Shell questions court order to open books for govt scrutiny

MANILA, Philippines - Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation, one of the three biggest oil companies in the country, has refused to open its books for government auditing. In a three-page manifestation, the firm questioned the validity of the order of the Manila Regional Trial Court for the three oil firms to open their books for scrutiny by three government agencies. The manifestation was filed Tuesday afternoon before the sala of Judge Silvino Pampilo Jr. of the Manila RTC Branch 26 by Shell's counsels Jannet C. Regalado and Erwin Orocio. Pampilo granted the motion filed by the Social Justice System (SJS) to open and examine the books of accounts of Shell, Chevron Philippines (formerly Caltex), and Petron Corporation to establish if they are engaged in monopoly. In the order, the court said the auditing must be done by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Bureau of Customs (BOC), and the Commission on Audit (CA). Shell expressed fear that the said government agencies might use the order “to harass respondents or disrupt their operations and deprive them of their right to peacefully conduct their business." It also said that an audit would be redundant since its books had already been scrutinized by the Department of Justice-Department of Energy Task Force, which it said is the proper government body to conduct such investigation. Citing these reasons, PSPC said it “hereby manifests that it is questioning the legality and validity of the Order and shall avail of the remedies." The firm also noted that examining their books is beyond the power of BOC, BIR and CA. - GMANews.TV