FMC lowers claims vs Mazda to $35M

Francisco Motors Corp. (FMC) is now willing to lower its claim for damages against Mazda Corp. of Japan to just $35 million, from its original claim of $66 million.

FMC has an unresolved dispute with Mazda, which is 33-percent owned by Ford Motor Co., over the assembly of the Mazda/Ford B52 pick-up model and econovan.

FMC and Mazda’s dispute started way back in 1999.

According to Roland Francisco, senior assistant vice president of FMC, "our original claim is for $66 million, but we have decided it is very unrealistic, so we are lowering it to $35 million."

Francisco said FMC will file its amended suit against Mazda next year as the company still has to raise money for the filing fee.

But even as FMC prepares to amend its lawsuit against Mazda, Francisco lamented the Board of investments’ (BOI’s) seeming indifference to FMC’s complaint against Ford Motor Co. Philippines, Inc. (FMCPI).

Francisco clarified that FMC is "not questioning the Ford registration, but only the model registration." The BOI, Francisco said," misunderstood our petition."

Francisco said FMC had submitted to the BOI the specification of the two models in dispute and had shown substantially that the models FMC is laying claim to are the same models that FMCPI is now assembling. Unfortunately, Francisco said: "We are at a loss how come the BOI is not answering our letter and why they continue to allow Ford to assemble the disputed model."

FMC claims that it had an agreement with Mazda to assemble the B25 pick-up model and econovan up to October 2002.

Mazda allegedly did not live up to its end of the agreement and instead allowed FMCPI to locally assemble the models FMC was supposed to assemble.

For its part, FMCPI rejects FMC’s claims and insists that the Ford Ranger it is currently assembling is different from the B52 pick-up model that FMC is laying claim to.

Francisco said they had brought their complaint and opposition to FMCPI’s assembly operations to the attention of then President Estrada. Then Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora even advised the BOI to call a meeting among Mazda, FMC and BOI.

Unfortunately, that meeting failed to result in any settlement of the dispute. Mazda offered a compensation of only $4 million which FMC rejected.