The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) confirmed this week that it has regained full control of Camp John Hay after the Supreme Court (SC) dismissed “with finality” the developer CJHDevCo’s legal challenges against their eviction from the camp.
Earlier in the year in April, the SC had ruled to reinstate an arbitral court’s decision evicting CJHDevCo from John Hay and requiring the company to return all of its properties to the government, with BCDA on the hook to reimburse the developer’s investments worth P1.42 billion.
CJHDevCo subsequently filed a motion for reconsideration against the SC’s April decision, citing the protection of the interests of its third-party stakeholders who had also invested into the properties.
BCDA confirmed this week that the SC had denied the motion for reconsideration in late October, with the court finding that there were “no substantial arguments” to support the motion and subsequently closing the doors on all further motions to dispute the decision.
Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong on Wednesday confirmed that the BCDA had since committed to honor the concerns of the third-party stakeholders contingent on them entering fresh contracts with the government, and that the city will continue to go after the BCDA’s unpaid obligations over the camp, which amounted previously to P200 million.
“They (BCDA) said that they will pay us, but we will have to look at the numbers again to see exactly how much they owe,” Magalong said.
After the transformation of Camp John Hay into the 625-hectare John Hay special economic zone, the lease and development of a 247-hectare portion was awarded to CJHDevCo in 1996.
However, disagreements over leases and obligations led to both parties seeking arbitration under the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center Inc. (PDRCI). Said disagreements led to an initial decision from the PDRCI that found both parties guilty of breach of contract. The Baguio Regional Trial Court (RTC) affirmed the decision of the PDRCI.
CJHDevCO was ordered to return the leased property to BCDA management, and BCDA was held liable to reimburse P1.4 billion worth of rents to CJHDevCo. The eviction notice however was frozen after the CJHDevCo argued before the Court of Appeals (CA) that the RTC decision did not account for some 1,600 third-party sublessors who had subleased portions of the 247-hectares under CJHDevCo.
The CA subsequently nullified the Notice to Vacate issued by the RTC not only against CJHDevCo but against its sublessees as well.
The SC overturned the CA’s decisions, making final the ruling where the CJHDevCo had to hand over its 247-hectare claim in John Hay land, and holding the BCDA liable to return the liabilities in the form of already-paid rents worth P1.4 billion.
