BCDA mulls CJH options

MANILA, Philippines - The Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) still has no plans to bid out the property occupied by Camp John Hay Development Corp. (CJHDevco) whose lease it had terminated, until the former lessee vacates the property.

 “We are not yet thinking of that because any plans of rebidding would be premature. We still need to reassess the status of the property and the contract,” said BCDA president and CEO Arnel Paciano Casanova in a phone interview. “Most investors are also waiting for the developments.”

To date CJHDevco has an outstanding debt of P3.01 billion ending April 2012 to the government. CJHDevco had claimed that the termination was “illegal.”

Cassanova, however said that the agency had received positive response for the termination of CJHDevco’s lease agreement.

 “We have received a lot of positive support from various sectors regarding our efforts to get for the government what is due to it,” he said.

For now, the agency is not inclined to use force to have the CJHDevco vacate the property.

“We can exercise all remedies available for us under the contract and existing laws,” Cassanova said.

The termination notice was served to CJHDevco on May 16 in its corporate offices in the Camp John Hay Special Economic Zone in Baguio City, following a special meeting of the BCDA board.

The notice signed by Cassanova was addressed to CJHDevco CEO Robert John Sobrepeña and president Ferdinand Santos.

The notice stated that the BCDA is terminating the lease agreement dated Oct. 19, 1996 and the Restructuring Memorandum of Agreement (RMOA) dated July 1, 2008.

The BCDA enumerated eight breaches of contract by CJHDevco: It’s failure to pay the annual rent due the government for many years; failure to open an escrow account and deposit 50 percent of the common usage services assessment; fraudulent double-sale of a property given as payment to BCDA; violation of fire and safety laws in the Camp John Hay Suites; unlawful squatting of CJHDevco’s security agency; subcontracting of the water operations and distribution without BCDA’s consent; violations on safety, health and environment regulations; and misrepresentation of its financial standing.