SUMMARY
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MANILA, Philippines – An injunction case seeking to stop the bidding of the P17.5-billion Mactan-Cebu International Airport project has been dismissed, according to the transportation department.
In a statement on Friday, September 20, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) said the Mandaluyong Regional Trial Court (RTC) dismissed the suit due to lack of jurisdiction.
“According to the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), which acted as legal counsel for the transport department in that case, the Regional Trial Court of Mandaluyong City dismissed the suit due to lack of jurisdiction, “ DOTC said.
On August 22, Hagonoy, Bulacan resident and taxpayer Danilo B. Cruz filed at the Mandaluyong RTC a petition for temporary restraining order (TRO) and/or writ of preliminary injunction against DOTC’s Bids and Awards Committee (BAC).
In his petition, Cruz said DOTC had committed some “serious and glaring violations of the law” in conducting one-on-one meetings with each of the 7 prequalified bidders.
DOTC spokesperson Michael Arthur Sagcal stressed that the dismissal only proves that the bidding process within the agency has always been transparent.
“That only goes to show that this was yet another baseless petition against us. As we have said time and again, the DOTC is committed to conducting an open, fair, and transparent bidding process, fully within the bounds of law,” Sagcal said.
Delayed project
DOTC secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya has earlier said that bidding for the airport project will push through as planned on August 28 despite the injunction case.
The August 28 bidding, however, was deferred by the agency to revise the concession agreement after a series of consultations with pre-qualified bidders who asked for more time to finalize their proposals.
On Thursday, September 19, the DOTC announced that concession terms have been changed, and that bidding is set on November 15.
The project
The Cebu airport expansion project is one of the big ticket infrastructure projects under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) scheme.
It involves the upkeep of old and new facilities and the construction of a new passenger terminal with a capacity of 8 million passengers per year.
The airport’s existing terminal has a capacity of 4.5 million passengers per year.
It is the country’s second busiest gateway, next to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila. – Rappler.com
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