Group to ask SC to nullify P728M IBC 13-RII Builders deal 

An anti-corruption group is set to file a petition with the Supreme Court seeking to nullify a joint venture agreement (JVA) for the development of state-owned TV network Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation's (IBC-13) property in Quezon City.

The Philippine Crusader for Justice (PCJ) headed by Joe Villanueva said his group will formally ask the high tribunal to void the contract between IBC-13 and RII Builders Inc-Primestate Ventures, saying the Office of the Ombudsman has found the deal injurious to the government.
 

“This deal is grossly disadvantageous to the government. This venture is one big scam,” Villanueva told reporters on Tuesday. He said they are still preparing the petition and would file it once it is finished.

 

IBC-13 and RII-Primestate signed the agreement on March 24, 2010 to develop 36,401 of the 41,401 square meters of IBC-13 property in Broadcast City, Capitol Hills, Diliman, Quezon City. The plan involves the construction of a residential complex. The remaining 5,000 square meters will house two buildings for IBC-13.

 

Villanueva said under the joint venture deal, RII Builders originally will pay IBC-13 P728 million.

 

The Ombudsman filed a criminal case in 2013 against former IBC-13 executives and Primestate for violation of Republic Act No. 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act), and Falsification of Public Document under Article 171 of the Revised Penal Code.

 

According to the Ombudsman, the JVA caused undue injury to the government in the amount of P254,843,401 representing the difference between the Commission on Audit (COA) valuation and the JVA valuation of the 36,401 square meter property, which gave unwarranted benefits to RII-Primestate.

 

It said the agreement between IBC-13 and RII-Primestate is not only grossly disadvantageous but also invalid and illegal for failure to follow the guidelines and procedures in forging a JVA between the government and private entities. It said there was evident bad faith and manifest partiality in favor of RII-Primestate to the detriment of IBC-13.

 

IBC-13 and Primestate executives, the Ombudsman said, approved the agreement in haste, with misrepresentations in the clauses, and over the reservations made by the Presidential Commission on Good Government, Office of the Government Corporate Counsel, and Office of the Solicitor General.
 

In its 2011 report, the Commission on Audit said the land contributed to the JVA was undervalued at only P9,999.99 per square meter when it could have been appraised at a much higher rate of P22,000 per square meter.
 

COA added that the agreement in the JVA was in favor of RII Builders Inc-Primestate Ventures Inc. as IBC-13 would only be left with 5,000 square meters for its Broadcast City “with a relatively small 2-storey commercial building which may earn a small income.”

 

“Being the main state auditor, the COA should report to the public its latest report on the disadvantageous deal,” Villanueva said. - JJ, GMA News