BAGUIO CITY – The City General Services Office reported that the local government was able to takeover the famous Asin swimming pool and resort from its former operator but there is a need for the city to assign permanent officials and employees who will oversee the city-owned property purposely for income-generating activities.
Assistant City General Services Officer Eugene Buyucan said a proposal for the hiring of job order employees who will take charge of the city-owned resort was already submitted to the local finance committee for approval to allow the city to fully possess the property.
He claimed that the city was able to serve the notice of eviction to Roger Sinot, the former operator of the Asin hot spring resort, after the local court rule in favor of the local government but the problem is that Sinot was able to continue operating the property because there was no personnel assigned to charge of the facilities once they left the area.
Further, the City General Services office is now finalizing the simple terms of reference for the operation of the resort which will be bided out for interested resort operators to manage to remove the headache from the local government in hiring who will be the ones to take charge of the facility.
Earlier, Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan directed the City General Services Office to prepare the appropriate terms of reference for the privatization of the operation of the Asin hot spring resort to allow the local government to benefit from the existence of its property in the area and to prevent individuals from being able to earn income at the expense of the city.
He added the privatization of the resort will also include the building that was constructed during the time of former mayor Bernardo M. Vergara which could be used for seminars and conferences not only of the local government but also from other areas inside and outside the region to help in promoting the area as one of the premier ecotourist and recreation destination in Tuba town.
Domogan ordered the concerned offices to speed up whatever tasks assigned to them to prevent unauthorized individuals from staying in the city-owned building and maintaining a government resort without paying their supposed rentals among other fees for being able to earn income from the facilities.
He stated the business permit of the Asin hot spring resort must also be processed with the Tuba municipal government to set a precedent that local governments engaged in income-generating activities secure the necessary permits and pay the right taxes for its businesses inside and outside the city.
He claimed it is high time for the local government to possess its properties inside and outside the city and maximize their operations to contribute in efforts of the city to generate additional income that could be plowed back to the people through the implementation of high impact development projects and significantly improve the delivery of basic services to the greater majority of the populace, especially those in the grassroots level.
By Dexter A. See
