It’s final: BCDA regains control of John Hay

BAGUIO CITY — The government is set to retake control of Camp John Hay following a Supreme Court resolution that dismissed “with finality” all legal challenges delaying the exit of businessman Robert John Sobrepeña’s Camp John Hay Development Corp. (CJHDevco) from the former American rest and recreation base.

The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) confirmed on Thursday that the high court had upheld its April 3 decision, reinstating an arbitration ruling that voided the John Hay development lease. The ruling mandates the eviction of CJHDevco, with the BCDA required to reimburse the developer’s investments.

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CJHDevco took over the 1996 lease from a previous consortium, investing P1.42 billion over 16 years to build hotels, luxury residences and a modernized golf course within Camp John Hay. However, disputes with the BCDA arose in 2012 over the restructuring of the lease agreement, leading to a protracted legal battle characterized by a public word war and multiple lawsuits.

In 2015, the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center issued an arbitral ruling that voided the lease due to mutual breaches of contract by both parties. The ruling required CJHDevco to return all properties to the government while the BCDA must reimburse the expenditures.

Despite this, CJHDevco’s 1,600 clients—including golf club members and long-term lessees of forest homes—contested the decision. They argued that their 25-year lease agreements, with renewal options for another 25 years, should be honored. The case had reached the Court of Appeals, which amended the arbitral ruling.

Ultimately, the Supreme Court reversed the appellate court’s decision in April, reinstating the original arbitral decision.

With the Supreme Court’s final resolution, the path is now clear for the government to take full control of Camp John Hay, bringing an end to a decade-long dispute over one of the country’s most iconic properties.

Unfrozen

The high court also lifted all the freeze orders affecting the notices to vacate that had been issued in 2015 to John Hay dwellers and business owners and the writ of execution issued that same year by the Baguio Regional Trial Court.

Before the Supreme Court released its John Hay ruling, Sobrepeña and the BCDA were in the midst of settling the case.

But CJHDevco and its so-called third-party stakeholders filed the motions for reconsideration of the April ruling. But the Supreme Court said in a resolution dated Oct. 22 that “no substantial arguments” had been presented to warrant the reversal of the decision.

“No further pleadings or motions will be entertained,” the high court said. As of press time, the Inquirer has been unable to secure a copy of the resolution from the Supreme Court website.

Marlo Ignacio Quadra, president of BCDA subsidiary John Hay Management Corp., said he “will await the instructions of BCDA,” when asked how the government would handle John Hay Manor, the John Hay Forest Lodge and other CJHDevco properties.

At a year-end briefing on Dec. 11, Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong said he was informed that the BCDA would honor the agreements made by the third-party stakeholders, but they would need to sign new contracts with the government.

Magalong said Baguio’s last accounting placed the BCDA’s obligations at over P200 million.

With the latest ruling, the BCDA said businesses would continue to operate at Camp John Hay, adding it’s closely coordinating with all stakeholders to ensure a smooth transition. —with a report from Alden M. Monzon