Roxas, Perez broker S&R Price franchise settlement

Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel Roxas II and Justice Secretary Hernando Perez are mediating talks for an amicable settlement between S&R Price Membership Shopping owner William Go and Price Smart operator Jose Go.

The talks comes in the wake of a four-day closure of S&R Price on the strength of a temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by a Las Pinas judge due to a case filed by Ever-Gotesco Resources Holdings Inc.

Roxas said "we wanted to put the two sides together to find areas of commonality," adding that "they cannot be in court forever."

Such a situation, Roxas warned, would not benefit anybody. "It’s just not good to be in dispute forever. It’s not good for the country."

He said government’s intervention is only to broker an amicable settlement and does not in any way touch on the merits of the case.

Roxas also explained that if government intervened in getting S&R Price to reopen, it was only because "we are for fair play... for transparency and rule of law."

He said the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) that resulted in the recent four-day closure of S&R Price "was carried out in a manner inconsistent with rules of court which leads to questions to rule of law and governance."

Earlier, Roxas said the controversial closure of S&R Price could be a deterrent to the entry of foreign retailers in the country.

"It makes people consider coming in here to wonder about the process or whether they will also be subject to the same unpredictable environment."

Ever Gotesco Resources, which is owned by Jose Go, is claiming exclusive rights to operate S&R Price Membership Shopping stores.

Ever Gotesco Resources was once a licensee of Price Smart Inc., the parent company of S&R Price Membership shopping.

Last week, government flexed its muscle and convinced Jose Go to drop infringement charges filed against S&R Price.