Government losing billions over Camp John Hay ruling – BCDA

MANILA, Philippines - The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) said the Philippine government is bound to lose billions of pesos in revenues after the Court of Appeals issued a decision against the state-run agency with respect to Camp John Hay.

In a statement, the BCDA said it has already filed an appeal before the Supreme Court, noting that CA Associate Justice Noel Tijam’s decision is highly irregular and disadvantageous to the government when he reversed and modified a decision of the Arbitral Tribunal of the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center that ordered the private CJH Development Corp. to vacate John Hay and deliver the leased property including new constructions and permanent improvements to BCDA.

The state-owned agency said the Baguio Regional Trial Court earlier issued a decision for the final award to make the tribunal decision binding, executory and non-appealable.

However, the BCDA said CJHDevCo was able to secure a temporary restraining order from the CA and the CA eventually issued a decision not only stopping the implementation of the final award but modifying it.

The CA’s 67-page decision modified the final award declaring CJHDevCo’s obligation to vacate and deliver the leased property to BCDA as dependent on BCDA’s payment of P1.4 billion.

The BCDA, which was supposed to recover all new construction and permanent improvements as stated in the final award, will get nothing, the agency said.

BCDA head for legal services lawyer Peter Paul Andrew Flores said based on the merits of the case, the agency is confident  the CA decision would not succeed in the SC.  “Public interest will eventually prevail,” Flores said.

He said should the CA decision be enforced, the government does not benefit because the sub-lessees have already paid their lease to CJHDevCo until 2046.

“The structures will be worthless by the time these are turned over to the BCDA in 2046 as the usable life of a building is only about 50 years,” Flores said.

“Government has not earned anything from the Camp John Hay lease since 1997 and government will not earn anything while Mr. Sobrepeña continues to exploit and profit from the use of government property until 2046. Where is the justice in that?” he added.