No Probable Cause in Robert Sobrepeña's Estafa Case

            Recently, the Pasay regional trial court totally junked the estafa case against the Camp John Hay Development Corp.(CJHDevCo) Chairman Robert Sobrepeña. The court found out that the motion of reconsideration filed by the Department of Justice has no probable cause. So, it is just a waste of time if they will continue to hear the case.

            The complaint against Sobrepeña was filed by government persecution on behalf of Bases Conservation Development Authority (BCDA) due to the delay of payment for their rentals in Camp John Hay. CJHDevCo is acting as a developer in that place. BCDA President Arnel Casanova believed that the private investors don’t have a capacity to fulfill their obligation that’s why their agency wanted to persecute Sobrepeña to pay all of their debts to the government.

            In previous month, the BCDA tried to overtake the Camp John Hay through letter of notice. Casanova stated in the letter that the court had already made a decision favored to them. The CJHDevCo can’t continue their business operation anymore. So, they need to leave Camp John Hay immediately. But the  camp of Sobrepeña just ignored the letter because it was just a lie. It was just a part of dirty tactics of BCDA to dismantle their group.

            Now, the Pasay court had made their decision about the estafa case against Sobrepena, the BCDA should stop harrassing him. The court was right with their decision because the complainants didn’t include all of the members of board and directors of the CJHDevCo. It seems that the BCDA has a personal grudge againts Sobrepeña that’s why they wanted to practice a selective justice. If BCDA is serious with the staffa case, they must include also their other members who made an memorandum agreement (MOA) in 2000. The BCDA agreed that the private company will make some adjustment about their rental payment or they will delay it due to some reasons.

BCDA Versus CJHDevCo: The Final Battle

       The dispute between Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and Camp John Hay Development Corp. (CJHDevCo) is not yet finished. The both camp are still waiting for the final decision of the court to resolve their problems. But in previous weeks, BCDA head Arnel Casanova made a press release declared that the court was already gave their favor to them. Hence, he ordered CJHDevCo to get off from their position in Camp John Hay because they have no rights to operate their business anymore.

       Of course, the private company didn’t comply to Casanova’s order. For them, this is just a dirty tactic of the BCDA to discourage their group. But sorry to say they will not leave Camp John Hay unless the court will order it. To give their side, the developer also made a press release stating that it is not true that they are already lose with their case against BCDA. The BCDA accused the developer for not paying right with their rental. But the CHJDevCo denied the accusation, they are doing their obligation to the government. The problem is, BCDA is not giving them the right support. Instead to help them, this agency is not giving them permit to develop the land that they are leasing. This is one of the reason why they have a battle in court.

        I think, BCDA is abusing their power, they are trying to collect money bigger than what’s written in their agreement. Then, when the CHJDevCo didn’t give it to them, they were started to harras the developers. BCDA didn’t appreciate the contributions of CHJDevCo in Baguio Tourism through giving livelihood to the people. They built world hotel and other superb infrastractures in Camp John Hay. It seems that the agency wants to takeover it to make money out of it. If this is not the reason, why they want the developers to leave in Camp John Hay despite of their good job? There is humor that after they overtake Camp John Hay they will give the operation to other operation.

         For sure, there is a personal interest involved here. There is a report that the BCDA didn’t remit to the city of Baguio the full amount of money that they got from the lease payment of the developer. The developer already paid 1.44 billion to the BCDA, 25 percent of it will go to the city of Baguio. But the agency just remitted 256 million to their local government.

The Trouble in Camp John Hay

The conflict between the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), a government agency and CJH Develpoment Corporation, a private investor is continuous.  Recently, BCDA President Arnel Casanova said that the court had already made a decision which is favored for them.  He even issued a notice to CJH Devco which says that the Court of Appeals had lifted the injunction against their agency. It means that right now, they can stop CJH DevCo with their operation in Camp John Hay in Baguio City.

