Court favors SBMA vs hotel operator

OLONGAPO CITY – The Regional Trial Court here has junked the case filed by Crown Peak Estate Developers against the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), as it also dissolved the court injunction that prevented the SBMA from disconnecting the power supply of the said company which arrears already totaled P44 million.

This is on top of the arrears on rental and other charges in the amount of over P200 million.

In a three-page decision, RTC Executive Judge Ramon Caguioa dismissed the case filed by Crown Peak Gardens owned by local hotelier, Anthony Trillo and sets aside whatever injunction order has been issued by the court.

As of this date, official records released by the SBMA Accounting Department showed that Crown Peak’s accumulated arrears reached P44 million for power consumption, $3.8 million on lease rentals and $17,222 for garbage fees with total debt of over P250 million.

Court records showed that on June 4, 2001, Crown Peak filed a case against the SBMA for injunction for the purpose of prohibiting the SBMA from disconnecting its power and from collecting its arrears on utilities and rental.

On June 22 of the same year, the court issued a writ of preliminary injunction enjoining the SBMA to cease and desist from disconnecting the electric power supply and requiring Crown Peak to deposit instead to the court its monthly power consumption as billed by the SBMA.

This notwithstanding, Crown Peak still failed to deposit regularly the required amount thereby resulting in the further mounting of its obligations.

Meanwhile, taking advantage of the injunction issued by the court in the said case effectively prohibiting SBMA from enforcing its rights, Crown Peak failed to take steps that would lead to the resolution of the case.

The court, in its final analysis of the case, ruled that the failure of Crown Peak to prosecute its action for an unreasonable length of time of one year and four months justifies the dismissal of the case due to its own fault under the rules of Civil Procedure.

As this developed, the SBMA Utilities department on Thursday decided to finally cut off power supplies in all facilities being leased by Crown Peak including its hotel, apartment buildings, restaurants and a convention center.

Irate hotel tenants including those long-term renters blamed the hotel management for allegedly "deceiving" them when it entered to a contract without even informing them about its outstanding obligations with SBMA.

"We have been diligently paying our rental, power and other utility bills directly to Crown Peak but we are now suffering from its negligence," hotel tenant, Regen Endaluz who is set, along with other occupants, to file charges against the management of Crown Peak Gardens.