BCDA urges CJHDevCo to waive confidentiality on John Hay decision

MANILA, Philippines - State-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) is calling on Camp John Hay Development Corp. (CJHDevCo) to waive the confidentiality clause on the arbitration on Camp John Hay.

“The arbitration rules prohibit us from releasing the decision and we are abiding by it. However, the decision could be made public if both parties agree to waive the confidentiality. We are calling on CJHDevCo to waive it and not hide behind the cloak of confidentiality to avoid confusion and give the stakeholders full access to information,” BCDA president and chief executive officer Arnel Paciano Casanova said in a statement yesterday.

Last week, the arbitration committee, chaired by Mario Valderrama and composed of co-arbitrators Teodoro Kalaw IV and Rogelio Nicandro under the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center Inc., issued a decision ordering CJHDevCo to vacate Camp John Hay and return the property to BCDA.

The order for CJHDevCo to vacate the property was unanimous.

The committee’s decision directing BCDA to pay CJHDevCo P1.4 billion, however, was not unanimous and the dissenting opinion stated that the latter must pay the government P2.4 billion.

In the separate opinion, co-arbitrator Kalaw said the CJHDevCo has acknowledged that it owes the government P2.4 billion.

Following the decision issued by the arbitration committee, the BCDA is calling on investors in Camp John Hay to coordinate with them for an orderly transition.

As the original lease between BCDA and CJHDevCo has been rescinded, the agreement entered into by the latter with firms for subleases are also terminated.

“We are not privy to the contracts that CJHDevCo entered into and we cannot be bound by it. What if these contracts were fraudulent,” Casanova said.

“We enjoin Mr. Sobrepena to make a full accounting of Camp John Hay, all buildings and facilities, which is now government property,” he added.

In 1996, the BCDA entered into a lease agreement with CJHDevCo for a portion of the John Hay Special Economic Zone.

Under the agreement, CJHDevCo was authorized to lease, develop, operate and manage the property for 25 years or until October 2021.

Locators in Camp John Hay covered by the lease agreement have to enter into sublease agreements with CJHDevCo, which in turn collects the payments for the use of the property.