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Sunday, January 01, 2006
Judge in airport terminal case slain
MANILA -- The judge handling the expropriation case between the government and the Philippine International Air Terminals Company (Piatco) was killed following an ambush in Bacoor town in Cavite, about 17 kilometers south of Manila, police said Saturday.
Regional Trial Court Judge Henrick Gingoyon of Pasay City earlier ordered the government to pay Piatco, the contractor of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3, a total of P3 billion for constructing the said airport.
The 53-year-old Gingoyon was walking toward his house in Soldier's Hills Village, Molino 6 when ambushed by two unidentified suspects on board a motorcycle, said Senior Superintendent Benjardi Mantele, Cavite provincial police director.
Mantele said Gingoyon suffered four gunshot wounds on his body and was declared dead on arrival by attending physicians in nearby Imus General Hospital.
Investigators are still determining the identity of the assailants and verifying if the incident is related to the controversial Piatco case.
In January last year, Gingoyon ordered the government to pay P62.3 million as initial payment to Piatco before it could take over the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal-3.
Earlier this month, the High Court upheld Gingoyon's ruling and ordered the government to pay Piatco a total of P3 billion for constructing the said airport.
The consortium of German firm Fraport AG and its Filipino partners, Piatco, built a $650 million terminal in Manila under a deal with the government in 1998.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had rescinded the government's contract with Piatco in November 2002 due to alleged onerous provisions in the deal, prompting the company to seek compensation before local and foreign courts.
Fraport AG had demanded compensation of $465 million, and the case is currently subject to international arbitration.
The government has since taken over the terminal.
Newly installed Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban condemned the killing of Gingoyon and urged police authorities to investigate and immediately arrest the culprits.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez on the other hand ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to assist the Cavite police in identifying the killers of Gingoyon.(JFF/Sunnex)
(January 1, 2006 issue)
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