Makati court told to hear govt plea vs Mega Pacific

MANILA, Philippines - The Court of Appeals has ordered the Makati regional trial court to hear the petition filed by the government seeking to recover losses from an allegedly fraudulent poll automation deal with Mega Pacific e-Solutions, Inc. in 2004, GMANews.TV learned Wednesday. Earlier, the Makati RTC denied the government’s writ of preliminary attachment on the property of Mega Pacific eSolutions Inc. (MPEI), manufacturers of the mothballed automated counting machines that have been declared by the Supreme Court as unfit for use in the elections. Government lawyers had filed the petition at the Makati RTC in a bid to recover the P1.2 billion it paid to Mega Pacific for the Commission on Elections’ automation program, which has been scrapped by the High Court due to bidding anomalies. In reversing the Makati RTC’s ruling, the appellate court said the hearing would also allow Mega Pacific to present evidence to dispute the government’s contention that the firm resorted to fraud in order to bag the automation contract. The CA noted that the lower court arbitrarily denied the government’s prayer for the issuance of a writ of attachment without considering established facts that Mega Pacific resorted to fraud in order to bag the automation contract. The appellate court said that it is only appropriate that the case be remanded back to the lower court for reception of additional evidence. The CA further explained that the government should present proof of the intent of Mega Pacific to defraud the Comelec. “Petitioner must adduce proof that this fraud as the ultimate cause which induced Comelec into giving its consent in executing the automation contract," the Court ruled. The legal dispute began with the enactment of Republic Act No. 8436, which authorized the Comelec to use an automated election system for the May 2004 elections and all other subsequent local and national elections. Mega Pacific became interested in the project and as lead company and formed the Mega Pacific Consortium (MPC). Mega Pacific then submitted its bid proposal to Comelec. Comelec evaluated various bid offers, and found Mega Pacific and another company, Total Information Management Corporation, eligible to participate in the next phase of the bidding process. After due assessment, the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) recommended that the project be awarded to Mega Pacific. Thereafter, on June 2, 2003, Comelec and Mega Pacific eSolutions Inc. executed the Automated Counting and Canvassing Project Contract for the aggregate amount of P1,248,949,088.00,9. The firm agreed to supply and deliver 1,991 units of automated counting machines and such other equipment and materials necessary for the computerized electoral system. The project, however, did not push through after the Information Technology Foundation of the Philippines asked the Supreme Court to stop the project, saying that Mega Pacific was ineligible to bag the contract. In its decision on January 13, 2004, the Supreme Court ruled that there was grave abuse of discretion against Comelec for awarding the automation project to MPC and executing the said contract with MPEI in violation of the law and in reckless disregard of its own bidding rules and procedure. With this development, petitioner Republic of the Philippines, as represented by the Office of the Solicitor General, demanded from MPEI the return of payments, which Comelec had already tendered. But Mega Pacific filed a suit for damages before the Makati RTC, arguing that notwithstanding the nullification of the automation contract, Comelec was still bound to pay for the 1,991 counting machines it received pursuant to the automation contract. - GMANews.TV