2nd Offer for Former Accion Hotel Is $5.6m, to Help Pay 200-plus Clergy Sex Abuse Claims

By Haidee Eugenio
Pacific Daily News
May 31, 2019

https://www.guampdn.com/story/news/local/2019/05/30/offers-table-archdioceses-agana-yona-property-millions/1268081001/

Catholic faithfuls and others celebrate the island’s patron saint, Santa Marian Kamalen, or Our Lady of Camarin, in prayer at the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica and during a procession through the streets of downtown Hagatna on Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018. (Photo: Rick Cruz/PDN)

The Archdiocese of Agana received a second offer to buy its Yona property for $5.6 million, higher than the initial offer they received, documents filed in the federal bankruptcy court shows.

Proceeds of the sale of the former Accion Hotel will help the archdiocese pay more than 200 Guam clergy sex abuse claims.

The archdiocese listed the property in 2018 for $7.5 million.

The archdiocese in January sought bankruptcy protection to keep its churches, schools, soup kitchen and other social services open while at the same time be able to settle the abuse claims.

The archdiocese received a May 15 offer from Saied Safabakhsh to buy the former Accion Hotel.

Safabakhsh, a medical doctor who owns dialysis centers on Guam, made an earnest deposit of $100,000 for the proposed purchase.

Previously, TF Investment LLC offered to buy the same property for a revised price of $5.35 million. TF Investment's president is Chieng Tan, who is also president of GPPC Inc., which has been a longtime contractor on Guam, Saipan and other parts of Micronesia.

In April, the archdiocese asked the court to approve the proposed sale to TF Investment, but the archdiocese's creditors including clergy sex abuse survivors, objected to the initial proposed $5.4 million sale price, saying it's too low. After the property was re-evaluated, the offer was revised to $5.35 million.

A hearing on the archdiocese's proposed sale of the former Accion Hotel, as part of the bankruptcy proceedings, is set for May 31.

Archdiocese counsels Bruce Anderson and John Terlaje filed additional documents in court on Thursday about the second offer to purchase the Yona property and a notice to present testimony and offer evidence.

Proposed payments to clergy sex abuse survivors would also come from insurance money, and from other named defendants, such as the Boy Scouts of America, the Capuchins and other religious orders.

More time for reorganization plan

The archdiocese also now has up to Sept. 16, to file in federal court a reorganization plan as part of the bankruptcy protection process, after U.S. District Court Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood issued a May 29 order granting the church more time.

This will give the Catholic Church a reasonable amount of time, after the Aug.15 deadline to file all clergy sex abuse claims.

The archdiocese hopes that once the total number of claims is known, the claimants, other creditors and insurance carriers will take the issues to mediation with the goal of arriving at a settlement and a consensual plan of reorganization.

The judge's order also gives the archdiocese up to Nov. 18, to obtain acceptance of the plan.