BAGUIO City—A Regional Trial Court (RTC) here has rejected a renewed attempt by some sub-lessees of CJH Development Corp. (CJHDevCo) to thwart the Bases Conversion and Development Authority’s (BCDA) full recovery of Camp John Hay.
RTC Branch 79 tossed out last Feb. 5 a joint petition for a temporary restraining order (TRO) filed by multiple foreign nationals to prevent the court sheriff from implementing an arbitral ruling mandating the return of the 247-hectare Camp John Hay property, together with all improvements, to the state-run BCDA.
“This development sends a strong message to all stakeholders to respect the rule of law. We thank the dedicated officers at the Baguio Regional Trial Court and our law enforcement partners who continue to tirelessly and vigorously enforce our laws. We encourage all stakeholders to communicate with BCDA to be properly apprised of their rights and remedies under the law, so as not to be misled by statements repeatedly issued by some parties,” said BCDA chairman Hilario Paredes.
Paredes urged the affected stakeholders to lay their rightful claim on the accountable parties they signed their contracts with.
The fresh attempt to stop the return of Camp John Hay to the BCDA comes after the ex-officio sheriff proceeded to execute the final award, which started last Jan. 6.
On April 3, last year, the Supreme Court (SC) invalidated a 2015 Court of Appeals (CA) decision nullifying a writ of execution issued by Baguio RTC Branch 6 and the Notice to Vacate issued by the court’s ex-officio sheriff insofar as third persons claiming rights over improvements in Camp John Hay were concerned.
In its final decision in October 2024, the SC reversed the CA verdict and upheld the arbitral final award, saying all improvements must be returned to the BCDA without exception.