SAN FABIAN, Pangasinan - A former private rest house of then President Ferdinand Marcos and his family taken over by the government through the Philippine Tourism Authority months after the Edsa Revolution in 1986 has not lost its magic charm even if it is now run by the municipal government.

Turned over to the San Fabian municipal government by the PTA in May this year with the concurrence of the Presidential Commission on Good Government was the San Fabian PTA Beach Resort in barangay Bolasi, a class ‘AA’ resort facility by the Lingayen Gulf.

Many said the complex once played a significant role somewhat in the political history of the country by serving as a hideaway of the Marcos family whenever they wanted to escape the intense heat and doldrums of Metro Manila.

San Fabian Mayor Mojamito Libunao who sought that the 9.5 hectare complex be turned over to the host municipality, said since this was managed by the municipal government barely five months ago, revenues every month exceeded those raised when it was still operated by the PTA.

Diosdado Crisostomo, personally tapped by Libunao to manage the complex, said the facility used to be operating at a loss but when it was put into the hands of San Fabian, a second class municipality, a sign of turn-around is seemingly coming.

He cited the revenues in June alone raises by the resort under the new management reached some P700,000 as compared to P500,000 generated by the previous management for the same period last year.

This was also true during the months of July to October when sales clearly surpassed those realized monthly when the facility was still operated by the PTA.

Crisostomo, who once belonged to the old team that used to manage this complex and other facilities owned by the PTA in the northern part of the country, was taken back by the new management to manage the resort to lend his vast experience in running the business.

There are 51 employees working in the complex, the same number it had when it was still run by the PTA but whose level of pay is now a little lower as it was patterned from the pay scale of employees in the municipal government.

In the past, he said, the PTA had to cough up a lot of money for operational expenses because the pay scale of waiters, chambermaids, cooks and members of the cleaning crew was the same as the rate of pay of PTA workers in the main office.

A very ideal place for live-in seminars since it is away from the usual hustle and bustle of the metropolis, the complex has additional 18 hotel rooms and 18 dormitory rooms designed for large groups.

Its original billeting facilities since the Marcos days are still intact and could be used too by weekend tourists. These include a large suite on the right side that used to be occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Marcos, and smaller suites on the left which were obviously for the three Marcos children, and four other rooms for their guests.

The complex has also a separate pavilion for large conferences, separate from the billeting area, a wide area for picnic, adult and kiddie pools and a parking space that is guarded 24 hours a day.

The complex is protected from intruders by a high perimeter wall.