John Hay developer denies evading payment of rent arrears

MANILA, Philippines - The private developer of Camp John Hay in Baguio City yesterday denied evading payment of its P3-billion financial obligations to the government.

The Camp John Hay Development Corp. (CJHDevCo) turned the tables on the Bases Conversion Development Authority, saying BCDA had prevented them from paying their rental arrears.

The firm’s spokesman, Manuel Ubarra, told reporters that BCDA president Arnel Casanova had blocked their offer to pay their lease rentals since August last year.

Ubarra said BCDA should have collected P8.5 billion in rental payments had Casanova accepted their offer.

He said BCDA Chairman Felicito Payumo had expressed willingness to accept the offer and even invited the developer’s representatives to present the proposal to the BCDA board.

But Ubarra said Casanova opposed the offer and even prevented the firm’s representatives from presenting it to the BCDA board.

“The arbitration proceeding is the mandated avenue for communication in case of crisis as per our contracts. But instead of going through the proper legal procedure, Casanova has been carelessly issuing false statements about CJHDevCo and its board. Fortunately, we know the true facts and have the law on our side, including the documents to prove that CJHDevCo is up to date on its payments to BCDA,” he said.

“It was very frustrating,” CJHDevCo executive vice president Alfredo Yniguez said.