Court lifts TRO vs contract with Ayala Land

BACOLOD CITY ,Philippines  - The Court of Appeals-20th Division in Cebu City has lifted the 60-day temporary restraining order (TRO) it had issued against Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. and provincial government officials on the negotiated sale and lease of the 7.7-hectare prime property in this city to Ayala Land.

The TRO, which was supposed to end Oct. 4, had been granted to SM Prime Holdings, which claimed it was the winning bidder thus opposing the awarding of the negotiated sale and lease to Ayala.

The TRO had prevented the provincial government officials from signing the contract with Ayala Land, which proposed to develop the property with about P6 billion in investments.

The dispositive portion of the CA Order, promulgated Sept. 6, states that it denied SM Prime's prayer for preliminary injunction, and lifted the TRO it issued last July 27. The order also directed SM Prime and the provincial government officials to submit their respective memoranda within 15 days after which it will be deemed submitted for decision.

The CA decision was penned by Associate Justice Victoria Isabel Paredes and concurred in by Associate Justices Edgardo de Los Santos and Ramon Paul Hernando.

SM Prime had refused to join the negotiated bidding on July 15, saying it had won in the second bidding on July 7 since it supposedly entered a higher bid than Ayala.

The provincial government's committee on awards and disposal of real estate, however, declared the July 7 bidding a failure, saying both SM Prime and Ayala Land had failed to meet the floor price for the property approved by the Commission on Audit.

After the committee declared Ayala Land the winner in the July 15 negotiated bidding, SM Prime sought the TRO to halt the negotiated sale and lease.

The CA order was believed to pave the way for the Capitol to proceed with the sale and lease of its property, a transaction amounting to almost P3.505 billion.

Marañon said he was happy with the court's decision, saying the sale and lease of the property to Ayala Land could now proceed.

"It is a vindication of our position. We followed all legal procedures in the conduct of the bidding and SMPHI self proclaimed itself the winner," the governor said.