BCDA reimburses John Hay developer

PERFUME magnate Joel Cruz’s home at Camp John Hay. His employees were given a notice to vacate by court sheriffs. RICHARD BALONGLONG/INQUIRER NORTHERN LUZON

BAGUIO CITY—Employees of perfume magnate Joel Cruz were handed a notice to vacate his Camp John Hay home by court sheriffs on Tuesday.

Cruz is one of many homeowners there whose contracts were affected by an agreement that ended a decades-old contractual feud between the government administrator of Camp John Hay and its developer.

Linda Montez-Loloy, Baguio clerk of court, sent the sheriffs to serve vacate notices to all sublessors of Camp John Hay Development Corp. (CJHDevco).

“We received the notice and we have sent it to Mr. Cruz, who is in Manila,” said his home manager, who identified himself only as Zaldy. “Mr. Cruz will turn it over to his lawyers. I hope nothing violent happens [should the sheriff enforce the eviction in May].”

The sheriffs enforced an April 14 writ of execution issued by Judge Cecilia Corazon Archog of the Baguio Regional Trial Court after she confirmed an arbitration ruling issued by the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center (PDRC) in February.

The PDRC dissolved the Camp John Hay lease agreement and required the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) to reimburse CJHDevco its rent amounting to P1.422 billion. The BCDA deposited the amount in an escrow account it opened for a Baguio court on April 17, lawyer Arnel Paciano Casanova, BCDA president, said in a text message on Monday.

In turn, CJHDevco was directed by the court to vacate the leased property at the former American rest and recreation center and return it to the BCDA, as prescribed by the PDRC.

The sheriffs issued CJHDevco a vacate notice on April 20, giving it a month to relinquish all properties it developed, “in good and tenantable condition.”

The notices the sheriffs distributed on Tuesday were addressed to “all persons claiming rights under [CJHDevco].”

Archog imposed a gag order on the BCDA and CJHDevco, which prevented them from replying to the Inquirer’s queries.

But CJHDevco distributed notices to its sublessees as early as April 21 that state that the citation “all persons claiming rights under them (CJHDevco)” in the vacate notices “refers only to CJHDevco and its employees, security personnel as well as its subsidiaries.”

In an earlier news conference, Casanova said some homeowners affected by the ruling are current and former lawmakers, prominent businessmen, major companies and foreigners.

A list that was attached to court documents shows there are 185 timeshare room owners of The Manor and almost 300 timeshare room owners of the Forest Lodge, among subcontracts operating at the Camp John Hay lease area.

The document also lists 25 country home owners, 57 forest cabin owners, eight log home owners at the former Voice of America property, five commander’s cabin owners, 17 owners of country estate lots and 22 owners of forest estate lots.

Lawyer Peter Paul Flores, who represents the BCDA, said the government agency had fulfilled its part of the agreement. The BCDA is helping homeowners who wish to transfer their contractual rights from CJHDevco to the BCDA, in order to spare them from eviction, he said.

A help desk manned by Zaldy Bello, manager of the John Hay Special Economic Zone, was taking calls on Tuesday, as the sheriffs served the notices. CJHDevco also opened a help desk manned by lawyer Federico Mandapat Jr., who said he also received requests for legal advice from homeowners.