John Hay finds new investor, says mayor


By Vincent Cabreza

Inquirer

Last updated 02:49am (Mla time) 01/30/2007


BAGUIO CITY—Camp John Hay has found a new investor, which could help save the cash-strapped tourism project being developed by real estate giant Fil Estate, acting Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr. said.

Bautista said the Fil Estate-owned Camp John Hay Development Corp. (CJHDevco) owed the government over P1 billion but it managed to win a P2-billion investment package from an unidentified new partner.

CJHDevco officials declined to comment, although sources said a deal was indeed being worked out to increase the project’s capitalization.

Bautista said the information was relayed to him following a meeting he had with Narciso Abaya, president of the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA).

He said the information should help the city government delay the forfeiture of the Baguio Convention Center.

The city government bought the facility for P250 million from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) in 2002, by mortgaging the city’s share from the John Hay rent.

The BCDA advanced P50 million to cement the purchase of the convention center, which then First Lady Imelda Marcos ordered built to host the 1978 world chess match between grandmasters Anatoli Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi.

But the BCDA told Bautista it was unable to release the first installments of the remaining P200-million balance because CJHDevco had not paid its rent.

The mayor is meeting separately with Winston Garcia, GSIS president, to solve the crisis over the facility’s repossession.

Fil Estate Chair Robert John Sobrepeña, who is also CJHDevco chair, suspended rent payments when the Supreme Court affirmed in 2005 a ruling that nullified John Hay’s tax exemptions.

CJHDevco had negotiated a new scheme to cover arrears going back to 1999 when the high court issued the decision.

“[Abaya] told me the BCDA could not advance anymore money because it could not dip into the revenues of the Subic Bay Freeport or the Clark Special Economic Zone to pay for the debts of the John Hay Special Economic Zone,” Bautista said.

He said the BCDA was waiting for Congress to schedule a bicameral conference committee meeting to merge the two bills that would restore John Hay’s benefits.



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