NAIA-3 commission chief resigns

MANILA, Philippines - A Pasay judge hearing the expropriation case of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 said the chairman of the NAIA-3 Commission has resigned from his post, citing “conflict of interest” on his part. 

Pasay City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 117 Judge Eugenio de la Cruz accepted, in open court, the resignation of Fiorello Estuar as chairman of the commission tasked to determine the just compensation the Philippine International Air Terminals Company Inc. (Piatco) ought to receive from the government in line with the expropriation of the NAIA-3.  

De la Cruz said the government has drawn up a list of nominees to replace Estuar. However, Piatco expressed opposition, which the court ordered put in writing.

In an aide memoire to De la Cruz, Estuar said he was informed by his colleagues in First Balfour Inc., that their company is a bidder in the proposed selection of contractors for the NAIA-3 completion, testing and commissioning project.

Estuar, First Balfour’s vice chairman and chief executive officer, said “in the opening of prequalification documents, the application of First Balfour passed the initial evaluation checklist with two notations and is now under consideration by the NAIA Bids and Awards Committee.”

“I am in a potential conflict of interest situation,” Estuar added.

Before De la Cruz’s takeover of the case, Judge Jesus Mupas affirmed the appointment of DG Jones and Partners to undertake requisite appraisal of the NAIA-Terminal 3.

Based on the submitted proposal of DG Jones and Partners Philippines, its proposed appraisal fee is $1.9 million.

The appraisal is necessary in the final ascertainment of the just compensation the government is supposed to pay Piatco in line with the expropriation of the long-mothballed facility.

In September 2006, the Pasay RTC released a “writ of possession” after the government paid P3 billion to Piatco to effectively set the stage for full government control of NAIA-3. However, the amount was only the initial proffered value and full compensation would still have to be made.

The government took over NAIA-3 in December 2004 shortly after the Supreme Court nullified its build-operate-transfer contract with Piatco.