BAGUIO CITY – Hundreds of local and foreign unit owners of the Manor and Forest Lodge in Camp John Hay slammed the State-owned Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), sheriffs of the city’s Regional Trial Court and law enforcement agencies for their alleged inhumane treatment in their eviction from the units in the said facilities that they purchased in good faith.
The alleged harassed and intimidated local and foreign owners came out with their respective harrowing experiences when BCDA, the sheriffs of the court and peacekeeping officers enforced their eviction from their units amidst the previous pronouncements from top BCDA officials on the supposed smooth transition in the takeover of the leased 247-hectare John hay Economic Zone (JHSEZ) from the previous developer, Camp John Hay Development Corporation (CJH DevCo).
Evette Dela Cruz, a representative of local unit owners in the Manor and Forest Lodge, pointed out that there was alleged coercion, injustice, and extreme challenges being faced by the CJH residents following the implementation of the notice to vacate from the court against the thirty party buyers in good faith that paved the way for most of them to eventually lose their hard earned money which was supposed to have been used to purchase their units in the said economic zone. “Camp John hay residents are not super rich. They are not billionaires from Manila or abroad, many are from Baguio City and the surrounding provinces, Ka-Ilokanowak, nga namati ti investment offer iti partner ti gobyerno tayo. Many are retirees, former employees of the government, or business owners. Others are foreigners who love Baguio and have investments in the Philippines,” dela Cruz stressed.
She clarified that the units are used either as primary residences, vacation homes or rentals. Some units have been purchased more than 25 years ago, some a few years back and even last year.
The representative of the unit owners asserted that the owners strictly followed the law, thus, they are buyers in good faith, they are builders in good faith.
“Sadly, the unit owners are now victims of a legal battle they are not directly involved in,” she added.
According to her, the decision of the Supreme Court (SC) in the case between BCDA, a government-owned and controlled corporation under the Office of the President, and CJH DevCo, the company to which the land was leased was actually incomplete as it failed to mention the faith of all unit owners inside the zone.
Further, she claimed that the decision of the court is like giving a decision to divorce but leaving the children out in the streets.
Dela Cruz narrated that since the BCDA’s takeover on January 6, 2025, many unit owners have been allegedly subjected to mistreatment, harassment, intimidation among others and that most of them have already gone home to their respective places hopeless on what will happen to their hard earned investment.
“Mabuti pa ang mag illegal settlers, they are protected by the law, thus, you must provide a compensation, transportation or relocation site among other things. But the unit owners inside Camp John hay, they were given 24 hours to leave or vacate their units. The unit owners has to literally beg the BCDA representative and sheriff to be lenient, as they have nowhere to go,” she exclaimed.
She disclosed that there had been harrowing experiences of the unit owners on the alleged inhumane treatment, harassment and intimidation being done while in the process of being evicted.
Dela Cruz demanded that all what the unit owners want is for their rights to be protected as the law has stated and that they hope to live in peace in the city which they have loved through the years.
For his part, Jongeon Lee, one of the Korean unit owners in The Manor and the Forest Lodge, assailed the BCDA for using government power and forces to allegedly forcibly evict them from their units despite being considered as buyers in good faith right from the start.
Some Koreans were able to purchase their units way back in 2006 and had been using their units for approximately 20 years while some purchased their units more than a year ago and were not able to enjoy using their properties despite the promise for them to stay unit 2046.
He admitted that it is difficult for them to accept why they have been evicted due to the conflict between BCDA and CJH DevCo when they are merely buyers in good faith.
“In executing the order, we cannot understand why they use the sheriffs to curt off water and electricity without any prior warning when there are people inside. Those are acts that can hurt people’s health. We could not also understand why a government agency can act without any prior warning, cutting off water and electricity when there are people inside. There are also old people inside and without electricity and water, it is very damaging. We cannot understand why a government agency can do such things to its people, irregardless whether Filipinos or foreigners,” Lee stressed.
He emphasized that BCDA cannot just involve that the foreigners have been scammed without giving them their day in court that is why what they wanted is for them to be given their day in court by first respecting their rights as buyers in good faith over their properties.
He accused both BCDA and CJH DevCo of marginalizing them as they are putting the blame to each other without providing them adequate solutioons to the present impasse that they are experiencing when they know for a fact that they can freely use their units until 2046.
One of those evicted was 85-year old Myungbang Lim who is a Korean retiree who had been occupying his unit at the Forest Lodge for 19 years.
A 70-year old pastor, Gyuchul Lee, who had been in the city for 20 years providing scholarships for college students during the said period. In fact, many students were able to complete their education and acquire their own degrees through the help of the said pastor.
In 2014, Pastor Lee established an education institution that provided education to poor but deserving students and expects to continue doing so but he has to stop doing so as he was evicted from the unit which he called his home over the past 20 years. By Dexter A. See
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