Continuing CJH dispute

The Camp John Hay saga continues.

Baguio City lone district Rep. Mauricio Domogan said that he is looking into the possibility of conducting a congressional inquiry on the takeover by the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) of Camp John Hay, in particular portions which were previously leased to the Sobrepeña-led Camp John Hay Development Cop. (CJHDevCo).

The Supreme Court in October of last year affirmed an arbitral ruling which allowed the government to recover the leased property from CJHDevCo and for the latter to vacate property following failure of both parties to comply with the terms of the lease agreement.

BCDA gained control of these leased premises, in particular The Manor Hotel, The Forest Lodge, Camp John Hay Golf Club, the CAP Convention Center, Commander’s Cottage, open spaces, and other areas and improvements within the reservation. BCDA also ordered sub-lessees of CJHDevCo to vacate the areas covered by sub-lessees, including lands where these sub-lessees built their homes.

The sub-lessees and CJHDevCo, however, claim that the BCDA order is illegal since the arbitral ruling which was upheld by the SC did not cover these sub-lessees, which were valid contracts and that the arbitral ruling, which is case specific, only covered BCDA and CJHDevCo and not CJHDevCo’s sub-lessees. The contract with BCDA allowed CJHDevCo to sub-lease the leased property.

Domogan, vice chairman of the House committee on bases conversion, emphasized that there is a need to find out if the takeover was properly implemented, especially since third parties were adversely affected.

He expressed his concern over the impact of the takeover on the country’s image, since many of the investors that were invited to invest in John Hay are foreigners. “How I wish that the SC decision which became final and executory was implemented in a humane and reasonable manner so as not to hurt those who invested,” he said.

BCDA earlier assured the public that businesses would continue to operate and thrive in Camp John Hay and that third party owners will be honored but they have to enter into new contracts with BCDA.

Earlier, Domogan was banned along with other CJH Golf Club members from playing in the golf course which led to the filing of a class suit led by the former Baguio city mayor questioning the revocation of their golf club memberships.

The congressman revealed that after the May elections, he was given a golf cart and told that he can play as any games as he wants but that he has never played, saying he does not enjoy playing there with still unresolved issues regarding the security and rights of the former club members who he emphasized are not parties to the dispute between BCDA and CJHDevCo.

He said that it has been suggested that the members organize themselves and run the golf club but was not considered by BCDA which has since then entered into an interim club management contract with a private group.

Meanwhile, Domogan has called on the BCDA to comply with the 19 conditions contained in Baguio City Ordinance (Resolution) no. 362 series of 1994 on the formulation of Camp John Hay’s master development plan.

He stressed that the city should assert its rights over CJH, which includes its rightful shares from its operations.

One of the conditions provides that the share of Baguio City from the revenues of CJH is 25 percent of the lease rentals or 30 percent of the net profit from operation, whichever is higher, during the period of the lease contract. After the expiration of the contract, it is also provided that the 247 hectares subject of the lease shall be turned over to the city government without any obligation to pay for the improvements existing on the property.

He called on the Baguio city government to file the appropriate action in court to compel BCDA to comply with all these 19 conditions.

AcroCity goes full blast

AcroCity, a large-scale mixed use development of the Czark Mak Group in Guiguinto, Bulacan, has achieved another set of milestones.

It is home to Acro Residences, a budget-friendly business and family hotel, which now offer 80 hotel rooms, including 38 deluxe queen rooms, 21 deluxe twin rooms, 15 quad rooms, four suite rooms, and two executive suites. It also offers various amenities, including a swimming pool and Café Margaux which offers French and Filipino comfort food.

AcroCity also has an events place at NDW Plaza located just beside the hotel that can accommodate as many as 250 persons for weddings, birthdays and company events.

NDW Plaza, named in honor of the family’s beloved matriarch, Nelia Wongchuking, is now fully occupied. It houses a bank, a massage place, a dialysis center, a salon, a barbershop, an aesthetic clinic, and a Pilates center.

There are plans to build private villas inside AcroCity.

But what makes AcroCity even more a gem of a destination in the bustling city of Guiguinto is the construction of a covered sports center covering 2,000 square meters for various sports including basketball, badminton, volleyball and pickle ball.

This is not surprising considering that the Wongchuking family is very much into sports, having sponsored the Philippine team in many international basketball tournaments, including the Jones Cup and the Dubai International Basketball Championship. Its Mighty Sports team that then included Renaldo Balkman, Andray Blatche, Thirdy Ravena, among others became the first team from outside the Middle East to win the Dubai crown in 2020. In 2019, the Mighty Sports team also clinched the 2019 Jones Cup championship, also under coach Charles Tiu.

Meanwhile, AcroCity’s Mt. Fuji Japanese restaurant, well-known for its authentic Japanese dishes and the freshest sashimi you can ever find, now has a branch inside Manila Polo Club and more recently inside Auto Complex, the country’s largest indoor automotive lifestyle hub in Libis, Quezon City. Called The Paddock by Mt. Fuji, it is the only restaurant inside Auto Complex and has a unique automotive theme named after the F1 Paddock, a portable, access-restricted racing village where teams prepare, strategize, and unwind. The Paddock by Mt. Fuji is spearheaded by Keith Wongchuking, son of Czark Mak group head Caesar Wongchuking.

More than eight years after the Wongchuking family sold its tobacco business to Japan Tobacco Inc. (JTI), Caesar together with his wife Melissa and his sons Angelo who runs AcroCity and Keith have found their new source of pride in this highly successful township in Bulacan. Caesar and his siblings and nieces and nephews have also engaged in other businesses, including warehouses, cold storage facilities, to name a few.

Next month will be the 80th anniversary of La Campana Fabrica de Tabacos, a cigarette company founded by Caesar’s late father Wong Chu King and the predecessor of Mighty Corp. which Caesar and his late brother Alex grew into becoming one of the country’s biggest tobacco companies until the tobacco business was sold to JTI.

Things are indeed looking up for the Wongchuking family after its exit from the tobacco business.

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