(Cabinet Sec. Karlo Alexei Nograles, NIA chief Ricardo Visaya, and NIAUPRIIS department manager Engr. Rosalinda Bote opening the marker. Photo by Armand Galang)
PANTABANGAN , Nueva Ecija – A resort hotel operated by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), built from a longtime white elephant in the midst of greeneries of Pantabangan Dam Watershed, is seen to spur tourism and economic growth in Central Luzon.
This was declared by Cabinet Sec. Karlo Alexei Nograles as he, along with NIA chief Ricardo Visaya, led the opening of the P40-million Pantabangan Lake (PL) Resort Hotel inside the scenic mountain top in Barangay Fatima here recently.
Nograles lauded the NIA offi cials, particularly Visaya, Engr. Rosalinda Bote, department manager of the Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation System (UPRIIS), as well as its former manager Engr. Florentino David for undertaking the project two years after it was recovered from the private Korean firm which gained management contract from the provincial government of Nueva Ecija for about 20 years.
He noted the resort hotel is strategically located adjacent to the dam reservoir which is considered as one of the biggest in Asia.
“Pati na rin ang kagandahan ng Pantabagan Dam at ng ating reservoir na kasama sa Pampanga River, major river basin natin, na sinasabi nila na isa sa pinakamaganda at pinakamalaki dito sa Asia,” Nograles said of the attractions being offered naturally by the PL. “Siyempre kasama ang picturesque scenery ng Caraballo at Sierra Madre mountain ranges itong NIA Pantabangan Lake Resort Hotel ay nagbibigay ng malaking potensiyal para sa economic and tourism growth and development dito sa ating region,” he stressed.
The facility is the first hotel to be owned by the NIA and managed by the UPRIIS which is a government-owned and -controlled corporation operating under the Office of the President, particularly Office of the Cabinet Secretary.
Built in the 1970s as the NIA Guesthouse, it accommodated guests from the World Bank (WB), NIA and other government agencies and offices specially those working in various irrigation projects nearby. The Nueva Ecija provincial government gained control over it in 1999, which awarded management to a Korean firm that branded it Best Hotel.
“For some reason or another, napabayaan nang more than ten years. Kaya napakalaking tagumpay po para sa ating lahat na nabawi natin, naiuwi po natin uli sa NIA itong resort hotel po na ito,” he said.
Strategically located atop the mountain that overlooks the lush greeneries of the Pantabangan Watershed and the calmness of the lake’s blue water, the facility is described to be a “perfect landscape of nature that is well-suited to capture each memory and moments of celebration.”
With several amenities, the hotel has 17 standard rooms, suite rooms, a function hall, a restaurant and a veranda, the PL can easily compete with private counterparts, according to Bote.
“NIA Pantabangan Resort Hotel is now ready to compete with other hotels here in Nueva Ecija as venues for seminars, conferences, team buildings, and other government agencies and stakeholder and also our irrigators associations,” Bote said.
She expressed gratitude to the agency’s top management for “all the support given to UPRIIS,” especially for the establishment of the resort hotel.
Visaya explained the facility is one of the income- generating ventures of the agency in the light of the Duterte administration’s resolved to provide free irrigation service to farmers with eight hectares and below of farm. The other is the provision of floating solar power farms that is now being implemented in Magat Dam.
“Hindi lang dapat irigasyon ang ating facilities. We have to optimize the utilization of our facilities na pagkakakitaan para sa gobyerno at para katulong din sa ating mga kababayan,” Visaya told NIA officials and employees in a brief program held at the hotel’s Pantabangan Hall. “Not only for irrigation but also for power. May hydro power dito ng FirstGen at dadagdagan pa natin.”
Floating solar farms, he underscored, spare agricultural land from conversion. “For all you know this is a 900,000-hectare reservoir, we can utilize 90,000 for income-generating purposes projects,” he said.
