Gov’t urged not to allow foreign court to hear NAIA-3 case

The government has been dissuaded from submitting itself to the jurisdiction of a foreign court hearing the case of compensation for the builder of the controversial Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminal 3 (NAIA-3).

In a statement issued Friday, Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corp. (AEDC), which is vying to operation NAIA-3, said the government should not allow itself to be subjected to the laws of another country.

Perfecto Yasay Jr., lead counsel of the firm controlled by taipan Lucio Tan, said the government should immediately withdraw its representation from a court in Singapore.

"The government should make a stand now that they are not submitting to the jurisdiction of the Singaporean courts," he said.

Yasay said government lawyers must simply say that the amount of just compensation is already being litigated here in a Philippine court.

The lawyers must argue that there is no reason for a Singapore court to arbitrate because the arbitration is being done in the Philippines, he added.

Yasay said government lawyers should state that the basis of the Singapore Supreme Court in ruling that the hearing must be done in Singapore is a contract that was voided by a Philippine court.

"I feel that it (continued expropriation and submission to an international court) is a complete mistake," he said. "The errors undertaken by our government officials is compounded by submitting themselves to the jurisdiction of Singapore."

Yasay said the Philippine International Air Terminals Co. Inc. (PIATCO), which built NAIA-3, has not submitted itself to the jurisdiction of a Philippine court.

"Even if they benefited they did not participate, why did our government officials readily submit (to Singapore)," he said. — Sandy Araneta