CJHDevCo lawyer indicted for perjury

The Department of Justice (DOJ) charged the lawyer and spokesperson of the Sobrepeña-led Camp John Hay Development Corporation (CJHDevCo) of perjury before the Municipal Trial Court of Quezon City for knowingly making false accusations against the Directors of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) before the Office of the Ombudsman.

In a resolution penned by Prosecution Attorney Gail Stephanie C. Maderazo and approved by Prosecutor General Claro A. Arellano, the prosecutors found probably cause to charge CJHDevCo Vice President for Litigation Manuel Ubarra, Jr. with the crime of perjury under Article 183 of the Revised Penal Code.

The revised penal code penalized the act of knowingly making untruthful statements under oath or in an affidavit as perjury.

It would be recalled that Ubarra filed a complaint-affidavit before the Office of the Ombudsman against the members of the BCDA Board of Directors for misconduct and neglect of duty. The complaint accused BCDA President and CEO Arnel Paciano D. Casanova of failing to act promptly on letters and requests from CJHDevCo, in violation of Section 5 of RA No. 6713 or the Code of Ethical Standards.

The 16-page DOJ resolution stated that “…respondent Ubarra did not tell the truth.”
The DOJ found that the CJHDevCo letters which were alleged by Ubarra to be either belatedly answered or ignored were not addressed to Casanova. The correspondences were, in fact, made before Casanova assumed office as BCDA President.

According to the resolution, Ubarra’s insistence on Casanova’s liability for failing to answer CJHDevCo’s letters “despite having copies of the letters allegedly sent/ignored” by Casanova where it is reflected that the signatory in fact was that of the former BCDA President and CEO Gen. Narciso Abaya undoubtedly proves that “Ubarra knowingly and deliberately knew that his statements in his Complaint-Affidavit were false.”

The resolution emphasized that Ubarra had been a lawyer for more than fifteen years and is the Vice President for Litigation when he executed and filed the subject Complaint-Affidavit. “He was mandated to study, verify and authenticate all documents and pleadings submitted to him for his company,” the resolution read.

“Most of all, respondent Ubarra is a lawyer. It needs no reiteration that the ethical standards applicable to a member of the bar, who thereby automatically becomes a court officer, must necessarily be one higher than that of the market place,” it further stated.

“We laud the action of the DOJ on finding probable cause of perjury against Atty. Ubarra. It is a victory of truth against falsehood,” Casanova said.

He added that “BCDA is confident in its cause that is founded on the truth and commitment to uphold the interest of the country.”

The BCDA views the filing of various complaints by CJHDevCo against the BCDA Board of Directors as an act of harassment that is obviously intended to derail the BCDA’s efforts in holding CJHDevco accountable for its acts and omissions.

The real issue is CJHDevco’s failure and refusal to pay rentals to the Government for their use of Camp John Hay. The rentals, which already amount to more than P3 Billion, are supposed to be turned over to the National Government and the local government of Baguio City for use in development. The local government of Baguio City stands to get 25 percent of the P3 Billion or some P720-M.