Authorities have placed the mining tenement of Nationwide Development Corp. in Pantukan, Compostela Valley province under their joint protection in response to a recent attack by a group of armed men.
“We are grateful for the government’s assistance in restoring peace and order, and we are hopeful that similar incidents will be prevented in the future. We are calling for a thorough investigation of this incident so that the perpetrators can be brought to justice,” recently reelected Nadecor president Conrado Calalang, whose investor group owns 67 percent of the company, said in a statement.
A report filed by the Pantukan police showed ‘‘approximately 20 lawless armed group” believed to be a part of the private army of Nadecor minority shareholder Jose Ricafort attacked the licensed security force of Nadecor.
The Calalang group said Nadecor’s personnel did not sustain any significant injuries from the attack and maintained control of the tenement. Ricafort’s hired men fled the site upon the arrival of the authorities.
“Based on the facts and circumstances presented, there was a harassment committed by the Ricafort group, as the unlawful aggressor who perpetrated the said harassment and the Calalang group was forced to defend themselves on the said assault,” the police said in a report.
Ricafort is contesting the leadership of Nadecor with the legally-mandated and lawfully-elected board members of the company. Prior to the attack in Pantukan, Ricafort and his associates had filed several cases in court questioning the legality of the election of the company’s directors and officers.
The Court of Appeals, however, in a ruling on Feb. 18, 2013, recognized the Calalang board and executives as the rightful group to represent Nadecor.
“The annual stockholders’ meeting of Nadecor held on Aug. 15, 2011is hereby declared valid and the board of directors and officers elected thereat are declared lawfully elected. Any and all acts of the board of directors elected during the Aug. 15, 2011 Nadecor annual stockholders’ meeting are declared valid. Likewise, the writ of preliminary injunction dated June 13, 2012 is made permanent,” the appellate court said. source
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