Mount Data Hotel: Cordillera’s peace hub

VIP GUEST | The late President Corazon Aquino was the most prominent Filipino visitor to affix her signature to the old Mount Data Lodge guestbook, which was retrieved only last year after it went missing for three decades. Aquino signed it on July 13, 1986, and somebody marked it with a star. Though the hotel started in 1960, the initial entries were made only in October 1975. (Photo by KARLSTON LAPNITEN / Inquirer Northern Mindanao)

BAUKO, Mountain Province, Philippines — Nestled on a 7.7-hectare mountain top and surrounded by a pine forest, the historic Mount Data Hotel in this town is headed for another milestone almost 36 years after being a silent witness to a peace accord between the government and an armed movement in the Cordillera region.

Formerly known as Mount Data Lodge, the 24-room facility was built in 1960 but managed to retain its original pinewood-built rooms and fireplace and the old upright steam engine boiler despite undergoing rehabilitation by the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza) in 2020.

According to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (Opapru), the hotel may soon be the newest historical site in the region.

Opapru project development officer Charlotte Matias and Opapru consultant Thomas Killip said the documents needed to confirm its declaration were already being finalized.

The Mount Data Peace Accord, also called “sipat” (cessation of hostilities), between the government, represented by the late President Corazon Aquino, and the Cordillera Bodong Administration–Cordillera People’s Liberation Army (CBA-CPLA), led by the late rebel priest Conrado Balweg, was formalized at the hotel on Sept. 13, 1986.

The accord was the first peace agreement undertaken after the People Power Revolt that ousted strongman Ferdinand Marcos Sr. It led to the signing of Executive Order No. 220 by Aquino, which created the Cordillera Administrative Region on July 15, 1987, pending its transition to an autonomous status.

Mount Data Hotel (Photo by KARLSTON LAPNITEN / Inquirer Northern Luzon)

Greenlight

But after more than three decades, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) on March 29 this year gave its initial greenlight to the resolution passed by the Joint Evaluation and Monitoring Committee requesting for the declaration of Mount Data Hotel grounds as a “significant historical site.” The committee oversees the peace process being implemented by the government with the CBA-CPLA.

The hotel was built to complement the growing tourism industry in the northern provinces of Ifugao, Kalinga and Mountain Province.

It was managed by Tieza’s forerunner, the Philippine Tourism Authority, until 2005, when it was turned over to the local government. It was transferred again to Tieza in 2016 but was closed as it needed major renovations.

Renovations started in 2020 to add and upgrade its facilities, and it was formally reopened last May.

Mount Data Lodge old guest book (Photo by KARLSTON LAPNITEN / Inquirer Northern Luzon)

Guest book

According to Opapru, the late Mayor Gabino Ganggangan of Sadanga, Mountain Province, spearheaded the search for the old guest book of the hotel last year.

With the aid of the hotel staff, the guest book was also located and is currently being preserved to prevent its further deterioration.

Opapru said the guest book would be displayed on a corner of the hotel where it could be viewed by the public.

The guest book documents the visitors of Mount Data Hotel from 1975. Aquino was the lone Philippine president to sign the book, doing so on July 13, 1986.

A few months later, Aquino represented the government in the one-of-a-kind peace agreement with the leaders of CPLA, a rebel group that splintered from the New People’s Army.

MARKING HISTORY | Officials of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity on June 17 inspect the newly created Mount Data Peace Accord art installation, an added attraction to the Mount Data Hotel, which reopened in May. The installation memorializes the “allasiw” (exchange of peace pact tokens) between the late President Corazon Aquino and the late Cordillera People’s Liberation Army leader, Fr. Conrado Balweg. (Photo by KARLSTON LAPNITEN / Inquirer Northern Luzon)

Art memorabilia

An art installation dubbed the “Inner Peace Sanctum Art Memorabilia of Mt. Data” was commissioned by Opapru in front of the hotel grounds to memorialize the event.The concrete and metal artwork by Sagada artists led by James Wandag depicts the “allasiw” (exchange of peace tokens) by Aquino and Balweg, in accordance with Kalinga traditions.

Aquino exchanged a bible, a rosary, and an Armalite rifle for a spear and shield from Balweg.

The two figures stand on a cubed foundation embedded with 339 assorted firearms, surrendered by former CPLA combatants as part of the peace process.

Beside the monument is a large replica of a gong engraved with a map of the Cordillera region. It hangs on a metal frame welded with old pistol and rifle parts.

Used in violent encounters and in tribal wars, the chopped-off firearms underwent cleansing rituals prior to their installation, as these will be displayed to the public as symbols of peace, according to Killip, a former mayor of the tourist town of Sagada.

PERFECT GETAWAY | Preserved for over half a century, the old brick fireplace remains the centerpiece of the rehabilitated Mount Data Hotel built in 1960. (Photo by KARLSTON LAPNITEN / Inquirer Northern Luzon)

Neutral ground

Opapru intends to amplify Mount Data Hotel’s identity as an icon of peace by making it a peace hub where activities and events related to peace, reconciliation, and unity can take place, Killip said.

He said the construction of a structure to become a peace center would be a perfect neutral ground to settle traditional conflicts, political boundaries and other peace-related activities.The hotel’s location further adds a serene and calming ambience to any peace negotiation, he added.

“The peace center could also house the peace artifacts such as the guest book and the peace tokens given to the government during the Mount Data Peace Accord,” Killip said.

The proposal, he said, has yet to be formally discussed in detail with partner agencies and local governments.

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