MANILA, Philippines - The Marikina City government filed yesterday a lawsuit against 14 officials of the local chapter of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce Inc. (PCCI) for their alleged failure to pay in full the P22 million they promised to pay to operate the Christmas night bazaar last year.
City treasurer Ricardo Castro said the PCCI-Marikina officials, led by president Eduardo Francisco, failed to pay P14 million despite several verbal and formal demands earlier this year.
Records show that Francisco entered into an agreement with the city government in October 2012 to operate a Christmas bazaar at the city hall grounds for the contract price of P22 million, to be paid in three installments.
Aside from Francisco, Castro included PCCI-Marikina executive director Len Clarino and board members Patrick Tanco, Ramadan Guimano, Luisa Buendia, Lolita Salinas, Ruby Ann Malixi, Ernesto Alcantara, William Sia, Anna Marie Dumrique, Evangeline Quimson, Noel Flores, Cerefino Bata and Joel Francisco in the lawsuit.
The case will be raffled off Thursday before judges of the Marikina City Regional Trial Court.
Marikina Mayor Del de Guzman and 14 others, including Francisco, was also charged with graft before the Office of the Ombudsman Friday. Defeated vice mayoral candidate Marion Andres and three local taxpayers filed the complaint, accusing De Guzman and other city officials of conspiring with Francisco to hold the bazaar without subjecting it to a public bidding.
Violations
Francisco had earlier claimed that the PCCI did not owe the city government any more money because it incurred losses from operating the bazaar.
Acting as a collecting officer, Castro asked the court to compel the respondents to pay actual damages of P14.1 million as well as another P500,000 for exemplary damages.
Under a memorandum of agreement (MOA), the PCCI-Marikina would advance P5 million upon signing the contract in October 2012, pay another P6 million the following month and the remaining balance of P11 million on Dec. 15, 2012.
Castro said the PCCI-Marikina paid the P5 million advance and another P2.2 million.
He also alleged that the group committed several violations of the MOA.
Castro said some vendors at the night bazaar opened in the morning instead of from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m., did not observe the contract’s provisions on cleanliness, extended their stalls beyond the designated area, and used plastic bags in violation of a city ordinance.