TACLOBAN CITY—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has directed the provincial government to take over the management and operations of a P100-million beach resort built by then First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos in the town of Palo, Leyte, and sequestered by the government after the Edsa Revolution in 1986.

The 43-room MacArthur Park Beach Resort is considered among the two top hotels in Eastern Visayas. The other is Leyte Park Resort, which was also built by the widow of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos and government-sequestered but is now being managed by the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA), Assets Privatization Trust and provincial government.

Provincial administrator Vincent Emnas said the President issued Executive Order No. 756 on Oct. 2, which transferred the management of MacArthur Park Beach Resort from the PTA to the provincial government upon the request of Gov. Jericho Petilla.

Starting January next year, Emnas said the provincial government would take over the hotel, located several meters from the MacArthur National Shrine in Candahug, Palo. The hotel, named after the legendary American general who helped liberate the country from Japanese invaders, was built on a three-hectare lot owned by the provincial government.

Private operation

Although the MacArthur Park Beach Resort was built by Imelda in 1983, it was run by a private group called Island Corp., according to Jane Quisumbing, the hotel’s human resources chief. In 1994, the PTA took over the management and operations of the hotel.

On Friday, personnel from the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) were seen taking away Chinese jars, tables, chairs, a grand piano and other items. One of them said the items would be stored at the PCGG office.

A senior officer of the hotel, who asked not to be identified because of lack of authority to deal with the media, said the items were “borrowed” by the PTA from the Sto. Niño Shrine, a sequestered property of the Romualdez family, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary celebration of the Leyte Landings in 1994 attended by then President Fidel V. Ramos.

Under the new management, all revenues will go to the provincial treasury and will be used for hotel maintenance, operations and management, EO 756 said.

Emnas said the provincial government intended to rehabilitate the hotel and would look for private partners.

All 50 regular and three casual employees hired by the PTA will be under the provincial government, which Emnas said might “rationalize the personnel complement in accordance with the civil service rules and regulations.”

But a senior hotel officer, who asked not to be identified for fear of risking his job, said the employees were apprehensive about the turnover because they might not enjoy the same benefits.