Baguio ‘haunted house’ declared historical site
>> Thursday, August 7, 2014
BAGUIO CITY
-- “haunted house” in here has been declared by the National Historical
Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) as a protected historical property.
The Diplomat Hotel inside the Dominican Hill and Retreat House (DHRH) is
the oldest facility, which had been known as a site of “ghost hunting”
activities, especially on All Saint’s Day.
It was named top most haunted hotels in the world since 1987.
The Diplomat Hotel, which was built in 1915, is located in a 17-hectare
area at the Dominican Hill, towering the entire barangay.
It was first used as the “Collegio del Santissimo Rosario,” which was
forced to stop operation after two years due to lack of enrollees, after that,
it served as a vacation house of Dominican priests.
“Ghost” stories came out because of the many nuns and priests that were
killed in the facility, which served as a garrison of the Japanese soldiers
during World War II.
In 1973, faith healer Tony Agpaoa rented and converted the facility,
which is still known as the Diplomat Hotel until he died in 1987.
The city government obtained the property in 2005.
For his part, City Mayor Mauricio Domogan said they will maintain the
design of the Dominican Hill to maintain its historical value, and its being a
Prayer Mountain.
The formal turnover of the Certificate of Transfer from the NHCP’s
declaration of the area as a historical site is on September 1 – in time with
the city’s celebration of its 105th Charter Day.
City Councilor Peter Fianza, committee chairman on education, culture,
and historical research, said they will continue to study the contents of the
declaration of the NHCP regarding the Dominican Hill, where they will base the
recommendation of the City Council on how to preserve the area, also making it
as a tourist spot.
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