BAGUIO CITY—The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) assured the Baguio government on Friday that it would continue receiving its 25 percent share from revenues generated by Camp John Hay, even after the loss of the developer with which the government agency had been feuding since 2012.
“We commit within our powers that if there are future revenues to be generated from further development of Camp John Hay, we will respect the 25 percent share [which is one of 19 conditions set by Baguio in 1994 when it consented to the development of the former American rest and recreation base land],” BCDA president Arnel Paciano Casanova said at a special session convened by the city council.
Casanova met with Mayor Mauricio Domogan and the council members to discuss the aftermath of a feud between BCDA and its developer, Camp John Hay Development Corp. (CJHDevco).
An arbitral ruling voided the Camp John Hay development lease agreement and required CJHDevco to return 240-hectares of built-up areas inside the tourism complex to the government. It also ordered BCDA to reimburse CJHDevco’s rent amounting to P1.42 billion.
The ruling, however, was elevated to the Court of Appeals (CA) which was expected to decide on July 30 on how the locators and homeowners inside Camp John Hay would be treated as a result of the lease agreement’s dissolution.
In a statement on a CA hearing on the case yesterday, CJHDevco said third party investors rejected a proposal made by BCDA for them to renegotiate their lease contracts to avoid eviction.
At the continuation of the CA hearing, CJHDevco quoted lawyer Howard Calleja, representing 59 property leaseholders, as telling the court that his clients would not renegotiate with the BCDA as it would be tantamount to “double compensation” on the part of BCDA.
Calleja argued that third party investors have fully paid their obligations until the end of their 50-year leasehold agreement in 2046.
“Such negotiation is illegal and ultra vires (beyond the powers). It is our submission that being a government property, it is not subject to renegotiation but bidding,” Calleja said.
“It is our desire that BCDA respect our peaceful possession and ownership until 2046,” Calleja told the court.
In the same hearing, another intervenor, the CJH Golf Club with 850 investors also asked the court to stop the BCDA from evicting them.
CJH Golf Club lawyer Joel Bodegon told the CA it was not a party in the arbitration proceedings, thus, the arbitration ruling is not binding on its client.
The arbitral panel ruling, however, had deprived Baguio of a revenue source.
Baguio is entitled to rights and benefits from John Hay operations due to 19 conditions the city government set before it consented to Camp John Hay’s development.
Condition No. 10 guarantees Baguio a 25-percent share from rent paid by the developer.
“Once we have [regained control of the leased areas from CJHDevco] and BCDA earns revenues and rentals… then we can proceed with the remittances of the 25 percent share from [what is generated by] the John Hay Special Economic Zone,” Casanova said.
The council session was tense, owing to accusations hurled by Domogan and some councilors that Casanova had been reneging on his agency’s obligations to Baguio.
For example, Domogan and the councilors complained that Casanova had not complied with Condition No. 14, which states that “BCDA shall exclude all affected barangay from the John Hay reservation.”
They said BCDA had been segregating home lots instead of the actual areas of 14 villages inside the reservation. But Casanova said the agency had not started relinquishing open areas and roads of these villages to the city government, as a precaution against intrusion by squatters.