SUE government.
This is the only option left open to Asian Construction and Development Corp (Asiakonstrukt) following the dismissal of its P2.557-billion claim for unpaid work on the construction of the Freedom Ring Project awarded in 1996.
Asiakonstrukt filed the petition before the Commission on Audit asking that an order be issued to compel First Centennial Clark Corp (FCCC) to pay for its accomplishments on the project located at the Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga.
The claimant said the Freedom Ring was already 99 percent completed when work was halted. However, it received no payment from FCCC until it was dissolved on Oct. 24, 2012.
In its six-page decision, the COA en banc said it cannot take cognizance of the petition because the matter should have been filed with the courts.
The ruling was signed by COA Chairperson Gamaliel A. Cordoba and Commissioners Roland Café Pondoc and Mario G. Lipana.
The commission held that the filing of the claim was “premature” since there has been no determination of the actual liability of the FCCC.
“The settlement of FCCC’s obligation should have been brought before the disposal committee at the time of its dissolution,” the COA said.
It explained that the disposal committee had the primary responsibility of determining who are FCCC’s legitimate creditors and how much was to be distributed among them from corporate assets considering the limited remaining resources of the dissolved company and the preferential rights of creditors.
“If the same is no longer feasible, a judicial determination of the claim is the appropriate remedy. The obligation of FCCC against Asiakonstrukt, if any, should be determined by a competent court,” the commission pointed out.
On January 31, 2006, the FCCC and the Clark Development Corp (CDC) executed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) which transferred the management and operations of the Expo Pilipino to the latter. CDC also absorbed all the employees of FCCC.
But on Nov. 22, 2007, the CDC terminated the agreement with the FCCC forcing the latter to terminate its operations.
