Sun.Star: Teachers' Camp in Baguio undergoes facelift

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Education (DepEd) announced the "soft-launching" of a much-improved Teachers' Camp in Baguio City during Monday's centennial celebration of the facility. DepEd Undersecretary Ramon Bacani and assistant secretary Jonathan Malaya led government officials in the launch presentation to members of the national and local media who converged in Baguio for the event. The event is part of the facility's Camp Re-Development Plan crated by DepEd together with experts from the University of the Philippines (UP) and the Heritage Conservation Society which envisioned creating a well-managed and well-equipped training and conference venue that is self-sustaining. Under the plan, seven conference and seminar halls namely Benitez, Carlos P. Romulo, Quezon Hall Main and Quezon Hall Down, Quirino Hall, Audio Visual Room and Pages Hall had undergone the much-needed facelift and restoration to upgrade services. The said halls have a total capacity of 3,320 guests. About 12 dormitories with a total capacity of 1,384 people, and three mess halls namely the Albert Hall, Abada Hall and Quirino Hall with a total capacity of 1,450 have also undergone restoration works. 29 cottages with a capacity of 255 and 12 guesthouses have also undergone similar works. Malaya, tasked by Education Secretary Jesli Lapus to spearhead the project under the slogan "Baguio Teacher's Camp: Celebrating 100 years of educating the nation" said the past century has taken its toll on the camp' facilities thus the need for conservation and rehabilitation efforts to meet the demands of the coming years. "The ultimate objective of the plan is to ensure that the facility continues to meet its original objective which was set a century ago. Create a well-managed and equipped training and conference venue to address the training needs of teachers," Malaya said. He said almost 90 percent of the restoration works on the facilities are already completed while the rest would be finished by the end of the month. A museum dedicated to the American Thomasites, the pioneering teachers who established the country's public school system is already near completion. The museum will also house memorabilia of the country's public education system in the past 100 years. Phase 2 of the re-development includes the landscaping, rehabilitation of the gates and construction of parking areas, construction of an amphitheater, asphalt overlay of various roads inside the camp and landscaping of other buildings. At present, the camp receives a yearly subsidy of P10 million from DepEd for its operations and salaries of the 127 staff it employed. As part of the camp's centenary, DepEd announced the launching of the "Visit Teacher's Camp Year" which officially kicked-off the yearlong celebration. A grand parade, a re-enactment ceremony, inauguration of the museum concert for teachers, an academic conference, search for the model teacher, the National High School Debating Championships and the Educators Congress highlight the year-long festivities. - Sun.Star