SC seeks comments from OSG, Piatco, Japanese firms on MRs

The Supreme Court has ordered parties in the squabble over the construction of the the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 to comment on various reconsideration pleas related to the case.

In a media briefing, SC Public Information Office chief and spokesman Theodore Te said the tribunal sitting en banc ordered the Philippine International Air Terminals Company Inc (Piatco) and Japanese subcontractors Takenaka Corp. and Asahikosan Corp. to respectively comment on a motion for reconsideration filed by the Office of the Solicitor General.

The NAIA Terminal 3 was built by Piatco, a consortium which in turn subcontracted Japanese firms Takenaka and Asahikosan for the project in 1997.

The OSG filed its MR in connection with the SC's September 8, 2015 decision ordering the government to pay Piatco over US$500 million, including interest, in just compensation.

In its reconsideration plea, the OSG insisted that Piatco was entitled to a just compensation of only US$104.52 million, without any interest and considering a penalty on PIATCO, for building the NAIA Terminal 3.

Meanwhile, the OSG, for its part, was also asked to comment on Piatco's and the two Japanese firms' own motions for reconsideration.

The amount of just compensation as of Dec. 21, 2004, when the complaint was filed was $325,932,221.26.  The SC deducted $59,932,221.26 from that amount, accounting for the "proffered value" which the government had paid earlier.

The SC said the resulting difference of $267,493,617.26 will be charged with a 12-percent straight interest per annum or $32.099 million a year from September 11, 2006 to June 30, 2013, for a total of $218,450,677.9 million interest for the six years and nine months.

Then from July 1 until full payment, the government will pay an additional 6 percent interest per annum or $16,049,617.0356.

The high tribunal ruled that Piatco, as the owner of the NAIA International Passenger Terminal III (IPT 3) shall solely receive the just compensation.

But, the Japanese firms had insisted that the just compensation should not be paid directly to Piatco. —KBK, GMA News