Choco Hills privatization snags as ownership dispute pops up

HOW indeed are you going to privatize something you do not totally own?

The mulled Provincial Government of Bohol (PGB) “takeover” of the now earning Chocolate Hills Complex (CHC) snagged anew in a meeting last week following an ownership dispute between Bohol and interim management operator Carmen. Carmen municipal officials represented by Vice Mayor Josil Trabajo during the meeting August 15 insist that they have documents to prove that they own parts of the complex. At least, in another interview, BM Brigido Imboy said it was the PGB who was instrumental in setting up the facility. Pending the settlement of the ownership claims between the two parties, the take-over or privatization talks remain suspended, a thing that puts the status quo of an overdue interim management for Carmen, legal experts say.

After more than 21 years in operation with barely enough to subsist, the CHC under Carmen still runs on a Memorandum of Agreement signed by Carmen Mayor Alfredo Galang and Governor David Tirol for Carmen to operate the complex in an interim capacity for a year. Bohol however failed to come up with a corresponding legislation to help as Carmen single-handedly managed and operated the complex, introducing new amenities and upgrading set up facilities. With Bohol 's tourism boom in the past decade, and with the money dripping into the moneybag, we need to invest some more to upgrade the services to approximate standards, complex operations manager Engr. Elmer Pastrano said in an interview.

The facility now has a restaurant, double view decks, 214 steps leading to the view deck that affords the most scenic view of the more than a thousand cone-shaped hills, the rotunda, swimming pool and two hostels. With its operation and management, CHC in Carmen finally becomes the goose that lays the golden eggs. The down side is that this time, everybody wants a piece of the pie. The CHC charges toll fees for every guest that goes in, runs a restaurant and the hostels. Opened on August 30, 1993 and operated through a MOA on interim management signed by both parties, the complex still had to adapt to better serve guests need, said Engr. Pastrano.

The same MOA determined the PGB share at 30% while Carmen gets 70%. With the Local Government Code passed, Carmen only gets 50% while Tambuan gets the 20% barangay share, Pastrano continued. The judgment call by Carmen officials to invest the toll money for additional infrastructure and amenities in the complex earned the ire of some who accuse them of mismanagement and spurious fiscal handling in the complex operations. The perception was that Carmen was making the complex its milking cow and that the local government is ill-equipped to manage the complex. With the milking cow issue, PGB initiated plans for a takeover, but this soon gravitated into a privatization move triggered by a Provincial Tourism Council (PCT) approved resolution. Right after a meeting where both parties were represented last week, talks about privatization ripened.

This stirred the Sangguniang Panlalawigan knowing that they have deferred the issue pending settlement of ownership. A local paper carried a picture of a CHC railing that was not fixed, supporting BM Corazon Galbreath's claim as the pressing need to address improvement of services at CHC. Complaints carried by local newspapers on the complex operation range from health and sanitation, quality food lack at the restaurant, damaged road, congestion and lately, the unfixed railings. Pending the resolution of the dispute, the Committee as a whole led by BM Dionisio Balite, last week however tackled the new Memorandum of Agreement prepared by Carmen.

Observers, industry people especially speculate that the SP taking up the MOA means junking the privatization move. Many stakeholders share that the privatization move serves the interest of only a few. PTC Chair Peter Dejaresco however pointed out that they are just concerned because CHC services should be improved. Meanwhile a local paper has reported that Carmen, through its counsel, lawyer Alexander Lim has okayed the proposed take over. The Carmen drafted MOA however claim otherwise, with Carmen taking full control of operation, setting up a new facility for a massage room. In the new MOA, Carmen should get SP confirmation on CHC personnel staffing while the Commission on Audit regularly checks the facilities and amenities. The SP also recently discussed carving out a 50-50%, or 60-40% profit sharing scheme with Carmen.

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