Napocor loses class suit filed by former drivers, mechanics

MANILA, Philippines - The National Power Corp. (Napocor) has lost a class suit filed by former members of its Drivers and Mechanics Association (DAMA) and is being asked, through the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM), to pay P60 billion in damages.

The Supreme Court issued a resolution dated June 30, 2014 upholding the payment of P60 billion worth of settlements to members of Napocor’s DAMA who were terminated in 2003 when the state-run firm was reorganized.

In accordance with the Supreme Court’s decision, the Quezon City Regional Trial Court’s sheriffs issued notices of garnishment to PSALM, the government corporation tasked to handle Napocor’s assets and liabilities.

The petitioners comprised about 8,018 beneficiaries and based on their representation to the court, are claiming P60 billion in payables.

The lower court is also seeking P1.8 billion for “lawful fees and costs for the execution of the Supreme Court’s resolution.”

The sheriffs have issued a demand against PSALM for the immediate settlement of the same amounts of money.

PSALM president and chief executive officer Emmanuel Ledesma Jr., for his part, said the notices of garnishment on the firm’s banks, customers, and other energy industry partners, “are legally baseless, violative of due process, premature at best, and hence patently void.”

Ledesma explained that pursuant to “established jurisprudence, public policy considerations dictate that government funds dedicated for specific public uses may not be diverted for other purposes and seized under writs of garnishment to satisfy monetary judgments by courts, and that all disbursements of public funds should be covered by an appropriation from Congress, to avoid disruption of public functions.”

“Jurisprudence likewise provides that a money claim against the government, despite validation in a final and executory judgment, should first be filed with the Commission on Audit (COA) given its primary jurisdiction to examine, audit, and settle all claims against the government pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 1445 (Government Auditing Code of the Philippines),” he said.

He also said that the sheriffs’ actions are manifestly inconsistent with the express terms of the Supreme Court’s earlier resolution dated Dec. 2, 2009 on the same case.

“This 2009 resolution underscored PSALM’s right to due process,” Ledesma said.

A source from the Department of Energy (DOE) said the government, through the Office of the Solicitor General, would appeal the High Court’s decision.