BAUKO, Mountain Province—The municipal government here has proposed to manage and operate the historic Mount Data Hotel to expedite the long-delayed resumption of operations of one of the supposed income-generating facilities of the government within the jurisdiction of this fourth-class municipality.
Mayor Abraham B. Akilit said the regional office of the tourism department already endorsed the local government’s bid to management and operate the hotel to the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority which has jurisdiction over tourism properties in the different parts of the archipelago.
“We want to infuse a new style of management of the hotel because aside from its bright prospects of being an economic driver in the locality, there is also a need to sustain its historical value having been the venue where the famous 1987 Mount Data peace agreement was signed,”Akilit stressed.
The local chief executive said that the municipal government planned to create a trust fund so that the income to be generated from the operations of the hotel facilities be used for its upkeep and maintenance.
Once fully operational, Mount Data Hotel is envisioned to become one of the preferred tourist destinations in the area, apart from Sagada and Banaue in nearby Ifugao.
In addition, domestic and foreign visitors flocking to the province will have a decent place to stop and spend the night before proceeding to their desired points of destination in the central Cordillera.
Akilit said that the plan of the municipal government to put up a museum in memory of the historical significance of the Mount Data hotel within the facility was already considered by TIEZA in its rehabilitation of the structure to serve as an added attraction for local residents and visitors alike.
Earlier, TIEZA took back the operation of the Mount Data hotel from the provincial government due to alleged issues on management and the agency was supposed to rehabilitate the structure in preparation for future operations.
Akilit expressed confidence that TIEZA will already issue the green light for the municipal government to takeover the hotel’s management and operations.
Once fully operational nd.
On September 13, 1986, former President Corazon C. Aquino and the late Fr. Conrado Balweg of the cordillera Peoples Liberation Army (CPLA) signed the historic Mount Data peace agreement that ended the hostilities between the government forces and the rebels in the region.
