Housing Board issues notice of violation to CJH developer

BAGUIO CITY -- The Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board recently issued a notice of violation to the Sobrepena-led Camp John Hay Development Corp. for selling lots and units at the Camp John Hay Suites without first securing the required permits from the agency.

The notice was issued after the HLURB’s Adjudication and Monitoring Division conducted an investigation and discovered that CJHDevco has been advertising the suites in their website despite lack of permits such as development permits, certificate of registration, license to sell and advertisement approval as provided for in existing laws, rules and regulations governing sale of subdivision properties pursuant to the Urban and Housing Development Act.

Several private individuals have also complained to the HLURB about the alleged questionable business practices of CJHDevco in Camp John Hay, because of reports that the Sobrepena-led lessee was allegedly engaged in fraud and swindling.

A number of legal cases have been filed by buyers of CJH Suites units due to the delay in the turn-over the of their units. The complainants have also questioned the authority of CJHDevco to sell units at the suites.

CJHDevco and its officials are likewise embroiled in a number of cases while operating in the John Hay Special Economic Zone, including an estafa case for the double sale of Log Home #9 and a case of professional squatting for illegally occupying government property in the ecozone.

The HLURB served notice to CJHDevco that they were in violation of Presidential Decree No. 957, a law that protects subdivision and condominium buyers from fraudulent sellers and swindlers. In the letter, HLURB said that permits are “required to be secured prior to construction and selling activities within the said project.”

The HLURB ordered CJHDevco to submit a report on the sales of the CJH Suites and explain the reasons for selling the units despite the lack of permits so that it could make the appropriate sanctions against the developer once it finds such explanation not satisfactory and that it had grossly violated existing laws, rules and regulations relative to the sale of subdivision lots and suites inside the former American rest and recreation facility.

However, Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan, who talked to CJHDevCo and John Hay officials Wednesday, said the city government will exert effort to make both parties negotiate with each other and come out with a “win-win solution” so that the development inside the 247-hectare John Hay Special Economic Zone will generate income for the the government and become a source of employment for local residents.

“We will not stop pestering both parties to talk because it will be the interest of the greater majority which will be sacrificed once the impasse inside John Hay will continue and be elevated to the courts,” Domogan said. – Dexter A. See