Baguio execs to CJH firms: Clarify status, show permits
BAGUIO CITY—The companies now overseeing Camp John Hay (CJH) facilities, including its hotels and golf course, were pressed on Wednesday by the city council about their legitimacy and their apparent failure to secure permits after the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) took over the former American recreational base in January.
The BCDA should have put up for bidding all built-up properties it reclaimed from Camp John Hay’s original developer, as required by government procurement laws, according to Councilors Fred Bagbagen and Betty Lourdes Tabanda during a special session that looked into the status of the golf course.
Last year, the Supreme Court reinstated a 2015 ruling by an arbiter that nullified the 1996 lease development contract of this former base due to mutual violations committed by the government and the consortium owned by businessman Robert John Sobrepeña.
The arbiter ordered Sobrepeña to surrender to the government all properties developed within a 247-hectare special economic zone over two decades. It also directed the BCDA to reimburse the P1.4 billion paid by Sobrepeña’s firm, the Camp John Hay Development Corp.
All Camp John Hay facilities, the council was informed, are under the “short-term” care of companies operating under interim management deals that the BCDA has negotiated early this year. Among these is John Hay Golf (JHG), a consortium formed by Golfplus Management Inc. and DuckWorld Philippines.
Lawyer Zaldy Von Francisco, representing JHG at the council session, said the arrangement allowed the consortium to manage commercial golf services for six months, renewable for another six months, until January 2026.
“BCDA is a government agency and is expected to follow the government procurement law (Republic Act No. 12009) regarding the operations of the golf course, the hotels, and the eateries … in order to level the playing field,” Tabanda said.
Commercialization
Tabanda sponsored the 1995 resolution that endorsed Camp John Hay’s commercialization. Baguio’s approval of a Camp John Hay master development plan included 19 conditions, such as special shares from revenues, the exclusion of 14 barangays located within Camp John Hay, the recognition of indigenous peoples’ land rights, and the return of Camp John Hay to Baguio once the development lease is terminated.
The BCDA was not asked to participate in the session, but it announced in February its plan to secure long-term operations and maintenance deals for its recovered facilities. These include The Manor and The Forest Lodge, which are now operated by Landco Pacific Corp.
Part of the business group overseen by businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan, Landco also took over operations of the CAP-John Hay Trade and Cultural Center.
It is also preparing a new comprehensive master plan to attract investments to undeveloped areas of the special economic zone.
Bagbagen said he was charged P5,000 for a round of golf despite JHG not having secured its business permit and tax licenses for 2025.
Delay
But Francisco said JHG began processing its business permits and licenses as soon as its management deal was signed, stressing that their agreement with the government was in the “nature of an emergency.”
The only delay involves work permits for Camp John Hay Golf Club employees absorbed by JHG, he added. Francisco claimed the original work permits for these employees were not turned over by their previous employer.
Geraldine Angulo, acting chief of Baguio’s business permits and licensing division, said that some facilities had secured permits. She told the council that more than 50 establishments in the area were expected to obtain their business licenses and pay fees.
The BCDA ousted the original manager, Camp John Hay Golf Club, when it took over the facility.
