PUBLIC INTEREST CENTER, INC., LAUREANO T. ANGELES, AND JOCELYN P. CELESTINO, VS. HONORABLE VICENTE Q. ROXAS, IN HIS CAPACITY AS PRESIDING JUDGE, REGIONAL TRIAL COURT OF QUEZON CITY, BRANCH 227, REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, NATIONAL POWER CORPORATION, WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC CORPORATION, WESTINGHOUSE E

Ruling

WHEREFORE, it is most respectfully prayed [that]: x x x x (2) after due hearing, a preliminary mandatory injunction issue upon a bond executed to the party enjoined in an amount to be fixed by the court ordering defendants National Power Corporation and the Republic of the Philippines to stop and/or not to perform further implementation/execution of their obligation/undertaking under the null and void [B]NPP Nuclear Plant Contract between the National Power Corporation and Westinghouse executed on February 9, 1976 in Manila, Philippines; likewise, from further continuing the payments for the contracted loans/interest based thereon unless otherwise securitized; and also from further implementing/executing their undertaking/obligations under the Settlement Agreement between Republic of the Philippines-National Power Corporation and Westinghouse negotiated on October 9, 1995 and allegedly executed on October 13, 1995; (3) after hearing on the merits, judgment be rendered declaring the [B]NPP Nuclear Plant Contract executed on February 9, 1976 in Manila and all amendments thereto, together with the loan contracts based thereon, as well as the Settlement Agreement executed on October 13, 1995 by defendant Republic of the Philippines/NAPOCOR with Westinghouse, as inexistent and void ab initio ; (4) ordering defendants NAPOCOR and the REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES to reconvey/turn over the [B]NPP Nuclear Plant equipment and machineries to defendant WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC CORPORATION and/or its corporate agents and to restitute or refund to the former all payments paid for the [B]NPP Nuclear Plant to said Westinghouse, with legal interest from the filing of this complaint; (5) making the preliminary mandatory injunction permanent, and ordering defendant jointly and severally to pay plaintiffs reasonable attorneys fees pursuant to Article 2208 (2) and (11), Civil Code of the Philippines, with costs against defendants; . . . (Underscoring supplied) In essence, the Amended Complaint assailed the validity of and sought to nullify the following contracts: (a) The BNPP Contract; (b) The loan contracts entered into by the Republic and NPC to finance the construction of the BNPP; and (c) The Settlement Agreement entered into by the Republic and NPC with Westinghouse on October 13, 1995 in settlement of the claims arising from the Contract. The Republic filed a Motion to Dismiss (With Opposition to the Application for Preliminary Mandatory Injunction) [17] to petitioners Amended Complaint on the following grounds: (a) lis pendens and/or forum-shopping; (b) lack of legal capacity of petitioners to sue; and (c) lack of cause of action. [18] For its part, the NPC filed its Comment/Motion To Dismiss Plaintiffs Amended Complaint, [19] alleging that the Amended Complaint failed to state a cause of action against it. By Order of January 25, 1996, public respondent directed, among other things, petitioners and the Republic and NPC to file their respective memoranda. [20]