SC upholds victory of lawmaker in Harbor Center tug-of-war

The Supreme Court ( SC) has upheld the decision of the Court of Appeals (CA) declaring victory for businessman-turned party-list Rep. Michael Romero, enabling him to retake control and operation of the Harbor Center Port Terminal Inc. (HCPTI) in Tondo, Manila.

Romero won the case in the CA after its Special Fifteenth Division ruled last May 12 that his One Source Port Services is the rightful operator of the HCPTI based on its valid and legal Port Ancillary Services Contract in 2007 and Port Services Management Contract in 2014 with HCPTI, but which were unilaterally voided without valid basis by his father, construction magnate Reghis Romero II.

In a decision last Aug. 24, which was released recently, the high court dismissed the petition for certiorari filed by HCPTI and the elder Romero and denied their application for temporary restraining order and writ of preliminary injunction.

In dismissing the petition, the SC held that the CA was correct in resolving the case in favor of the younger Romero.

The SC also upheld the inhibition of CA Associate Justice Rodil Zalameda from the HCPTI case in October last year.

Romero the older and HCPTI filed a motion before the CA questioning Zalameda’s inhibition from the case, but the SC upheld Zalameda’s decision to inhibit.

“The court now resolves to affirm the CA Resolution dated 26 October 2015 and Resolution dated 08 March 2016,” the SC ruled.

In October 2014, the elder Romero, assisted by armed men, forcibly ousted One Source and took over the port terminal’s operations.

One Source filed for a temporary restraining order in November 2014 before Branch 167 of the Regional Trial Court in Pasig City, which issued a 20day TRO in favor of One Source on Dec. 1, 2014 and barred Romero II from interfering in the port terminal’s operations.

– Edu Punay