Blip case

Now it is the turn of the real estate developer of Camp John Hay in Baguio City to threaten the government with lawsuits over the project.

The  developer is CJH Development Corp., which is under the umbrella of the Fil-Estate group of companies which, in turn, recently tied up with the group of Andrew Tan—one of the country’s richest men who founded the listed Global Alliance Group that owns the cash-rich real estate giant Megaworld.

It was CJHDC that officially leased the Camp John Hay property from the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA). In the past several months, certain BCDA officials have been attacking the developer for its alleged failure to pay for the lease of the 250-hectare former military base that the government has converted into commercial real estate. BCDA officials claimed CJHDC had been trying to restructure the unpaid rental, said to have reached more than P500 million. They said the BCDA would not provide the developer such a relief.

Recently, however, CJHDC president Ferdinand Santos, one of the triumvirate that in the 1970s founded the Fil-Estate group, wrote a demand letter to BCDA president and CEO Arnel Casanova, threatening to sue BCDA for its alleged failure to comply with the lease agreement—i.e. breach of contract.

Santos specified the creation of a “one stop action center” that would process all the government requirements for locators in the economic zone, particularly the DENR, which requires environmental clearance certificate, or ECC, which most businesses are finding rather burdensome.

At the Camp John Hay project, for instance, the developer could touch technically only 50 hectares of the 250-hectare leased area. More than 120 hectares of the project are to be kept as forest reserve. Some 50 hectares are already occupied by an existing golf course. About 25 hectares are set aside for infrastructure.

The problem of locators in the special economic zone has been the ECC. Various groups have been lobbying against the cutting of trees in Baguio City, particularly the old pine trees at Camp John Hay.

Still, CJHDC committed earlier to honor its entire “rental obligations” amounting to more than P2.69 billion.

Santos said in his letter that the company had deposited “in escrow” with Philippine Veterans Bank, an amount “representing the proportionate rentals.” In return, he asked the BCDA to cause the approval of all the applications for permits and such that were overdue—within five days.

In the real estate business, those five days are just a blip. It is almost certain that the developer will file the case.

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In reaction to our column last Monday (Dec. 19), Terrie Yu, VP for corporate communications of Century Properties Group, wrote this letter:

“Century Properties, as the owner and developer of Trump Tower Manila through its subsidiary Century City Development Corp., is governed by a strict licensing agreement and high project development standards with Trump to which it is committed to comply with.

“We are not privy to the bridge that you have referred to in your article.

“With regard to Acqua Private Residences, we assure the public that we do not tolerate acts of misrepresentation made in our name. Rest assured that we have started looking into this matter.

“Pre-selling of projects with licenses to sell is an accepted practice in the Philippine real estate industry.

“The assurance for buyers who purchase projects in their pre-selling stage is stated in the law, which binds developers to comply. Furthermore, Century’s 25 years of experience in Philippine real estate and track record of on schedule project completions are strong indications of its integrity and reputation.

“Developers put disclaimers to give the flexibility of upgrading or improving their projects from the initial specifications presented upon launch.”

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Century Properties lately started to promote its project in Parañaque called Azure as a Paris Hilton designed residential development. From what I gathered, celebrity Paris Hilton only lent her name as “designer” of the clubhouse.

Of course big name branding is a marketing scheme applied by big developers such as Century Properties. Others like SM Development merely use celebrities to endorse their projects.

Buyers of condo developed by Century Properties have flooded the Internet with complaints, with some even agitating for class suit against the company, particularly those who bought in the “pre-selling”—the legal pre-selling—of the Soma and Soho projects.

From what I gathered from our contacts in banking, Century Properties has been hosting some expensive dinners for bankers, possibly as part of its efforts to obtain credit facilities.

In an attempt to raise capital from the public, Century Properties is also trying to go public, as it bought a listed shell company called East Asia Power (PWR), which it renamed Century Properties Group (CPG).

Based on a new rule for listing formulated by the Philippine Stock Exchange, CPG must float to the public at least 10 percent of its outstanding capital stock. It has only until January to meet the new PSE requirement.

The group’s website does not post its consolidated financial reports.

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Uh-oh, the Villaraza Cruz Marcelo and Angangco law firm—aka The Firm—said it would not join the prosecution team in the impeachment of Chief Justice Renato Corona at the Senate.

Earlier, reports said Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr. would invite former Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo (now back to The Firm) to assist the prosecution team. This is a bit naughty. It will add color to the trial, complicating things for our leader Benigno Simeon (aka BS), who is trying to bring about reforms in the judiciary.

We all know that one of the founding partners of The Firm is Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, who was said to be the front runner for Chief Justice last year, being the most senior among the justices. Of course Gloriaetta insisted on appointing Corona as Chief Justice, going against the constitutional ban on such appointments, which the Supreme Court nevertheless ruled to be legal by interpreting what the Constitution really meant.