Palace insists civil case against MegaPacific stands despite SC order

Malacañang said yesterday its civil case against MegaPacific, the firm that entered into the voided poll automation contract with the Commission on Elections (Comelec), still stands.

Solicitor General Antonio Nachura said the government’s effort to recover P1.3 billion paid to MegaPacific is a separate case from the Supreme Court’s (SC) order to Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez to investigate any criminal liability of the Comelec officials in approving the contract.

Nachura pointed out the SC order on the Ombudsman exonerating the Comelec officials and MegaPacific of any criminal liability will not affect the civil case against the firm.

He said the earlier SC decision had two aspects – the order for the Ombudsman to file criminal charges against those found liable for the voided contract and the effort to recover the money paid over the contract which was later declared void by the high tribunal in its January 2004 ruling.

"As far as I’m concerned that (SC order) will have very little effect on the civil case because even if they (Comelec officials) are cleared," Nachura said.

"Even if these people did not commit any criminal acts, they still cannot escape the fact that the contract has been declared to be null and void and therefore are not entitled to any rights under that contract," he said.

Nachura said the government efforts to recover the money has legal basis since the contract over which it was paid is void.

"If they (MegaPacific) receive any money under the contract, then there is no basis for having received the money and therefore they have to return whatever it was they have received, otherwise this would be a case of undue enrichment, unjust enrichment," Nachura said.

He said MegaPacific even filed a case against the government to collect the remainder of the amount notwithstanding the SC ruling.

Nachura said the government responded by claiming MegaPacific is not entitled to receive the balance of the payment since the contract was declared void from the very beginning.

He said the criminal and civil cases over the voided contract "belong to two different dimensions" and the government’s case against MegaPacific is strong.

The High Court has ordered the Ombudsman to respond to the petition filed by opposition lawmakers seeking to nullify its decision clearing Comelec officials of any criminal liability over the voided P1.3-billion automated counting machines (ACMs) contract.

The High Court has given Gutierrez 10 days to answer the petition filed by Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr.

Pimentel led other senators in filing the petition questioning the decision of the Ombudsman absolving the Comelec led by its chairman Benjamin Abalos and officials of MegaPacific in connection with the purchase of the 1,991 ACMs amounting to P1.3 billion.