Phl ordered to pay Piatco $175.7 M

MANILA, Philippines -  A Pasay City court awarded Monday the Philippine International Air Terminals Co. Inc. (PIATCO) $175.79 million in just compensation for the expropriation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 (NAIA-3) in 2005.

Judge Eugenio de la Cruz of Pasay City Regional Trial Court Branch 117 ordered the government to pay PIATCO $175,787,245.10 (P7,634,440,054 based on yesterday’s exchange rate of P43.43-$1) less the proffered value of P3,002,125,000 as payment for improvements in NAIA-3.

During the proceedings, the government submitted the valuation of the facility at $149,448,037 and $6,339,208.10 for additional cost incurred by the project.

The court ruled that just compensation for PIATCO must jibe with the government’s valuation of the airport facility.

It rejected PIATCO’s higher valuation of $846.43 million, including interest, because it was not supported by evidence.

The P3 billion to be deducted from the payment was initially deposited by the government in Land Bank of the Philippines as requirement for the expropriation proceedings in 2005.

Judge Henrick Gingoyon, the Pasay City judge who initially heard the expropriation case and ordered the government to pay P3 billion to PIATCO, was killed in an ambush in Molino, Cavite on Dec 30, 2005.

At Malacañang, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said Solicitor General Joel Cadiz is discussing the case with Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Eduardo de Mesa and Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr.

“We expect to hear from the Office of the Solicitor General soon,” she said.

Valte said the government is not ruling out paying just compensation to PIATCO.

“The government is willing to pay what is just and what is reasonable,” she said.

Cadiz: Court ruling a victory

Solicitor General Joel Cadiz lauded yesterday the Pasay City court decision as a government victory.

“We consider this a legal victory since the court upheld our valuation of the just compensation,” he said.

Cadiz told The STAR PIATCO was demanding over $900 million in damages.

However, the court ruled that the government only owes the private contractor $149,448,037 plus $26,339,208.10 in attendant cost, he added.

The government had already paid P3 billion to PIATCO and needs to pay just P4 billion more.

He would meet his solicitors to decide whether they would still appeal the ruling, Cadiz said.

De Jesus: Gov’t to privatize NAIA-3

Transportation Secretary Jose de Jesus said settlement with PIATCO will clear the way for the privatization of NAIA-3.

“We are free now to bid it out as a concession,” he said.

“We’re going to complete it, we have already started the preparatory technical work.”

However, De Jesus said he cannot give a timeline for the holding of the bidding and the turnover of the contract to a private concessionaire.

“We’ll have to sit down and figure out that timeline,” he said.

Arroyo: Gov’t must not pay PIATCO

Sen. Joker Arroyo believes the government must not pay PIATCO $176 million.

“The Supreme Court (SC) declared the contract null and void,” he said.

“The Senate Blue Ribbon committee also declared it null and void. Yet we are going to pay $176 million.”

Arroyo said the court decision runs counter to Senate findings and the SC ruling that the contract with PIATCO was marred with illegalities.

“We might as well construct a new one,” he said.

“The land is government-owned, it’s only the building that is needed. So what happened now to all the illegalities that were committed by PIATCO?

“Are they being rewarded for having entered into contracts that have been voided? This is tragic. I should know because I presided over the public hearings.”

Arroyo said the case has dragged on for eight years like a game of ping-pong.

“Back and forth, back and forth,” he said.

“I am dumbfounded. The government should have taken steps. Can you imagine PIATCO was declared as having committed irregularities.

“The contract was declared null and void. I don’t think that’s a reasonable, I mean, a correct compensation. So I wanted to compute it immediately.” - With Edu Punay, Rainier Allan Ronda, Delon Porcalla, Christina Mendez