SC favors Quiambao group in Stradcom row

MANILA, Philippines - The group led by Cezar Quiambao is the legitimate set of executives of Stradcom Corp. (Stradcom), the information technology provider of the Land Transportation Office (LTO), the Supreme Court has ruled.

In a two-page notice of resolution released last week, the SC’s second division affirmed the rulings of the Court of Appeals (CA) last year declaring Quiambao as rightful president of Stradcom.

The SC junked the petition for review filed by the group of Bonifacio Sumbilla, who claims to head the real board of the controversial IT firm.

It held that petitioner failed to “sufficiently show any reversible error in the assailed judgment,” referring to the Aug. 7, 2012 decision and Dec. 7, 2012 resolution of the CA.

The SC upheld the decision of the CA stating that the intra-corporate complaint filed by Sumbilla against Stradcom’s board of directors and officers led by Quiambao was nothing but a nuisance suit. 

It also upheld the 2011 resolution of the Regional Trial Court ruling that the alleged officers from the Sumbilla group are not stockholders of Stradcom International Holdings Inc. and therefore had no cause of action against the Stradcom officers led by Quiambao.

The Sumbilla group, using around 40 armed men, forcibly entered the offices of Stradcom Corp. on Dec. 9, 2010 and attempted to forcibly take over the LTO’s database and oust the legal owners of Stradcom Corp., which led to a six-hour stoppage of LTO operations nationwide. 

The Department of Justice, after an investigation, ruled that there was clearly an attempt at a forcible takeover by the Sumbilla group and recommended the administrative or disciplinary actions against certain LTO officials who were found in connivance with them. 

In 2011, the LTO filed an interpleader case with the Regional Trial Court Branch 222 to withhold payment to the contractor until the dispute is resolved. Stradcom Corp. reportedly has over P4 billion in collectibles from the LTO.