BCDA-JHMC supports, trusts JHMC chief Corona

MANILA, Philippines - The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and John Hay Management Corp. (JHMC) officers and staff are both appalled by the baseless malicious article against JHMC Board Chair-CEO Office OIC and President-COO Ma. Cristina R. Corona written in his Philippine STAR Column Gotcha on March 1, 2010 by Mr. Jarius Bondoc, husband of former JHMC Board Director and Corporate Secretary Marissa Bondoc, niece of former Speaker Jose De Venecia.

As a Rotary Club officer and a columnist read nationwide, Mr. Bondoc should have exercised due diligence, prudence, integrity, fair play and honesty in writing public articles.

JHMC hereby officially clarifies the record:

1) On the nature of JHMC

JHMC is a private corporation registered at the Securities and Exchange Commission, covered by the Social Security System and the Labor Code.

Even if mandated to be privatized, JHMC, as of now, is still owned and controlled by government entity BCDA, which naturally elects the JHMC governing board and top executives, pursuant to RA 7227 and Implementing Rules. 

Corollary to this, owner BCDA also requires close and constant coordination between BCDA and JHMC and that the JHMC Board Meetings be held in Manila, preferably at the BCDA Office at The Fort, Taguig City.

Thus, owner BCDA deemed it prudent to allow JHMC, under its Articles of Incorporation year 1993, to establish branch or extension offices apart from its main office at Camp John Hay Baguio City. This will save BCDA-JHMC and their officers and staff considerable travel time, energy, and money.

Hence, the operations and the bulk of JHMC staff are all in its main office in Baguio City. After considerable study of the pros and cons, JHMC also established in year 2007 a Manila extension office with monthly rental of only P12,000 and few staff members directly assisting in Board requirements and coordination and reporting to BCDA, Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC), investors, and other government offices and private entities.

Note that all these appointments of the JHMC Board Directors and top executives and the establishment of the JHMC Manila Extension Office have been approved, cleared, budgeted, recognized and respected by the BCDA, JHMC, OGCC and the Commission on Audit (COA).

2) On the appointment of JHMC CEO and COO

BCDA nominates and elects the JHMC Board Directors and the JHMC Board Chair-CEO and President-COO.

BCDA deemed it best to elect and keep in her post, Board Chair-CEO Office OIC and President-COO Corona since year 2007, despite her filing of resignation four times – July 2007, April 2008, April 2009 and February 2010 — the fourth precisely to obviate any issue that may be hurled against her husband senior SC Justice Renato C. Corona, who is being nominated for SC Chief Justice.

Incumbent JHMC President Corona has been with the JHMC since 2001, as a Board Director (even before her husband was appointed to the Supreme Court). She has accomplished so much for both the BCDA-JHMC, thereby reposing on her the continued full trust and confidence to lead the corporation. 

3) JHMC President’s Independence, Integrity, and Consultative Democratic Exercise of Judgment and Power

Prior to her ascendancy to the top position, JHMC used to experience and incur a lot of disallowances due to the past management’s non-observance of basic accounting and auditing rules.

The past management, among other things: 1) created new positions without approval by the JHMC Board and BCDA Boards; 2) paid practically all employees salaries that were beyond those authorized under the approved JHMC Table of Organization and Salary Range; 3) incurred notice of disallowances of about P2 Million; 4) unaccounted millions of missing properties; and 5) incurred other obligations not duly supported by requisite approvals.   

Hence, as a Board Director then, and noting all the lapses of procedures and legalities, incumbent JHMC President Corona refused to give her imprimatur on said management policies and representations during the Board meetings. This is why she refused to sign a number of minutes of meetings. These minutes were recorded and prepared under the direction of former Corporate Secretary Marissa Bondoc, wife of columnist Jarius Bondoc.

Note that BCDA annually elects a new set of JHMC Board of Directors and top executives during the annual stockholders’ meeting in April, or reorganizes JHMC during special stockholders’ meetings.

Shortly after her assumption in office as Board Chair-CEO and President-COO, during the JHMC Stockholders’ Meeting in April, 2007, BCDA reorganized the JHMC Board in July, 2007 and subsequently, in the annual stockholders’ meeting every April.

Mrs. Marissa Bondoc resigned as Corporate Secretary in 2007 but remained as a Board Director until shortly before the JHMC Stockholders’ meeting and election of new board and officers in April 2008.

Simultaneous to the annual JHMC Board reorganizations in years 2007 and 2008, the COA issued certain directives to request Board Directors who have not been re-elected as such, to either surrender or pay in full the JHMC cars issued to them on rent-to-own mode during their incumbency.

Some Board Directors complied, but not Mrs. Marissa Bondoc, who, without basis in law, equity or fair play continues to keep and use the JHMC car despite her separation from the JHMC Board since April 2008. Despite repeated demands from COA, OGCC and JHMC, Mrs. Bondoc refused to surrender or pay in full the JHMC car. She is therefore illegally using a government vehicle bought with scarce government funds.

4) JHMC Labor-Management Relations

Due to the COA disallowances, BCDA and JHMC were compelled to reorganize the JHMC Table of Organization and to ensure compliance therewith by the new management headed by President Corona.

After long deliberate thorough study by both the BCDA and JHMC Boards and Managements, the new JHMC Table of Organization (“JHMC TO”) was passed in August 2008. Several JHMC employees opted for Separation Incentive Package and have been duly paid, save for the portion equivalent to their previous COA disallowance, for which President Corona appealed to the COA for the employees, even if such disallowance was attributed to the past management. 

With the expertise of BCDA consultants, JHMC has started placing qualified competent employees in the JHMC TO, most of whom hail from Baguio City. Within the approved budget, JHMC has also hired casual employees from Baguio City to render temporary but urgent services needed by the corporation in the meantime that it is experiencing reorganization and new projects and policy direction from BCDA.

President Corona has valued JHMC employees and placed them on positions commensurate to their skills, experience and competence. Thus, President Corona, the Board and Management are now reviewing and revising the current Personnel Manual, which is inadequate in informing and addressing up front labor and management relations thereby spewing unnecessary legal issues and claims before the labor courts and COA, pertaining to job creation, hiring, payment and discipline. 

5) Property Accountability

JHMC is complying with property accountability, including President Corona, who has been judicious and prudent in the requisition of JHMC equipment.

No disallowances and adverse audit observations for inefficient use of government resources for 2008 and 2009 were issued by the Commission on Audit due to management’s stringent compliance to auditing rules and regulations.

This clean bill of health from the COA never happened in past managements.

6) Mutually Empowering Relationship Among BCDA, JHMC and Baguio City Government 

During President Corona’s tenure as JHMC Chief, the relationship of JHMC with BCDA, the Baguio City Government and other government and private entities have been strengthened and transformed into a mutually empowering tie, based on the common goal of achieving national and local progress with public accountability.

Thus, recently, on February 26, 2010, BCDA-JHMC, through President Corona, paid the Baguio City Government, through Mayor Rey Bautista, P50 million as part of their economic development commitment to the city. On the same day, JHMC Chief Corona and EVP Asuncion Balingit-Santos also led the soft launch of the Camp John Hay Bell Library, a repository of a wide array of great hard-to-find books catering to varied interests and fields.

JHMC has also been ensuring the continuing development of Camp John Hay as a tourist haven, human resource development hub and forest watershed paradise. JHMC is also instrumental in the recent efficient and effective collection of millions of lease rentals and remittance to BCDA. 

We trust this clarifies all the baseless accusations of Mr. Bondoc.— Ms. ASUNCION BALINGIT-SANTOS, Board Director & Executive Vice-President, John Hay Management Corporation (A subsidiary of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority)