Court says stay order on claims vs Nenaco covers Tsuneishi

The Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) ruled on Monday that the stay order it has issued prohibiting the enforcement of all claims against beleaguered Negros Navigation Co. (Nenaco) covers the P100-million claim of Tsuneishi Heavy Industries which earlier succeeded in getting the Cebu RTC to order the detention of certain Nenaco vessels to satisfy its claim.

Last April 1, the Manila RTC issued a stay order which prohibits the enforcement of all claims against Nenaco as well as the payment by the company of its liabilities and the disposition of any of its properties except in the ordinary course of business. It appointed Sulficio Tagud Jr. as rehabilitation receiver for Nenaco.

However, on April 6, the Cebu RTC issued an order for the arrest and detention of certain Nenaco vessels.

Tagud subsequently asked the Manila RTC to clarify whether the claim sought by Tsuneishi before the Cebu court is covered by the former’s stay order.

Manila RTC Judge Artemio Tipon noted that the interim rules on corporate rehabilitation do not distinguish the kind of claims covered, whether in rem or in personam or whether due or not due. "Hence, when the law does not distinguish, courts ought not to distinguish. So the stay order applies to all claims," he said.

As this developed, Nenaco president and CEO Conrado Carballo wrote Japan Ambassador to the Philippines Kojiro Takano complaining in the strongest terms against three Japanese nationals employed by Tsuneishi "for the most despicable and dishonorable conduct."

The complaint was directed against Tsuneishi president Kenji Kawano, managing director Katsuhiro Danjo, and ship repair sales manager Kenji Seo.

Carballo noted that against all norms of decency and in connivance with willing court process servers, these people attempted to seize Nenaco’s vessels during the Holy Week rush to cripple the company’s operations.

He said that while Nenaco indeed owes Tsuneishi money for drydocking repairs on several of its vessels and that Nenaco has been unable to pay in accordance with agreed payment terms due to the tight economic situation and financial crunch it is experiencing, the company continuously paid and offered restructuring schemes to be able to fully pay the obligation over a fixed period of time.

"Tsuneishi officials preemptorily dismissed our proposals and filed suit in court. They were able to secure, albeit in violation of due process, an arrest order against our vessels," he pointed out.

Carballo added that these Japanese nationals deserve to be declared persona non grata and ought to be repatriated back to Japan within the soonest possible time.