Thursday, August 16, 2007 High court upholds rejection of oil explorer's claim
THE Supreme Court (SC) has affirmed a Sandiganbayan ruling that denied the amended complaint filed by stockholders of Oriental Petroleum Mineral Corporation, the country's first oil exploration firm, in a civil suit in its bid to recover over four billion shares sequestered by the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG).
Associate Justice Presbiterio Velasco Jr. of the SC Second Division turned down a petition filed by Oriental shareholders Vivian Locsin, Yao Shiong Shio, Oscar Manuel, Ramon Linan, Paz Flores and Sixto Racelis sought to reverse the June 21, 1989 resolution of the Sandiganbayan First Division denying their prayer for preliminary injunction seeking to enjoin the PCGG from confiscating their shares in favor of government.
The subject shares were believed to have been wrested by former President Ferdinand Marcos and his cronies through "systematic abuse of power," the petitioners claimed.
Citing Section 3, Rule 10 of the 1997 Revised Rules of Civil Procedure, the SC held that the trial court is accorded "sound discretion" to grant or deny the admission of any proposed substantial amendments to a pleading.
The rule, according to the SC, expressly provides that the proposed amendments are refused admittance if it appears that these are substantial and were made to delay the case.
"The proposed amendments carefully considered the original complaint, particularly the addition of defendants John Does or whoever succeeded private respondents as officers and directors of the board of Oriental, and the proposed new factual allegations common to all causes of action. We agree with the Sandiganbayan that the proposed amendments are substantial," the court ruled.
Named respondents in the case were PCGG, Asset Privatization Trust, Ultrana Minerals Corporation, Independent Realty Corporation, Performance Investment Corporation, Mid-Pasig Land Development Corporation, Piedras, several private individuals and Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC), which was impleaded in its capacity as the transfer agent of Oriental.
APT has been replaced by Privatization and Management Office as party to the case pursuant to Executive Order (EO) 323 issued by then President Joseph Estrada creating PMO to take over the powers and functions of APT.
The SC sustained the Sandiganbayan's reasoning that the amended complaint substantially altered the allegations made in the originally complaint and that right of the petitioners over the shares "are not clear to justify a restraint upon the PCGG in acting on the shares," which they admitted to be ill-gotten.
The anti-graft court also took into consideration the fact that the 19 defendants have already filed their answers. "To entertain the amended pleading will put back the case to square one," the SC added.
Court records showed that on May 5, 1988, Oriental, which gave the country its first oil discovery in 1976, filed a complaint docketed as Civil Case 0041 for declaration of nullity of PCGG deed of sale, sequestration orders with prayer for issuance of temporary restraining order and/or preliminary injunction.
On May 25, the Sandiganbayan issued a resolution denying petitioners' plea for an injunctive writ prompting it to file an amended complain on July 6, 1988.
On July 27, 1988, a notice of dismissal was filed by the petitioners for both the original and amended complaints, which were approved by the anti-graft court on July 28, 1988.
The next same day, the petitioners filed a new a complaint before the Sandiganbayan identical to the amended complaint in Civil Case 0041. The second complaint was docketed as Civil Case 0042 and was raffled to the Third Division.
On Aug. 24, 1988, the SC Third Division issued a resolution taking into account the alleged forum shopping of petitioners and the similarity of the new complaint with the original amended complaint.
Pursuant to the resolution, the complaint was tossed back to the Sandiganbayan First Division.
In Civil Case 0042, the petitioners alleged that Oriental and stockholders were victims of the late Marcos and his cronies who three blocks of Oriental stocks totaling to 4,512,230,000 shares at various times either without or for inadequate or unlawful considerations.
These shares were allegedly transferred to Independent Realty Corporation, Performance Investment Corporation, Mid-Pasig Development Corporation, Piedra Petroleum Corporation and Fabian Ver.
With the sequestration of the disputed shares, petitioners alleged that PCGG took control of the board of directors and the management of Oriental. They claimed that the PCGG nominees set into motion a grand scheme to raid and systematically plunder Oriental.
The petitioners filed the amended complaint, alleging additional facts in order to supply missing data which had resulted in the denial of their petition for the issuance of the writ of preliminary injunction.
On March 21, 1990, the Sandiganbayan rejected the petitioners' bid to admit the amended complaint prompting them to elevate the case before the high court. (ECV/Sunnex)
