Printing on November 7, 1901 by Philippine Commission Act No. 296. Place under the Departmen of Public Instruction, its main function was to undertake and execute all printing requirements of the government. The Bureau went into actual operation on Dec 15, 1901 and the first book printed by the Bureau was the Economic Geography by Hugo A. Miller.

The head of the Bureau of the Public Printing was called Public Printer but on November 1, 1905, by authority of the Philippine Commission Act No. 1417, it was changed to Director of Printing. The first to hold this position was John Sylvannus Leech who administered the Bureau by combining business with a training school in the printing art.

The Bureau was to fall under several government offices: in 1918, the Bureau of Printing was placed under the Department of Finance until its transfer in 1947 to the Office of the President. In 1958, the Bureau was place under the Department of General Services.

In the early part of 1921, the first Filipino craftsmen trained by Leech took over the administration of the Bureau. On July 18, 1921, Mr. Pablo Lucas was appointed as the first Filipino Director.

Shortly after the war, the Bureau moved from Padre Burgos Avenue to Port Area. During the war, on December 24, 1941, Japanese planes bombed and destroyed one of its two buildings where eleven employees were killed and scores wounded.

When the American liberation forces came in 1945, 80 percent of the Bureau’s equipment and supplies were destroyed. On May 9, 1948, a fire nearly destroyed what was left of the machinery. Whatever was left were transferred to the Bilibid Compound on Azcarraga St. The Bureau’s operation’s were suspended and later a new plant was constructed at Port Are, Manila.

On July 25, 1987, under the Revolunary Constitution of then President Corazon C. Aquino, the Government Printing Office was merged with the printing unit of the Philippine Information Agency and was later placed under the Office of the Press Secretary.

In 1990, a strong earthquake shook the already dilapidated building of NPO which had been condemned by the Bureau of Public Works and the City of Manila. Physically and administratively a vagabond, the office was finally to settle on a permanent location in the 1990′s. When former Director Lucita C. Sanchez came to the Office, she brought the idea of searching for a government site for NPO. She exerted her best efforts to make a negotiation with the NHA and was succesful to locate a 10,000 sq. m. lot along the corner of EDSA and NIA North Side Road, Diliman, Quezon City. Likewise, she also requested the funding for the total construction including the process of pre-qualification bidding and awarding of construction.

With the approval of the Department of Budget and Management in 1993, the blueprint of the building came out and eventually a cornerstone was laid in June 1994, marking the start of the construction.

After a year, then Director Lucita C. Sanchez was trasnferred to NIB and Acting Director, Ruben L. Tiangco, was appointed by his Excellency President Fidel V. Ramos on June 16, 1994. With his indefatigable and able leadership, he continued the completion of said project. The actual concretization of this pump priming project is within the vision of President Ramos’ Philippines 2000 which provides the needed infrastructure support to all government offices in order to give efficient delivery of services to the people.

Through coordinated planning and execution of policies and proper personal guidance, Director Tiangco has suceeded in the tremendously boosting the Bureau’s efficiency. He restored a sense of dignity in the employees and built up a satisfying image of the Bureau through discipline, efficiency, and honesty among the rank and file. His face-lofting program underscored cleanliness and sanitation in the premises which resulted in improved working conditions and increased the efficiency of the employees.