Camp John Hay developer owes gov’t P3.4 B – BCDA

MANILA, Philippines - The developer of Camp John Hay in Baguio City allegedly owes the government P3.4 billion in unpaid lease rentals, a Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) official told a House hearing yesterday.

BCDA president Arnel Casanova informed the House committee on bases conversion that the unpaid rentals of Camp John Hay Development Corp. (CJHDC) have allegedly accumulated since 1996, when the lease agreement between the developer and the government was signed.

He said CJHDC had been allegedly defaulting on its lease payments since 1997.

He said the government agreed three times to restructure the accumulated debt but still, the developer defaulted, claiming it was incurring losses.

“However, we have belatedly discovered from the Securities and Exchange Commission that CJHDC declared dividends to its shareholders in 1998, 1999 and 2000. This belies their claim that they incurred losses during those years,” he said.

He added that in May 2012, the government was forced to terminate its lease agreement with the developer and tried to take over Camp John Hay, but Executive Judge Iluminada Cabato of the Baguio City regional trial court prevented it from doing so.

Baguio City Rep. Nicasio Aliping Jr. said he and his constituents support BCDA’s effort to collect from CJHDC and to take over Camp John Hay.

“Our city is entitled to 25 percent of the lease rentals, and because the developer has not been paying the government, the city has not been getting its share,” he said.

He said the city’s accumulated unpaid share now amounts to about P850 million.

The city government could have used the huge amount to improve services, including infrastructure like roads, he added.

He decried CJHDC’s alleged refusal to let BCDA take over the property despite its failure to pay rentals.

Other committee members wondered why the government seems helpless in recovering a valuable asset and allowing rentals to pile up since 1996, or over a period of 18 years.

No officer of CJHDC showed up in the hearing. Company officials wrote the committee that they could not attend because the issue is pending in court.

On motion of Aliping, the committee voted to subpoena CJHDC officials to attend its next hearing.

It also required the company to submit its annual financial statements since 1996 up to last year, and all lease agreements with Camp John Hay locators, also since 1996.