The two camps had file a case in court against each other because of some issues regarding to the business operation in Camp John Hay. BCDA accused CJH DevCo especially, their  head Robert Soprepena for not remitting rental payment to the government. They charged him an stafa case. Of course, Sobrepena denied the allegation of BCDA. What they knew is they are doing their part or responsibility. The problem is, the government is not cooperative with their projects. It has resemblance to the MRT issue, right? The government is convincing investors to invest to their properties, then they are only neglecting their private partners.

For the CJH DevCo, the notice letter of BCDA is just a dirty tactic. They just excerpt a small portion of a statement from the paper in court, then they already concluded that are already won in the battle. The truth is, their case is not yet finished because there is still a hearing on the court in Baguio and in the arbitration trial court in Singapore. To condradict the statement letter of BCDA, the CJH DevCo issued a warning letter for them. They remind BCDA that if they will forcibly takeover Cam John Hay, it is illegal or a criminal act. So, they should follow the due process of law and stop with their claim. It means that they should also wait the final decision of the court before they rejoice. But as of now, they don’t have a plan to return Camp John Hay in the hands of the government.  They already invested a huge amount of money to develop it. Then, all of a sudden BCDA want to throw away them. Where is the justice here?

What Caused MRT-3 Mishap?

                Last Wednesday the EDSA-MRT crashed in Taft Avenue and 38 people had been injured. Because of the incident, the MRT management is on fire again. They are under the criticism of the public because of their negligence. But DOTC Secretary Jun Abaya said that it is still safe to ride in MRT. He also blamed the two drivers of the train for not doing their duty well. He also added that it is our choice to ride or not in MRT.

                But who should be blamed in this tragedy? Of course, not the driver like what Sec. Abaya pointed out. It is very clear that is the fault of the MRT management, which is under the Department of Transportation and Communication. It is really hard to accept the fault if you knew that you only inherited the problems as what Sec. Abaya’s argument. But P-Noy appointed him as a head of transportation to organize our transportation system including the MRT. So, he should act as a true leader who takes all the responsibilities in his department.  If not, what’s the use of his power if he doesn’t improve the sub-satndarstand train system in our country?

                The root cause of the mishap in the MRT 3 is because of poor maintenance and not because the train is has been already old. It is just 15 years old compared to LRT which is already 30 years old. But do they have a problem like MRT in terms of maintenance? There is an allegation that Sec. Abaya gave the favor to the PH Trams-Vitangcol group just because of their connection with the secretary and not because they are the best maintenance group. Before PH Trams-Vitangcol group entered, the MRT don’t have a major technical problem. But since they took over it, the condition of the train becomes worst.

                The Metro Rail Transit Corp. (MRTC), a company under of Metro Holding Rail Transit Holdings (MHRTH) and a partner of MRT-3 was not favored with PHILMAR-Vitangcol group because they were not undergoing in the right process. Beside that, they have only a total capitalization of 5,000 pesos, but they gained monthly contract worth of 45 million pesos. Hmm, what’s the basis of DOTC for choosing this maintenance company and how’s the result of their work? But don’t worry folks, their contract will be already expired.  In year 2012, the MRTC requested that they would like to conduct a technical inspection to know the true condition of our train system. But DOTC rejected their request although their intention was for the benefits of the public.  And now, the Philippine government wants to take over the full operation of MRT despite of their mismanagement.

BCDA, an Ally or an Enemy of Baguio City?

                

                Baguio City is known for being a tourist attraction because it its beautiful views. There are many inrastructures built through the joint effort of the local government and national government agencies. But now, there’s a dispute between Bases Conservation and Development Authority (BCDA) and Camp John Hay Development Corp. (CJHDevCorp.) These two agencies had been partners of the city government for how many years to development Baguio. But the sad thing, they battled each other in the court because of some issues.

                Recently BCDA President Arnel Casanova wrote an open letter to Baguio Mayor Mauricio Domogan to remind the local government how they helped their city. He wants to prove that they are an ally and not an enemy. They contributed a lot of revenue from their generated income. They strengthen the tourist arrivals in Baguio because of some changes they made. Mr. Cassonava empahised also that they produced a lot of job opportunities for the people of Baguio.

