BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – For nearly a decade, investors like Aaron Goodman believed they had a stake in one of Baguio City’s most sought-after properties. They poured their savings into real estate within Camp John Hay, a former American military base transformed into an eco-tourism and residential zone.
They bought homes, paid premiums, and trusted the system that promised them ownership. But a 2024 Supreme Court ruling shattered that illusion, voiding the lease that had enabled their investments and leaving Goodman and others in legal and financial limbo.
Goodman, a New Zealander who invested in a Forest Cabin, is no longer staying silent. Along with other investors, he is caught in the fallout of a years-long legal battle between the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and Camp John Hay Development Corporation (CJHDevCo).
The core issue remains: were they misled into purchasing properties that were never truly theirs, or are they now being unfairly deprived of their investments?
The dispute dates back to 1996, when BCDA leased part of Camp John Hay to CJHDevCo for development. Legal battles over lease payments and unmet promises piled up, culminating in 2015 with an arbitral tribunal ruling that both parties had breached the contract.
The SC upheld the decision, ordering the return of the 247-hectare property to the government. The ruling rescinded the lease agreement between BCDA and CJHDevCo and mandated the return of the leased area, including all permanent structures, disrupting the lives of hundreds of property owners now facing an uncertain future.
As government officials work to finalize new lease agreements and the developer fights to maintain control, buyers are left with little more than broken promises, and a fight far from over.
On March 24, seated in the pine-laden Forest Cabins he once called a sanctuary, Goodman reflected on his decision to invest in Camp John Hay. “We like it here. We are in the middle of 300,000 pine trees in the reservation of Camp John Hay. They told us we were owners of the cabins and leasing the land.”
But for Goodman and hundreds of others who invested in homes or units, it left more questions than answers.
‘You buy the cabin’
Goodman said he was misled. “They said, ‘You buy the cabin. You buy the house, right, as an owner.’ And then you lease the land,” he explained. But documents he shared painted a different picture.
“Pursuant to the lease agreement, the buyer understands that the seller is the lessee of the land… The leasehold right on the land runs for a term of 50 years,” read one clause.
CJHDevCo, he said, sold the units under the assumption of a 50-year lease – an arrangement now in question.
“The key to freedom is eternal litigation,” Goodman quoted CJHDevCo Chairman Robert John Sobrepeña as saying. “One way not to lose the case is to keep the case going.” Yet for Goodman, litigation is not freedom, but purgatory.
Afraid to speak up
“Some of the victims are afraid to speak up,” he said. “They think, ‘He’s a billionaire. He’s going to sue you. He’s going to make you trouble.’ I said, ‘Look, the time is up. We might as well tell the truth.’”
Goodman estimated that more than 400 families – both foreign and Filipino – were affected by the fallout, many of whom bought properties in the Forest Cabins, Country Homes, and other residential areas within the John Hay reservation.
He emphasized the emotional toll. “If you can’t get the pension from your country, and you’ve got to support your family… you need to stay here.”
Despite the finality of the SC decision, Goodman alleged that CJHDevCo continued to mislead investors. “He’s still telling these people, the victims, that there’s nothing to worry about.”
Goodman said he personally wrote to Sobrepeña, urging him to stop “misleading people that the sheriff cannot take their houses.”
Government response
In a March 18 statement, the BCDA announced that over 100 residential lease agreements had been signed in Camp John Hay since the government took over the estate on January 6.
BCDA president and CEO Joshua Bingcang noted that this represented 95% of all residential properties in the zone.
“Several of these residential lease agreements were signed with foreign nationals, mostly Koreans,” the agency said.
Goodman acknowledged this but pointed out that many others remain uncertain about their status.
In a March 24 interview on One News, Sobrepeña offered a different perspective. “Out of about 150 to 160 house and lot buyers, maybe 70 to 80 have signed up. As for the 400 condominium owners, zero have signed with BCDA,” he said. “BCDA is not offering them anything. They just want to take over the condominiums and the hotels.”
Sobrepeña also noted that none of the 1,900 golf shareholders have been reinstated or offered new agreements to use the course.
He said, “It’s a land-grab without due process. And that’s something really unacceptable to a lot of the homeowners and investors.”
Financial repercussions
Sobrepeña added that while the SC ordered BCDA to return P1.42 billion in rental payments to CJHDevCo, the amount “is not in escrow” and remains in a BCDA savings account. He argued that the most critical issue is not the money but the recognition of investor rights.
Goodman, meanwhile, urged the government to “freeze the funds” and allow investors to file claims with agencies like the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
Options
Former SC Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban offered a broader view in a March 31 opinion piece in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. He stated that the SC ruling, which upheld the arbitral award of mutual restitution, was final and unappealable.
He noted that CJHDevCo had sold long-term rights to properties within the camp, even though it only had a 25-year lease with an option to renew.
“The investors were dispossessed of the rights they thought they acquired,” he wrote, suggesting that while legal avenues with the court may be closed, there are still three options: seek equitable consideration from BCDA, file claims on the refunded funds, or pursue further legal action.
Panganiban also noted that investors could request limited access to facilities or priority in new offerings from BCDA, adding that the P1.4 billion had been deposited by BCDA at the Development Bank of the Philippines, allowing potential legal claims against it.
Goodman has remained in his Forest Cabin for now. But like many others, his faith in the Philippine system is shaken.
“There is never a wrong time to do the right thing,” he said. – Rappler.com
