Manor’s 5-star rating pending, DoT clarifies

The Department of Tourism (DoT) clarified reports The Manor Hotel was to receive the highest 5-star rating next month, stating that the audit results for its rating had not been finalized.

“The Manor is not yet a 5-star as per the in-charge department, the Office of Tourism Standards and Regulations (OTSR). (The) audit was conducted on 27-29 November. According to them, there is no final report yet from the DoT,” said Czarina Zara-Loyola, DoT Assistant Secretary for Strategic Communications and Public Affairs, in a Viber message to DAILY TRIBUNE.

In a press conference last 18 December in Baguio City, the general manager of The Manor, Ramon Cabrera, bragged to the members of the media that the legacy hotel’s 4-star rating would be raised to 5-star, an announcement that surprised the DoT central office in Manila.

“Did the Manor show any certificate? No decision yet on that,” Loyola said.

Cabrera’s announcement came even as the hotel will have a new lessee and a new business name.

“It is very obvious The Manor is using its supposed five-star resort rating to gain support from the public against its impending closure and takeover by the BCDA (Bases Conversion and Development Authority) which the GM, Ramon Cabrera, has already used in their presscon at the Forest Lodge last 18 December,” according to a source.

The BCDA earlier clarified The Manor will not be shut down once it begins running Camp John Hay.

No 15-day closure

Meanwhile, the BCDA, the new manager of the 247-hectare Camp John Hay which includes the Camp John Hay Golf Club, said there was no truth to the rumor the club will be shuttered for 15 days during the transition period, a rumor that was proliferating and worrying workers at the posh golf club.

The BCDA reiterated that all employees, from managers to the rank and file, would be absorbed by the BCDA, including those of The Manor and Le Monet Hotel.

“A town hall meeting will transpire first for us to talk to all the affected employees. What’s for sure is they will continue working with Camp John Hay under the BCDA. But we cannot do anything for those employees who opt not to work with us. If they choose to be with the old management, with (CJH Development Corp. Robert John) Sobrepeña, then they are free to go. It’s up to them,” a source in the BCDA communications team said.

The transition period may take effect in January, the BCDA official said.

Sobrepeña lost a legal battle against BCDA over a portion of the John Hay Special Economic Zone.

In April, the Supreme Court upheld an arbitral ruling requiring CJH DevCo to vacate the leased property within the SEZ, as the BCDA succeeded in challenging the Court of Appeals (CA) rulings that had favored CJH DevCo.

The SC reinstated an arbitral ruling voiding the John Hay development lease and ordered the eviction of CJHDevCo. Additionally, the BCDA was directed to refund CJHDevCo the P1.42 billion in rent it had previously paid.

Moreover, the High Tribunal granted BCDA’s petition for review on certiorari of a decision by the Court of Appeals.

However, in October 2024, the Supreme Court issued a Certificate of Finality of Judgment in the consolidated cases of BCDA vs. CJH Development Corporation (CJH DevCo) et al. and CJH Devco vs. Commission on Audit and BCDA.

The ruling allows BCDA to recover the Camp John Hay property from CJH DevCo.

Consequently, all rights claimed, acquired, derived, or traced to CJH DevCo are covered by the final judgment of the Supreme Court.

In 1996, CJH Dev.Co took over the lease from a previous consortium, shelling out P1.42 billion over 16 years, constructing hotels, posh dwellings, and a well-run golf course within Camp John Hay.

But the camp of Sobrepeña clashed with the BCDA in 2012 over a lease agreement, which led to a battery of legal battles.

However, the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center, in 2015, released an arbitral ruling that canceled the lease due to mutual breaches of contract by both parties, requiring CJHDev.Co to restitute all properties to the government through the BCDA, but the latter must reimburse the expenditures of the former management.