‘Court ruling to settle NAIA-3 controversy’

A court order directing the government to pay partial compensation to the consortium that built the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 (NAIA-3) should settle the controversy over ownership of the facility, Malacañang officials said yesterday.

Last Tuesday, the Pasay City regional trial court reiterated its order to the government to pay an initial P3 billion to the Philippine International Air Terminals Co. (Piatco) after it rejected a government petition opposing the order.

The P3 billion is partial compensation for the government’s seizure of the terminal from Piatco in 2004. The court is still determining the final amount of compensation.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita in a press conference at Malacañang also disclosed that Piatco — the majority shareholder in the consortium — and its other partners were keen on bringing closure to the issue.

They agreed to give the government a free hand to decide how to divide the initial P3 billion among them to fast-track the compensation process.

Other shareholders in the consortium are the German consortium Fraport AG, and the Japanese Takenaka Corp. and Asahikosan Corp.

"What we’re just finishing is the completion of the airport, the official report of the valuators and (securing) the writ of possession," said Ermita, head of a Cabinet panel handling the NAIA-3 case.

The NAIA-3 is almost complete even as independent valuators, agreed upon by the government and Piatco, are still determining the actual value of the facility to compute the full amount of compensation to be given to the consortium.

Once the government begins the compensation process by releasing the P3 billion, which has been held in escrow since last year, the Pasay court is expected to issue a writ of execution that would formally give the government possession of the airport.