TRO stops Surigao City from selling national gov’t mining equipment

The Aquino administration’s Privatization and Management Office has obtained a Court of Appeals Temporary Restraining Order against the planned sale of alleged national government assets by the City government of Surigao City. 

 

The Privatization and Management Office, or PMO, said the machineries and equipment in Nonoc Island are part of the restructured payment by Philnico Industrial Corp. for the government's share in the Nickel refinery plant Nonoc Mining and Industrial Corp. and thus cannot be put on the auction block.

 

The national government claims that the equipment and machineries form part of the it’s assets turned over by Philnico. The government is claiming at least $300 million from Philnico.

 

The national government had acquired the Nonoc Mining and Industrial Corp. in 1999. 

Surigao City had planned to sell the machineries Monday, July 16.

 

The planned auction has been the subject of litigation since August 2011, said the PMO. 

 

According to the City Government of Surigao, the real property taxes of certain machineries and equipment in Nonoc Island amounted to some P200 million from 2000 to 2010. 

 

However, the Department of Finance and the PMO said these assets became the property of the national government in August 2011 and are exempt from real property taxes. 

 

Despite the declaration of the national government, the city government has persisted in assessing real property taxes and had scheduled a sale of the assets.

 

The City Government initially scheduled the auction of the properties in September last year but the government, through the PMO, filed a Petition for Prohibition. 

 

“The CA Resolution also ordered the City Government to show cause why a Writ of Preliminary Injunction should not be issued against it,” the Finance department said in a statement Monday. — DVM, GMA News