MEGAWIDE Construction Corp. said on Tuesday that a court in Cebu had dismissed the criminal case filed against its officials for the alleged violation of the Anti-Dummy Law in connection with the operation of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA).
“We received today, June 27, 2022, from the Regional Trial Court of Lapu-Lapu City, Branch 68, the Omnibus Order dated June 14, 2022, dismissing the criminal case” against the company’s officials in their capacity as directors of the GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. (GMCAC), operator of MCIA, it said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.
Megawide officials involved in the case include Manuel Louie B. Ferrer, executive director for infrastructure development and chief corporate affairs and branding officer; Jez G. Dela Cruz, vice-president for corporate finance and planning; Edgar B. Saavedra, chief executive officer and president; and Oliver Y. Tan, director.
“The dismissal of the case was necessitated by the enactment of Republic Act No. 11659 (amended Public Service Act or PSA), signed into law last March 21, 2022, which clearly excluded airport operations and maintenance from the definition of a public utility; thereby, removing the applicability of the nationality restriction to GMCAC in operating the Mactan Cebu International Airport,” it said.
The company noted that the amended PSA has “completely eradicated any alleged violation of the Anti-Dummy Law.”
The newly signed law “applies to the Megawide respondents due to [its] retroactive effect,” it added.
In March, the company said that the officials involved had filed a motion to quash the case, citing the amended PSA.
According to the company, a joint resolution issued by the Office of the Ombudsman in July last year “found probable cause” against its directors and officers, who are also directors of GMCAC, “who all allegedly acted in conspiracy with one another, for violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.”
“The respondents allegedly acted with a common purpose and intention to allow foreign nationals to perform executive functions, particularly to manage and operate the Mactan Cebu International Airport in violation of the Anti-Dummy Law,” Megawide said, referring to the Office of the Ombudsman’s joint resolution.
The company maintained that it complies “with all the applicable laws, rules, and regulations covering the Concession Agreement for MCIA, and the government’s Public-Private Partnership program, since the project was officially awarded to the Megawide-GMR consortium in 2014.” — Arjay L. Balinbin
