Megawide says court affirms dismissal of anti-dummy case

MEGAWIDE Construction Corp. announced on Thursday that it received a court order denying the Lapu-Lapu City prosecutor’s motion for reconsideration in the anti-dummy law violation case filed against the company’s officials.

The order, dated Sept. 27, was issued by the Regional Trial Court of Lapu-Lapu City, Branch 53, Megawide said in a statement. The order also “confirms the dismissal of the case,” the company added.

The case was filed against some officials of Megawide in their capacity as directors of GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. (GMCAC), operator of Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA).

Megawide officials involved in the case are Edgar B. Saavedra, chairman of the board of directors, chief executive officer, and president; Manuel Louie B. Ferrer, vice-chairman of the board and executive director for infrastructure development; Oliver Y. Tan, director; and Jez G. Dela Cruz, vice-president for corporate finance and planning.

According to the company, the order affirmed that Republic Act (RA) No. 11659, which amends the Public Service Act, excludes airports from the list of what is classified as a public utility; “thereby, removing the applicability of the nationality requirement to GMCAC in operating the Mactan-Cebu International Airport.”

“The order also stated that applying RA No. 11659 retroactively has removed any criminal liability that was wrongfully attached to the Megawide respondents. Given that RA No. 11659 is beneficial to the accused, the order emphasized that its retroactive application is warranted,” it added.

At the same time, the company announced that it also received a certificate of finality from the court “certifying that the order was issued and declaring that the order has become final and executory on  Oct. 14, 2022.” — Arjay L. Balinbin