Palace disappointed with PIATCO appeal

Although disappointed, Malacañang has recognized the right of the Philippine International Air Terminals Co. Inc (PIATCO) to appeal the ruling of a Pasay court setting about $176 million as the ‘just compensation’ for the government’s expropriation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3. Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said PIATCO is well within its right to exhaust all legal remedies to pursue their claims against the government. “We are disappointed that they filed the case. But we recognize their action as a matter of their right to exhaust all the legal remedies," he said. Government lawyers will soon prepare to face PIATCO in the Court of Appeals (CA). “We have to go through the procedure of defending ourselves again in the higher court. But the good thing is, at the very least, the judgment was in our favor, and the burden would be on the part of PIATCO to justify their claim of $800 million" Lacierda said. PIATCO has formally informed Pasay Regional Trial Court Branch 117 that it will appeal to the CA. PIATCO said the award is ‘unacceptable’ and a ‘mere pittance.’ The court-approved award is roughly 21 percent of the $846 million PIATCO wants as compensation for building the NAIA 3. The amount of the award is closer to the $149 million the Office of the Solicitor General asked the judge to grant. PIATCO vice president for legal and public affairs Moises Tolentino Jr said they will soon file the appropriate pleadings before the CA. Lacierda expressed hopes that PIATCO “will be able to see things through based on the findings of the court in the valuation of the claim and see that its position of $800M has no basis." The national government took over the operations of NAIA-3 in 2007 after charges of mismanagement and serious doubts were raised on the validity of the original contract. - Amita O. Legaspi/ELR/KBK, GMA News