BCDA sets the record straight

Through this letter, may we set the record straight that it is Camp John Hay Development Corporation (CJHDevco) which owes the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) P2.8 billion in overdue lease payments, not the other way around as indicated in a news report in the Business Section last January 11, 2012 issue.

Mr. Edu Punay indicated in his story that CJHDevCo, lessee in the John Hay Special Economic Zone (JSHEZ), rescinded its 2008 Restructured Memorandum of Agreement (RMOA) with the BCDA “due to the BCDA’s failure to pay over P2.8 billion in contractual obligations and non-compliance of the developer’s latest demands to immediately set up the so-called One-Stop Action Center as mandated by the agreement.”

Since July 2009, the BCDA has been pressing the CJHDevCo to settle its overdue annual financial obligations as a lessee in the state-owned Camp John Hay in Baguio City.

May we also take this opportunity to clarify that contrary to CJHDevco’s claim, the One-Stop Action Center (OSAC) in Camp John Hay has been fully operational and CJHDevCo itself knows this.

Truth be told that in 2009, the OSAC, approved all 22 applications for building filed by the CJHDevCo.

The following year, CJHDevCo again applied for 20 building permits, 18 of which have been granted, while the remaining two were returned for lack of supporting documents. In January to March last year, the CJHDevCo submitted anew eight applications for building permits, but only six were approved, and two still pending for lack of the required documents.

As of last year, there are 60 locators in Camp John Hay. Curiously, it is only CJHDevCo which insists that there is no OSAC in place at the emerging special economic zone in the country’s City of Pines.

Further, may we also make it clear that CJHDevCo’s arrears already totaled to P3.024 billion as of end-December 2011.

We trust that you will accommodate this letter in the spirit of fair, accurate, and truthful reporting.