John Hay developer gets condotel permit

Manila, Philippines -  The Camp John Hay Development Corp. (CJHDevCo) said yesterday it was able to obtain a permit to operate The Suites, a 208-unit condotel in Baguio City.

CJHDevCo chief operating officer Alfredo Yniguez said the release of the permit highlights the refusal of Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA), through its subsidiary John Hay Management Corp. (JHMC), to issue the building, occupancy and operating permits required for its projects.

“The City of Baguio took only a month to issue a permit to occupy The Suites, whereas BCDA/JHMC has failed, or refused, to deliver the said permit since we applied for it on Feb. 17, 2011. It’s been 15 months since we applied for an occupancy permit with JHMC’s One-Stop Action Center and we still don’t have it up to now,” Yniguez said.

“This proves our contention that the BCDA’s so-called One-Stop Action Center is an entity in name only and offers only lip service to its mandate as per contract to guarantee the issuance of permits within 30 days,” Yniguez said.

JHMC had alleged fire and safety violations, among other reasons, in its continuing denial of a permit to occupy The Suites.