CA stops SEC order vs John Hay securities sale

MANILA, Philippines - The Court of Appeals (CA) has given the private developer of Camp John Hay in Baguio City temporary relief against an order of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) preventing the sale of securities for operations of The Manor Hotel.

In a three-page resolution promulgated last Sept. 25 but released only yesterday, the sixth division of the appellate court issued a temporary restraining order enjoining SEC from implementing its June 7 cease and desist order (CDO) stopping Camp John Hay Development Corporation to “engage in the business of selling securities by selling limited warranty deeds and leaseback agreements to unit buyers for hotel operations.”

The CA cited the petitioner’s “clear right to be protected against the immediate enforcement of the assailed order” and the “grave and irreparable damage” it stands to suffer “from the outright implementation” of the CDO.

“So as not to render this instant petition moot in academic, we hold that, pending determination of the propriety of the application for the issuance of writ of preliminary injunction, the grant of petitioner’s application for a temporary restraining order is warranted,” stated the ruling penned by Associate Justice Hakim Abdulwahid.

Associate Justices Marlene Gonzales-Sison and Edwin Sorongon concurred with the ruling.