City entry to Fort San Pedro makes jobless PTA workers
Eleven casual employees of the Philippine Tourism Authority stand to loss their jobs by next month when the
Mamerto Zamoras, a casual employee who have worked with the PTA for 20 years, said they were already informed of the outcome of their jobs. He said however that most of his colleagues are agreeable to this for as long as they will be given separation pay.
Fort San Pedro manager Joey Salgado said the takeover is supposed to start on January 20 but the city government informed PTA that it will start such work on the first working day of February.
The city government will however start deploying its own security personnel on January 20, after which it will send its own personnel to manage the operations of Fort San Pedro.
The turnover of the operations and maintenance of Fort San Pedro was based on a memorandum of agreement entered into by Mayor Tomas Osmeña, PTA chief executive officer Robert Dean Barbers, and Secretary Lito Atienza of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Under the agreement, signed last November 20, the PTA will turn over to the city the buildings, including the one now occupied by PTA officials and employees; premises, equipment, facilities, machinery and others.
The city, upon acceptance, will provide enough funds for the continuous operation, administration and maintenance of the Fort. The agreement allows the city to tap private institutions to administer, manage and maintain the Fort.
The move was reportedly because of the losses incurred by the PTA in its operation. A source however told The Freeman that they do not believe that the Fort has been losing because there are lots of tourists visiting the place everyday.
An employee of the Fort, who requested anonymity, said the Fort could easily have a daily income of between P10,000 and P15,000 on entrance fees alone. The Fort also generates income from functions held inside, such as wedding receptions and birthday parties. — Fred P. Languido/RAE
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