Costa Luz resort scam / Tourist road for Tadian

       

HAPPY WEEKEND

Gina Dizon

  

SAGADA, Mountain Province -- Responding to online advertisements that a certain Costa Luz Resort is located in this municipality, the Sangguniang Bayan in their first and final reading passed a resolution stating that said resort does not exist in any part of the town and forwarded their statement  to the  National Bureau of Investigation and Internet Crimes Complaint  Center for  immediate action.

The August 20 resolution read by councillor Jane Bawing in lieu of tourism committee chairman Dave Gulian was also forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for action and to the Department of Tourism. 

Sometime this year, it was learned that some tourists have been looking for a hotel called Costa Luz Resort but were not able to find any.

This was heightened by warnings posted in Facebook August this year.

It was noted that pictures resembling that of Grand Zion Resort in Tabuk, Kalinga  were the same pictures posted in the fake Costa Luz resort promoted and identified to be located in Suyo, Sagada showing a lowland setting complete with palm trees and a splendid swimming pool.

Said advertisement was plastered in websites venere.com, hotels.com, and zoover.com with corresponding hotel rates obviously to entice tourists and defraud them of their money.

            

Sagada is a prime tourist destination north of  the Philippines blessed with  natural tourist attractions including  the famous Bumod-ok Falls of northern  Sagada and the Sumaguing cave in southern Sagada in the Cordillera region.

The tourist town registers some 30,000 tourists  a year both domestic  and foreign visitors  from different parts of the world  apart from other  local visitors who conduct their seminars and conferences in this tourist destination.

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The Provincial Peace and Order Council of Mountain Province  endorsed a resolution of Tadian town mayor  Anthony Wooden requesting  the office of  presidential assistant on the peace process (OPAPP) Sec. Teresita Deles to endorse for funding  to President Benigno  Aquino III , the rehabilitation of the Guinzadan-Cagubatan-Sayapot-Mankayan tourism road project linking two towns and two provinces.

This, as PPOC chairman Gov. Leonard Mayaen, noting the absence of municipal mayors during PPOC meetings, said the PPOC endorsement for local project proposals  serve as  “incentive”  to mayors  who attended the said PPOC meeting  held August 28.  

Mayors Wooden, Gavino Bucok of Paracelis, and Gabino Ganggangan of Sadanga attended  the PPOC meeting.

The rehabilitation and improvement of the proposed road links  two towns -Tadian and Bauko-  and two provinces- Benguet and Mountain Province-  is in line with the criteria of the tourism  road infrastructure priority project criteria  (TRIPPC) of the convergence program of  the Departments of  Tourism and Public Works and Highways.

The proposed Tadian  tourism road project was  earlier evaluated by the regional technical working group of the DPWH-DOT convergence  road project following a composite site inspection and recommendation of DPWH, DOT and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). 

The Guinzadan (Bauko)-Cagubatan (Tadian)-Sayapot (Tadian)-Mankayan (Benguet) road will  ease access to six  Sunnyside barangays of Tadian hosting  a cluster of tourist attractions including the amazing Mount Mogao, the Enchanted eels of Cagubatan, the Gawaan mountain lake, the Observatory rock and burial caves in Am-am, Cadad-anan.

Said resolution stated, “The project bears positive, high and great impact not only in the fields of agriculture, tourism, trade and commerce but more especially in the attainment of sustainable peace and order in the area which has long been geographically isolated and depressed thereby providing relief to and uplifting the quality of life of the people.”