Supreme Court stops TRO versus Nenaco

BACOLOD CITY – The Supreme Court has stopped the Court of Appeals and Tsuneishi Heavy Industries Inc. from implementing the temporary restraining order that suspended the operations of five vessels owned by Negros Navigation Co.

Senior Associate Justice Reynato Puno of the Second Division, in his resolution dated May 4, found the petition for certiorari and prohibition with prayer for the issuance of a TRO or writ of preliminary injunction filed by Nenaco to be sufficient in form and substance.

The CA and Tsuneishi were also required by Puno to comment on the Nenaco petition within 10 days.

With this development, the 8,000 porters, ground and ship crews of Nenaco nationwide yesterday cancelled their plan to hold protest actions against the appellate court, Tsuneishi and government regulatory agencies Maritime Industry Authority, Philippine Ports Authority and the Philippine Coast Guard.

They instead held thanksgiving masses to express their gratitude to the SC intervention, Angelito Salvio, Nenaco assistant vice president, said.

The CA granted Monday the petition of Tsuneishi for a TRO that suspended the operations of St. Peter the Apostle, Princess of Negros, San Paolo and Mary Queen of Peace and St. Ezekiel Moreno, which are currently on dry dock.

Routes that were affected by the suspension were Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Palawan, Iligan, Ozamis, Roxas and Estancia, Salvio said.

Gian Galvez, head of Nenaco corporate communications, said the company was surprised with the TRO, adding that MARINA, PPA and the Coast Guard met in the morning of Monday to discuss the case of Nenaco.

In the afternoon of that same day, the TRO was issued ordering the three agencies to suspend the vessel operations, he added.

This was the third time that their operations were suspended.

THI, a joint partnership between Tsuneshi of Japan and the Aboitiz Group, managed to get a court order attaching M/S St. Peter three weeks ago.

Last April 23, MARINA suspended its nationwide operations after it found Nenaco to be financially incapable of running its operation.

In both instances, the suspension orders were issued on a Friday, preventing the company from seeking legal remedies since the courts are closed on weekends.

Nenaco was granted clearance to sail seven days after causing inconvenience to more than 20,000 passengers and incurring potential revenue loss of P75 million in combined freight and passenger operations.

Galvez said the workers viewed these recent incidents as an injustice to them, adding that if such situation continues, they will eventually lose their jobs.

Most affected are the port workers, who are dependent on the daily operations of the shipping company, he added.

They cannot understand why the fleet had to be paralyzed when the company is already negotiating to meet its financial obligations, he said.

Tsuneishi is trying to collect about P130 million which Nenaco owes for dry-docking and ship repair services.

However, Nenaco claimed in a recent statement that before it filed for a corporate rehabilitation plan, it has already paid P27 million from the total P130 million it owes Tsuneishi.