The government's pronouncements that NAIA 3 will finally be operating this year has led to doubts that the suspected criminals behind the questionable project will ever go to jail or pay penalties for violating the country's laws.

Mike Defensor, head of Task Force NAIA 3, said that, if needed, he will pursue compromise agreements with officials of the Philippine International Air Terminals Corp. (PIATCO), the proponents of the failed build-operate-transfer project, to facilitate the opening of the terminal.

"I am willing to sit down with Piatco and ask them how we can settle this so we can all move on. We already need to make NAIA 3 productive," Defensor told abs-cbnnews.com/Newsbreak.

A compromise agreement between the government and PIATCO will likely strain legal efforts to prosecute and punish individuals and groups named in various court cases here and abroad.

Going through the lengthy legal process has, to an extent, resulted in the almost six-years mothballing of what was then poised to be the most modern airport in Southeast Asia.

The compromise agreement between the government and Piatco will also pave the way for faster affirmation of the government's right to take over and operate the air terminal.

Moises Tolentino, PIATCO's counsel, told abs-cbnnews.com/Newsbreak, "We have always been open to a compromise with the government. But they don't seem to know what they want."

A few months after work on the terminal building ceased, then presidential consultant for special projects, Gloria Tan Climaco, was facilitating a compromise between the Cheng family of PIATCO and their foreign partner, Fraport, to give up their stake in the project. The talks bogged down.

Way back in 2003, the government also has a Task Force NAIA 3, then headed by former Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima. Aviation stakeholders, including the tourism department, were also part of the team. They, too, sought PIATCO for a compromise agreement with the government. Nothing came out of it as the cases against PIATCO officials, former government officials, and individuals, were progressing at the justice department, Ombudsman's office, and various courts.

But almost six years after, and with the embarrassment brought about by the opening delays, the Arroyo government seems bent to get things going at the NAIA 3, no matter what.

Two weeks before Defensor was tasked to head Task Force NAIA 3, the Supreme Court denied the bid of the Anti-Money Laundering Council to open the web of bank accounts that may have been used to move money used to bribe former government officials and private individuals into approving the NAIA 3 deal or some aspects of it.

In 2003, the Supreme Court nullified PIATCO's franchise, while in 2006, the Pasay regional trial court allowed the government to expropriate the terminal building.

These, however, have not yet resulted in the grant of a legal personality to NAIA 3's operator, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), which would allow it to claim ownership of the terminal.

The Supreme Court granted MIAA a writ of possession after MIAA paid a P3 billion downpayment, but that only allowed MIAA to conduct repair and completion works on the building and its equipment systems.

What MIAA needs is a writ of ownership so it could already award concessions, lease part of the facility to others, and enter into commercial agreements with the airlines.

The airlines, especially the foreign-owned ones, are bound to conduct business only with entities with a legal personality, to protect their investments.

While the foreign and domestic airlines are respectively conducting business at the dilapidated and overcrowded NAIA 1 and 2, transferring their operations to NAIA 3 would still cost them.

The only remedy is for the government to pay "just compensation" to PIATCO, which spent for the construction of the government-expropriated facility.

A court-appointed committee is still determining the market value of the facility, and there are still questions on the choice of engineering firm to conduct the valuation process.

PIATCO is claiming in a recovery case it filed at the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce in Singapore that it spent $565 million. The Philippine government is questioning this.

The government's counsels are asserting that PIATCO engaged in corruption and illegal acts to connive with government officials, thus bloating PIATCO's cost.

The compromise agreement would fast-track talks on how much "just compensation" the government will pay PIATCO.

"We don't have to fight and debate about the compensation [to PIATCO]," Defensor said.

"A mutually-acceptable and competent third party can compute and validate how much is the airport, its potential earnings, interest earned, and so on. We will be transparent and make sure everyone is treated fairly," he added. (abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak)

READ RELATED STORIES:
• Palace, Congress on collision course with SC on money-launder case
• A Commercial Compromise: A less-than-perfect solution may be the only way to open NAIA-3
• Flying Blind: Incoherent policies and failed quick fixes mark Arroyo's response to NAIA 3

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