John Hay class suit vs BCDA takeover wanes        

BAGUIO CITY — Ten shareholders of the Camp John Hay Golf Club here have signified their intention to withdraw their December 2024 class suit against the government’s takeover of this popular tourist destination after the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) had assured them it would not tweak existing arrangements.

The club members filed a petition for injunction and civil damages against BCDA officials on Dec. 12, following a Supreme Court ruling last year that had reinstated an arbitral decision nullifying the lease agreement of John Hay’s developer, Camp John Hay Development Corp. (CJHDevco), owned by businessman Robert John Sobrepeña.

READ: John Hay on lockdown as BCDA takes over

The arbiter concluded that all of the parties, who have been disputing the 1996 John Hay lease contract since 2012, violated the deal and had directed CJHDevco to give up its developed areas to the government. In turn, BCDA was directed to reimburse CJHDevco’s P1.42-billion rental payments.

The high court’s April 3 decision, which became final through an Oct. 22, 2024, SC resolution, also revived the notices of eviction issued by a Baguio court in 2015 to everyone occupying the 247-hectare leased property at what used to be the John Hay Air Station.

Willing to withdraw case

Arguing that the Golf Club and the John Hay Golf Course operate independently from CJHDevco and that its members own membership securities that would expire only in 2047, the members sued ahead of a takeover, “because we were already handed our [vacate] notice in 2015,” according to lawyer Federico Mandapat Jr., a member of the board of governors.

But on Thursday, he told the Inquirer: “I had a talk with BCDA chairman Hilario Paredes yesterday that we will withdraw the case if they will allow the current members to continue playing and to pay their monthly dues and he was receptive to the proposal.”

Mandapat added, “We will have to finalize the agreement and so far, [these are] the guidelines released by the new management. What the chairman earlier told me last Jan. 6 was that the current members would pay 50 percent of the green fee but now, each active member will just pay P5,000 monthly dues and no more green fees.”

A BCDA news release on Thursday said the withdrawal signaled “their willingness to build a partnership with the new management of the golf course, which is a new consortium formed by Golfplus Management Inc. and DuckWorld PH, a sports management and marketing agency.”

BCDA has not divulged the content of its interim agreement with the consortium that is acting as the interim manager of the golf club. It is not clear whether a bidding process is required for companies that take over all CJHDevco properties.

‘Positive step’

“The withdrawal of the case is a positive step toward the smooth transition of the Camp John Hay Golf Course. We want to assure the public that new and former players will continue to enjoy premium golf course services,” BCDA president and CEO Joshua Bingcang said in a press statement.

“We are confident that talented and skilled engineers, designers and maintenance experts [of the consortium] are more than capable of bringing world-class services and facilities to Camp John Hay Golf Course,” he added.

The members who filed the petition were aiming to build a class suit, seeking P1.5 million in damages from BCDA, the administrator of all former American base lands.

At a Dec. 19 press briefing, now-ousted club president Judson Eustaquio asserted that the golf facility was not subject to eviction because it “holds a direct and separate contractual agreement with BCDA independent of the lease agreement between CJHDevco and BCDA [since] BCDA itself conceived and mandated the creation of a separate entity to operate a golf course and issue golf memberships.”