OSG asks court to resolve Stradcom corporate row

MANILA, Philippines –  The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) has asked the Quezon City regional trial court to once and for all resolve a corporate dispute that triggered a failed takeover of the Land Transportation Office’s information technology service provider last December, which disrupted LTO operations nationwide for almost seven hours.

In an interpleader filed recently with Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 95, the OSG cited the need to resolve the dispute between businessmen Cesar Quiambao and Bonifacio Sumbilla, who are both laying claim to Stradcom Corp., to enable the LTO to determine which group should be paid the outstanding receivables of P662,345,610.47 in computer fees.

“LTO is at a loss as to whom it will recognize as the rightful representative of Stradcom Corp… Both the Quiambao and the Sumbilla groups made separate demands from LTO for the payment of one and the same obligation,” explained the pleading signed by Solicitor General Joel Cadiz.

Representing the LTO, the OSG explained that the lack of resolution on the Stradcom dispute — which only the court can resolve — has been preventing the agency from complying with Section 23, Title 3 of the Corporation Code, which provides that “the corporate powers of all corporations shall be exercised, all business and all property of such corporations controlled and held by the board of directors.”

The government, in effect, asked the court to take back its resolution issued last Jan. 18, which junked Sumbilla’s group’s petition for issuance of interim measure of protection and held that “neither the Quiambao nor the Sumbilla group can claim absolute authority to exercise the corporate powers of Stradcom.”

The OSG is asking the court to direct the two opposing factions to “litigate with one another in order to determine who between the two opposing groups has the rightful control and management of Stradcom Corp., including receipt of computer fees due said entity.”

LTO chief Virginia Torres explained that all fees due to its sole IT service provider shall continue to be deposited to the designated LTO-Stradcom escrow accounts and shall remain there until the courts decide with finality who between the opposing groups has authority to claim all receivables from LTO.