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By Jomar Canlas, Reporter
THE Court of Appeals junked the
plea of a private corporation to execute the contract Catholic
Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Net Corp. for the
payment of P20-million worth of office supplies.
In a two-page resolution of the
court’s 12th Division, under the ponencia of Associate Justice
Edgardo Cruz, it ruled that the petition of Spinbase International
Corp. is not yet final and executory and must be filed with its
court of origin, the Mandaluyong City Regional Trial Court (RTC).
The appellate court has denied
the petition of Spinbase for lack of merit. Besides Justice Cruz,
other magistrates who concurred in the ruling are Justices Fernanda
Lampas-Peralta and Normandie Pizarro.
“If, as acclaimed by appellee,
the lower court’s decision is already final and executory as
against CBCP NET Corp., then the motion for execution should have
been lodged in the court of origin. Consequently, for lack of merit,
the motion for execution is denied,” the ruling says.
The case reached the CA after
Spinbase filed a “motion for issuance of partial writ of
execution” after the lower court ruled in favor of Spinbase and
the said corporation contends that the said decision “became final
and executory on March 29, 2006, as against CBCP Net Corp. because
the latter received said decision on March 14, 2006, but no appeal
was taken by it.
The court opined that the case
should be lodged, not before them, but before the lower court. But
since the reply brief was already filed by CBCP it just recommended
that a particular appellate justice must be assigned to decide the
case on its merits.
The case stemmed after Spinbase,
led by its president Renato Razon, charged CBCP with its alleged
failure to pay P19,787,644 in debts to a furniture manufacturing
firm.
The case which was docketed
before the Mandaluyong City RTC as MC02-190 lodged by Spinbase
claimed to have delivered modular workstations, office tables and
chairs involving the said amount to the CBCP.
The said office supplies were
entered into during the tenure of CBCP President Oscar Cruz, which
were intended for use by CBCPNet, a company created by CBCP to serve
as an Internet Service Provider (ISP) and systems integrator for the
whole Catholic Church, schools and organizations in the Philippines.
The ISP capability will help the
Catholic Church to use Internet technologies for evangelization and
information dissemination, among others.
But the CBCP or CBCPNet allegedly
did not pay the said amount even if the said amount has been long
due and demandable.
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