Manila Standard Today
THE Court of Appeals has rejected an agreement in 2003 in which Manila Electric Co. promised to pay state-run National Power Corp. P14.3 billion for the electricity that it failed to buy from National Power under a contract.
The appellate court’s First Division overturned a ruling by a Pasig City court saying the deal between the two companies was “legal and binding,” and instead found for the Office of the Solicitor General, which says the deal is unfair because Manila Electric owes National Power more than P14.3 billion.
The Solicitor General also claims that the deal is illegal because National Power failed to submit it for its review as provided in the power producer’s charter.
The appellate court ordered the Pasig court to stop conducting further proceedings and issuing orders over the case “until the merits of the case have been fully adjudicated....”
In 1995 Manila Electric signed a deal in which it agreed to buy electricity from National Power for 10 years, but at some point it violated the contract when it stopped buying electricity from National Power and instead bought power from other producers.
National Power sued Manila Electric, but in 2003 they agreed to settle and then signed a deal in which Manila Electric promised to pay National Power P14.3 billion to compensate it for the electricity that it failed to buy under their contract.
The Office of the Solicitor General then put its foot down. Rey E. Requejo
No comments:
Post a Comment