AN aviation services company has asked the court to stop the termination of its contract on May 23, 2018 with the private consortium that operates the Mactan airport terminal.
“It is unfortunate that we must take this action, but we are doing so for the welfare of our almost 600 employees who will be affected,” said lawyer Earl Versoza, general manager for Visayas and Mindanao of MIASCOR Groundhandling Corp.
The Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 54 in Lapu-Lapu City received the injunction case MIASCOR filed last March 27.
Versoza said that contrary to the claims by GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. (GMCAC), a contract between the two parties has been perfected as shown by a letter of award last Jan. 12. It’s good for seven years, starting on July 1, 2018.
He said that MIASCOR has complied with all the conditions within the specified period as stated in the letter of award, and has purchased hundreds of millions worth of new equipment to meet its obligations.
However, GMCAC President Louie Ferrer clarified that the letter of award was revoked last Feb. 19 because of the directive of Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) that ground handlers doing business at Mactan airport should have unquestioned integrity and spotless records.
Ferrer said that MIASCOR had failed to disclose to GMCAC 18 out of 26 pilferage incidents in the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), “a material information in assessing MIASCOR’s capacity to perform their obligations.”
Ferrer also clarified that a letter of award is not a contract, but was a preparatory stage for entering into a contact between MIASCOR and GMCAC.
“There is no truth to the claim that MIASCOR was responsible for 18 out of 33 (not 26) alleged pilferage cases during the first two years as reported by the MIAA. We have already written MIAA a letter requesting them to share their findings but we have yet to get a response,” Versoza said.
He added that based on their records, only two pilferage cases can be attributed to MIASCOR and the company acted quickly, together with airport authorities, to address the situation.
Versoza said that MIASCOR has demonstrated exemplary performance in Cebu for the past 27 years with no recorded cases of pilferage. It handles over 70 percent of MCIAA’s ground handling operations. (EOB)