AEDC asks SC to order gov’t to recognize its right over NAIA-3

A firm controlled by taipan Lucio Tan has asked the Supreme Court to order the government to allow it to operate the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 (NAIA-3).

Replying to a memorandum of the Office of the Solicitor General, the Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corp. (AEDC) said the government’s refusal to award it the project warrants the issuance of the Writ of Mandamus, especially after the Court voided the award to the Philippine International Air Terminals Co. (Piatco).

Lawyer Eduardo Ceniza, AEDC legal counsel, sought an evaluation and inspection of the NAIA-3 structure to determine the unfinished works and repairs to be done to complete the project.

The government used as defense in the $425 million-suit filed by Fraport AG against the government before the International Center for Investment Disputes (ICID) the terminal’s "sorry state" as a result of the allegedly anomalous implementation of the project, he added.

Ceniza said the importance of a Supreme Court order barring the government from negotiating, re-bidding, awarding or entering into contracts with Piatco and other third parties for the construction and operation of the terminal in question.

The Department of Transportation and Communications’ acceptance of Piatco’s matched offer as against the unchallenged proposal of AEDC was invalid for being "discriminatory" because the agency exhibited "obvious bias" in favor of the consortium whose award the Supreme Court later voided, he added.

The concession’s award to the AEDC would relieve the government of financial burden because it will assume the cost of completing the unfinished portions, renovation and repair of defective parts which would still require some US$100 million and the compensation of Piatco for the construction of the terminal estimated at $275 million, Ceniza said.

Parties in the case including Rep. Salacnib Baterina, an intervenor represented by lawyer Jose Bernas, submitted their memorandums earlier on orders of the Court, following an oral argument late last year on AEDC’s petition for the issuance of the Writ of Mandamus and the question on the legality of the expropriation proceedings.

The AEDC asked the Supreme Court to order Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza and other concerned government officials to immediately issue a notice of award of the NAIA-3 project to the original proponent, secure clearance from the National Economic and Development Authority-Investment Coordinating Council and sign the concession agreement with the AEDC. — Sandy Araneta