[ manilastandardtoday.com ]
BAGUIO CITY— Camp John Hay Development
Corp. has seen four administrations in Malacañang Palace and it is bent under
the present leadership on seeking an end to the controversy stalling the growth
of the former American rest and recreation center into an investment hub, a key
official said.
Alfredo Yñiguez, CJHDevco executive
vice president and chief operating officer, said the company had no plans of
abandoning their contract with Bases Conversion and Development Authority over
the required 18 hectares of the 247-hectare John Hay Special Economic Zone to
provide a tourist destination along with more condominium units, country and
log homes for high-end clients.
“We had been through four Presidents,
six changes in the BCDA administration and four changes in the local
government, thus, we will not just leave and abandon our investments,” he told
Manila Standard.
Yñiguez said BCDA officials would have
to face the developer before the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center to iron
out a settlement.
“CJHDevco has already infused a little
over P5 billion in investments and the put up of added infrastructure inside
John Hay over the past 16 years,” he said, noting that P1.44 billion has been
paid BCDA representing partial payments of its lease rentals prescribed in the
original and revised lease agreements.
“Since we were awarded the right to
develop John Hay in 1996, BCDA had already committed breaches in our contract,
particularly the non-delivery of 32 hectares developable area and the delays in
the issuance of the Environmental Compliance Certificate and the demolition of
structures within the leased area among others,” Yñiguez said, citing
antecedents to the signing of the first revised memorandum of agreement in
2000.
He said BCDA was only able to deliver
4.5 hectares of the 18 hectares absent the required permits and clearances from
government agencies as committed by the BCDA.
“From 2007 to 2011, we were not able
to implement our P5 billion investments to build more housing units and
commercial town centers within the developable area which translated to over
P11.6 billion in supposed income for our company,” Yñiguez said.
He said coming to the negotiating
table would also BCDA a chance to clear any impediment for the City government
to get its 25 percent share from lease rentals paid by the developer to the
authority.
(Published in the Manila Standard
Today newspaper on /2012/April/28)
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