            Mayor Domogan answered the letter of Mr. Casanova. He believed that BCDA is their partner for the development of their city. But they doesn’t comply all of their agreements with their terms and conditions. The Mayor admitted that they collected 256 million from BCDA; but it was derived from previous officials, not under the term of Mr. Casanova. He questioned, why they are not still giving the 25 share of the city government from the leased rental that they had collected? Why they also don’t give even centavo from their earnings from Ayala company who operates Ayala Techno Hub. Besides these, there are still many projects that the BCDA has not yet still finished.

                It is good for Mr. Casanova if he talked first one on one with the Baguio local government and CJVDevCorp. rather that to write an open letter. It seems that he is just looking an attention of the media. Based on the letter of Mayor Domogan, BCDA has the problem and not the local government nor the CJVDevCorp. Mr. Casanova should do his obligations, not only to their partners, but to the people of Baguio. If BCDA is a true friend, be sincere and settled all the problems they had caused. So, both parties should benefit from their actions. Remember that if you’re a friend to someone, selfishness and self-interest has no room in your mind.

The Multi-Billion Peso Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike Project

            In his State of the Nation Address last July 28, President Benigno S. Aquino III expressed his excitement about the government major projects. One of their plans is to build Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike that will connect from the coastal area of Laguna de Bay to Taguig. This project has an estimated cost of 36.7 billion pesos. The government made an alliance with the Public Private Partnership (PPP) for the dike construction.

  What a brilliant idea! There’s an expressway on the top of the dike. At first, it seems that it is good to hear this kind of program. But since 2012 we already heard about this promise from the President and until now nothing has been started. What happened?  Does the president is lack of political will or this is just an image beautification? He said that this is not easy to do it because it needs a long time of preparation. Then, the construction of that dike will may start in 2015 and it would end in 2021. Wow, what a long period of time they need before they finish that said project!

             The President believed that the huge dike is a long term solution to control the flooding in Laguna and to some part of Metro Manila. Why they don’t solve first the flooding problem in Metro Manila before they make such a big project? I’m not saying that they should forget the flooding in Laguna. But do we really need to build a huge dike or what we need is just dredging around the Laguna lake shore? By doing this, they can lessen their expenses and they could use it for other important projects. How about the affected fishermen of Laguna de Bay or the residence of that area, what’s their plan for them? Where they do relocate them and there’s a livelihood waiting for them? Do they want to sacrifice thousands of people to pave the way for this ambitious project?

The Governmet Wants to Take Over MRT 3

The government buying out the Metro Manila Rail Transit line 3 (MRT) because they want to take over it in the 3^rd quarter of this year. They already ignored their 1999 BLT agreement which stated that they allowed the MRT Corp. (MRTC) to control the EDSA rail line. This private company has also a right to choose any contractor for the train development. The government has chosen the lone bidder, which is the Dalian Automotive & Rolling Stock Co. This company serves as their supplier to the equipments they need.

The government is very confident that they solve any problem about this issue although the MRTC didn’t favor with their plan. They are the one who developed the MRT 3, then the government thrown away them. They already filed a cased against the government in attribution court in Singapore. But the government not minding this; they explained that everything will be alright because some of the board members of MRTC are also people from the government.

Department of Transportation and Communication Secretary Joseph Abaya said that they will buy 48 new railway coaches. This will be added to their 72 coaches. So, it has a total of 120 coaches, but some of it was not functioning anymore. Secretary Abaya was very happy because these coaches have great benefits to the commuters. As what we already knew, MRT is overcrowding. MRT is loading 600,000- 700,000 thousand passengers every day.

This time, the action of the government is very rare because we always hear from them that they are planning to privatize some of the government assets. Their reason they want to improve the system or services and they can’t handle it anymore. So, they need the assistance of the private sectors. Aside from that, they don’t need to release funds for the operation. But now, they want to take over MRT? Are they sure that they can handle it properly? How they can improve the train system in our country? Have they already concrete plan for this? This take over cost 56 billion pesos and they will get it to 2015 national budget. Let us hope that they can use the money wisely or else the Filipino people could suffer if their system doesn’t become successful. Let us hope also that there is no personal interest behind this buy out.