BCDA chief accused of perjury by firm

The private developer of Camp John Hay in Baguio City filed on Thursday a perjury charge at the Manila prosecutor’s office accusing the head of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) of lying under oath to support an estafa charge against the developer, Camp John Hay Development Corp. (CJHDevco).

CJHDevco, represented by its vice president for litigation and lawyer, Manuel Ubarra Jr., filed the perjury complaint against BCDA president Arnel Paciano Casanova who allegedly lied to charge six officials of CJHDevco with estafa over the the alleged “double sale” of one of five log homes in John Hay.

He was accompanied in filing the case by former Solicitor General Frank Chavez.

Casanova on March 9 filed at the justice department an estafa complaint against CJHDevco officials Robert John Sobrepeña, Ferdinand Santos, Raul Goco, Alfredo Yñiguez, Maria Georgina Alvarez and Emily Roces-Falco.

The CJHDevco officials were accused of deceiving the BCDA in entering into a deal on May 27, 2010, to settle at least P36 million in CJHDevco debts using five log homes as payment.

Casanova claimed that the BCDA learned too late that one of the log homes had been sold in 1999 to a certain Wilson Sy who gave a P20-million downpayment.

In the perjury complaint, lawyer Ubarra said Casanova lied about the log home and called Casanova’s charge a “malicious accusation.”

The supposed buyer, Sy, rescinded his offer to purchase the log home on

April 24, 2001, in a letter sent by Sy’s legal counsel to CJHDevco, said the perjury complaint.

Sy, Ubarra said, reiterated the decision not to proceed with buying the log home in two more letters, one in January 2005 and the other on April 26, 2005.

An affidavit executed by Sy on May 18 this year debunked Casanova’s allegation that the log home had been sold twice. In that letter, Sy sought a refund of his P20-million downpayment from CJHDevco.

“Clearly, there was no double sale at all,” said Ubarra in the perjury complaint.

Casanova, said Ubarra, lied to the justice department in his complaint on May 9 this year “falsely claiming that there was” a double sale.

Ubarra said the false claim made by Casanova shatters the case for estafa filed against CJHDevco.

“If there was no double sale, there was no fraud. Hence, no estafa,” said Ubarra.

Casanova, said the CJHDevco lawyer, “completely and conveniently failed to mention that the 1999 sale of the unit to Wilson Sy was rescinded as far back as 2001 by Wilson Sy himself.”

Casanova’s complaint was used as basis by the Department of Justice to issue subpoenas to determine probable cause against CJHDevco, said Ubarra.