Sobrepeña group starts to vacate John Hay

MANILA, Philippines - The Sobrepeña-led Camp John Hay Development Corp. (CJHDevCo) has started to vacate Camp John Hay.

In a statement yesterday, BCDA president and chief executive officer Arnel Paciano Casanova said the move of CJHDevCo to file a Judicial Confirmation before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Baguio, which would pave the way for the implementation of the firm’s exit in Camp John Hay, is a positive development.

The filing of the Judicial Confirmation would allow the Baguio RTC to issue a Writ of Execution to enforce the exit and turnover of the property.

Casanova said, however that buyers, locators and sub-lessees in Camp John Hay should seek legal counsel to ensure that their rights and interests are protected.

 “The last thing we want to happen is for their contracts to be a worthless piece of paper like what happened with the College Assurance Plan (CAP),” he said.

He said all buyers, sub-locators, hotel unit owners and sub-lessees should not believe that they are not affected by the recent decision of the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center Inc. (PDRCI).

The decision issued by the PDRCI last month ordered CJHDevCo. to vacate Camp John Hay and return it to BCDA.

The PDRCI likewise ordered the BCDA to return to CJHDevCo. lease payments worth P1.42 billion.

“Simply put, CJHDevCo. will be refunded the entire amount it paid to the BCDA but there seems to be no action on the side of CJHDevCo. to refund the buyers and sub-lessees,” he said.

He said the buyers and sub-lessees should run after CJHDevCo. and lay claim to the P1.42 billion in order to recover their interests and protect their investments.

CJHDevCo. is owned and managed by Fil-Estate Corp., which is chaired by Robert John Sobrepeña, who also owns and manages pre-need company CAP and the Metro Rail Transit Development Corp.

The BCDA which was created by Republic Act 7227, is mandated to transform former US military bases into alternative productive civilian use.