We are witnessing what is destined to be the trial of the year -- that is, the  impeachment trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona.

As with all trials, judgment day must come to pass.

But there is also a reckoning for the choices we make in life, and we’ll all have our own personal  judgment day.

This is not about the biblical Armageddon but the final denouement to a history of business failures that litter the story of one guy who thought his winning  streak was an endless string. 

The last straw for the guy is the shameless ruse to dodge  payment of the mounting lease arrears to a government agency which have so far totaled P3 billion.

This sordid saga should be of great interest to the public because public funds are involved.

Ped Xing is referring to the precipitate action of the Sobrepena-led Camp John Hay Development Corp. when it dropped its multi-billion-peso project in Baguio City like a hot potato – on a flimsy excuse: The Bases Conversion and Development Authority allegedly defaulted in setting up a document-facilitating office.

It turns out nothing is farther from  the truth. Records showed that CJHDevCo secured permits from the One-Stop-Action Center and even twice attended their orientations.

To top it all, it was learned that the CJHDevco had the temerity to unilaterally rescind its restructured agreement with the BCDA pertaining to the development of John Hay into a special economic zone as envisioned by the government beginning with the Ramos administration.

Third parties might have kept an open mind on CJHDevco’s position on the John Hay controversy if not for Bob Sobrepena’s penchant for employing bully tactics from Malacanang and then making an ugly mess out of the projects, and yet going scot free with impunity.

Lucky guy, this BS. He managed to get the blessings of former presidents. Would he be lucky this time? Last thing Ped Xing  heard, there was no love lost between him and the present chief Palace resident.        Judgment day is coming close  though. BS’ lucky streak is about to end. And it is time to review his litany of sins. After all, the big flop in John Hay is not the first—but most surely be the last—misadventure for the Sobrepena Group.

Recall that nobody has been held liable for the College Assurance Plan  screw-up that snatched from hundreds of thousands of high school graduates  their chance to get a college education and a successful career. 

Plan holders had to virtually beg for whatever pitiful morsels  the CAP receiver could provide to partly shoulder the cost of the children’s  college enrolment.   

The future of these hapless children were obviously squandered while their  hopes for education and careers were mercilessly shattered. What greater crime can be committed than violate and trample upon the trust of parents in CAP?

In this sense British wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill was right when he said, “It is a wicked thing to take away man’s hope.”

Most of CAP’s trust funds were reportedly diverted to other big-ticket projects that did not pay immediate and modest dividends, if they were not frittered away altogether.

On the leisurely circuit, members of the exclusive Southwoods Golf and Country Club are also said to be up in arms over Sobrepena’s handling of the club’s affairs, including an annual stockholders’ meeting which he allegedly arbitrarily declared a failure for lack of quorum.

Southwoods’ winter of discontent descended from allegedly mounting questionable practices by a faction of the Club’s management identified with Sobrepena. The gang allegedly appropriated juicy service contracts among themselves, making Southwoods their virtual milking cow.

The disgruntled shareholders, who banded themselves into a “reformist group,” faintly saw hopes for redemption with the buy-in of taipan Andrew Tan, but, alas, Tan could not automatically become a member of the Southwoods board of directors despite his 60-percent stake because -- get this -- he lacked the required one-year membership in one of its many committees.

Even Sobrepena’s flagship Fil-Estate appears to be encountering rough sailing. A desperate lot owner at the Fil-Estate-owned Forest Hills subdivision in Antipolo City claimed that development works ground to a halt some 10 years ago, leaving an unsightly white elephant where hard-earned money disappeared and dream homes turned into haunted houses.

There was also the much-publicized MRT row where Sobrepena’s MRTC locked horns with pertinent government and legislative officials who believed that he gave the state a raw deal. Sobrepena’s group invested only about $300 million in the railway transit and borrowed close to $700 million, with a sovereign guarantee.

You guessed it right: He failed to pay his debt of $700 million, and forthwith asked the government to pay his debt. It turned out he was armed with a  sovereign guarantee. And this happened under the watch of former President Fidel V. Ramos. How he got away with it is vintage BS  “operations”.

He now hopes to get back at the  BCDA, using the same formula. Maybe he thinks thought he would be lucky again, this heartbreak kid.

He owes BCDA P3 billion in lease arrears, and now he is demanding payment of P14 billion from BCDA in the form of damages.

But since he  has been found out, will his old trick still work?  Even Sponge Bob can only soak up enough liquity.