Meralco turns the tables on gov’t in Tagaytay land case

The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) has answered criminal charges filed by the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) before the Sandiganbayan involving a property it bought from a private firm in 1993 that was found to be part of the ill-gotten wealth of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos.

After 11 years, Meralco denied the accusations in the complaint filed by PCGG in 1997 and turned the tables on the commission by demanding P116 million in damages from the government and Nacor Trading Corp., from which it bought the land in Tagaytay City.

In an 11-page answer with third-party complaint filed before the anti-graft court last June 6, Meralco said it bought the 6,000-square-meter land from Nacor on Aug. 11, 1993 for P9 million in good faith and should therefore not be charged.

Meralco said it was not aware that the land was part of the Marcoses’ ill-gotten wealth when it was bought from Nacor.

“As an innocent third person, it only has to rely on the correctness of the certificate of title thus issued, and when it acquired rights over the property, the court cannot just disregard that right and order the total cancellation of the certificate,” stated the petition filed by Anthony Rosete, Meralco senior assistant vice president and legal services head.

“Clearly stated in our law and jurisprudence is that the right of an innocent purchaser for value is respected and protected. Meralco, in buying the property from Nacor Trading Corp., paid a full and a fair price for the lot, not knowing in any way of any defect in the title of the seller, its predecessor-in-interest Nacor,” it added.

Meralco also cited the Torrens System and an earlier ruling of the Supreme Court: “The rule if that only as long as the property is still in the name of the person who caused the wrongful registration and has not passed to an innocent person for value will an action lie to compel that third person to re-convey the property to the real owner.”

For these reasons, Meralco asked the Sandiganbayan to exclude it as a party-respondent in the case.

As for its third-party complaint, Meralco asked the Sandiganbayan to order the PCGG and Nacor to jointly pay P116 million with interests, P200,000 in moral damages and other amounts for legal services should it rule in its favor.

Meralco’s extension office and repeater station currently stand on the property. The facility has a book value of P107 million and is the company’s logistical backbone in the franchise area.