CJHDC overpaid BCDA:John Hay lessee prexy

By Dexter A. See

BAGUIO CITY -- Camp John Hay Development Corporation Tuesday said it overpaid the Bases Conversion and Development Authority in terms of lease rentals paid compared to the delivered developable area within the 247-hectare John Hay Special Economic Zone even as the State-owned corporation insists that the developer owes the government around P3.2 billion in accumulated lease rentals over the past 16 years.

Alfredo Yniguez, CJHDC executive vice president and chief operating officer, said the P1.46 billion paid by the developer in terms of lease rentals represents around 35 percent of its alleged overdue obligations that amount to P4 billion if the annual lease rentals is computed as per the original lease agreement.

            

Under the 1996 original lease contract for the development of the former American rest and recreation center, CJHDC was required to pay an annual lease rental of P425 million for the first five years and P150 million annually for the remaining term of the 50 year agreement while BCDA was mandated to deliver to the developer 18 hectares of developable space where it could introduce improvements to recover its expenses.

            

However, Yniguez revealed BCDA was only able to deliver 20 percent of the mandated 18 hectares of developable area to the developer, thus, the improvements to the former American base for its conversion into a world-class tourism destination was stalled up to the present.

            

“We will still push through with our project in order to make Baguio a prime tourist destination,” Yniguezsaid, adding that “CJHDC will not just give up its over P5 billion investments in the area.”

            

If original plans to develop the American rest and recreation center were followed, he added the development in the 18-hectare developable area was supposed to have been completed over a period of five years and both the government and private investors should have been realizing substantial income up to the present.

            

Considering that BCDA was not able to deliver 32 hectares of the leased area to the developer where most of it were supposed to have been developed, Yniguez claimed the State-owned corporation started its breaches that they refuse to recognize which have stalled the ambitious development plan over the past several years.

            

According to him, CJHDC proposed for a joint venture agreement with BCDA for the extension of the lease agreement to the year 2061 in order to allow the government and investors to earn more income and for the developer to recover the 14 years that were lost because of the breaches committed by the State-owned corporation during the period when it was not able to fulfill its commitments.

            

Supposedly, Yniguez said over P5 billion worth of investments were to be in place that could have allowed them to earn more than P14.6 billion over the past 16 years but BCDA’s breaches such as the suspension of its tax privileges, non-demolition of illegal structures within the leased area among others resulted to the current impasse.

            

“We want to make John hay one of the country’s prime tourist destination but we were deprived by the breaches of government in our lease agreement,” he added, citing that CJHDC is still interested to pursue the projects provided that BCDA will not deprive them the equal rights to the one stop action center, the issuance of permits within 30 days and abandon harassments of their security guards to the locators, employees and even residents living in host barangays.

            

Yniguez cited CJHDC will remain firm in its commitment to support the plight of the over 3,000 workers inside the leased area and uphold the interest of the people for a chance to have a chance to witness the developments that are to be introduced in the tourism center.