No shining city on a peak: The whys
THE Clark and Subic economic zones have been showered with praise for their successful transition from gigantic American military facilities into thriving economic hubs. The positive reviews these reaped leave very little room for doubt and debate. On top of that, another amazing thing developed in those places: Traffic rules rule.
The kudos that the two economic zones have received, however, practically begs this question: Why are there no praises for Camp John Hay, even of the solicited, trying-hard variety? Camp John Hay, the former rest and recreation facility of US servicemen in the country, should have the level of development now enjoyed by Subic and Clark. It should have been a thriving economic zone by now, a shining city on a peak. A long-term development lease was signed in 1996 and a viable blueprint for development has been drawn. What seems to be the problem?
The answer? The place is a bureaucratic mess. While Clark and Subic have been managed with efficiency and with minimal regulation, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and the John Hay Management Corp. ( JHMC) seem intent on making the private developer, Camp John Hay Development Co. ( CJHDEVCO), fail through the excessive use of their regulatory powers.
Should someone write a study on how to stifle private development initiative through the brutal use of the regulatory powers of government, that study should focus on the development of Camp John Hay. Based on avail- able evidence, the actions of BCDA and JHMC against the private developer are just a bit less brutal than what Vladimir Putin did to Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Just the same, what is going on at John Hay is a tragic narrative on how the heavy hand of government has been frustrating efforts to build that thriving economic zone on the peak.
The latest news from Camp John Hay is actually something out of a Putin playbook. A few days ago, BCDA and JHMC were all set to carry out a physical takeover of entire CJHDEVCO developments, from the golf club to the Manor Hotel. Only the timely application of legal remedies prevented what could have been the ugly sight of the government physically taking over the most vital facilities of Camp John Hay with the use of armed personnel.
Of course, the Baguio City Regional Trial Court issued a temporary restraining order to prevent the two state agencies from taking over Camp John Hay. In a democracy, the government cannot run amuck. Also, we are supposed to be living in a regime of flourishing public private partnership, not of state diktat. The facts of the long and tortured relationship between CJHDEVCO and BCDA/ JHMC show that the BCDA has been putting up roadblock after roadblock to make life harder for the private developer.
The takeover attempt came after the private developer moved to rescind the third Revised Memorandum of Agreement ( RMOA)— which essentially covers the terms of the lease on John Hay, and the parameters of the relationship between the government and the private developer— and filed a P14.4- billion damage claim against the BCDA with the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center Inc. The charge: violating the agreement’s terms.
To digress a bit, CJHDEVCO signed the agreement with BCDA with the great hope that the revised deal would result in the speedy processing and release of all required development permits for itself and its various locators. The release of the permits within 30 days after filing would, of course, speed up the development of the former recreational facility.
The most salient feature of the agreement is the setting up of a One-stop Action Center (OSAC), which would take care of the processing and release of the permits. This, in turn, would take care of the woes of CJHDEVCO and its locators and spread goodwill all around.
The great hope that CJHDEVCO pinned on the OSAC was soon dashed. Far from being a faci-litator of permits, the OSAC turned into another layer of the bureaucracy. The red tape that attended the seeking of permits and clearances by the developer since 1996 only worsened. On January 9, it had enough and sought legal remedies for its piled-up woes.
It is in this context that BCDA prepared for a takeover of the John Hay facilities on the grounds that the developer has been welshing on its lease and rental obligations, which it placed at P3 billion.
What is on record is that CJHDEVCO had paid close to P1 billion to BCDA in cash and property since the start of the lease in 1996, even with all the attacks it received from the government, and the overt and covert efforts to make the development fail.
What is also on record is that it took the developer one year to secure the environmental clearance certificate (ECC), which effectively delayed development work for an entire year. What is also on record is that the rules of development were so unstable that a third RMOA had to be written, only to be rescinded a few days later. What is also on record is that the developer wants arbitration of disputes for their speedy settlement.
The latest news from John Hay is that of a situation worsening day by day. A total of 15 JHMC employees have filed a graft case against company chief Jamie Eloise Agbayani. The charges: she gave supply contracts and consultancies to cronies and paid for shampoos and toothpaste and other cheap items with government money.
The usual lurid stuff, which are supposed to be part of history under the new dispensation.
mvronq@yahoo.com