3-D distributor says it's business as usual

MANILA, Philippines -- The lawyers of 3-D appliance distributor Northern Islands Co., Inc. (NICI) said yesterday that the company legally exists and goes about its business as usual. 

In a statement, the law firm of Zamora Poblador Vasquez and Bretana, lawyers of NICI, said the decision of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s company registration and monitoring department (CRMD) dated Nov. 6, 2008 revoking the previously approved corporate term extension of NICI, was not yet final. 

The law firm said the decision was appealed by NICI to the SEC en banc where it is now pending as SEC en banc case 11-08149. Since the decision is on appeal and has not yet become final, it cannot be given any legal effect, the statement said. 

NICI’s lawyers claimed that the SEC body’s decision was baseless and wrong, since it had no jurisdiction to cancel the already approved articles of incorporation of NICI and that 3-D Industries Corp. had no interest or standing to file the petition to do so.

NICI’s lawyers accused 3-D of forum shopping, which should have prompted the CRMD to dismiss 3D’s petition outright.

Furthermore, “there was no ground for the cancellation of the NICI’s amended articles of incorporation since the supposed defects were merely minor and technical, and hence insufficient to support such a cancellation,” the lawyers said. NICI’s lawyers argued that the SEC body’s decision was issued with grave abuse of discretion.

The statement added that NICI re-filed its application for amendment of its articles of incorporation on Nov. 28, 2008 attaching all the necessary technical requirements. The CRMD decision revoking the previous term extension was based on certain minor technical defects in the amended articles of incorporation of NICI, the lawyers said.

The re-filed amended articles of incorporation fully complied with all the technical requirements and thus cured any such defects, the statement said. The re-filed amended articles of incorporation are pending approval, it added.