Cyberbay Corp. is not backing down from its fight to recover P1 billion in costs and expenses incurred in connection with a reclamation project along Manila Bay.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Cyber Bay said subsidiary Central Bay Reclamation and Development Corp. received the Supreme Court decision dated April 5, 2022 dismissing its petition for certiorari and affirming the Commission on Audit’s ruling way back in May 2019.
The COA en banc previously rejected Cyber bay’s motion for reconsideration in June 2020 or a year after it ruled the property transfer illegal (only Congress can enter into such deals involving more than P100,000) and that Cyber was only entitled to P715 million in compensation.
Cyber Bay then elevated the case to the SC to enforce the 2016 compromise deal with the Philippine Reclamation Authority which agreed to transfer 10.2 hectares of property to its subsidiary as reimbursement for the P1 billion it coughed out for the aborted project.
“The Supreme Court declared the compromise agreement between Central Bay and the Philippine Reclamation Authority void ab initio for being contrary to the 1987 Constitution, Executive Order No. 292, Administrative Code of 1987, and the Government Auditing Code of the Philippines,” Cyber Bay said.
The company invested heavily in the reclamation project including cash advances given to the Philippine Reclamation Authority, the cost for the relocation of informal settlers in the area, and the funds to run the operations of Central Bay from 1995 to 2002.
Central Bay said intends to file a motion for reconsideration on or before December 16.
Despite the nullification of the deal, the company’s management still intends to continue its operations and utilize any reimbursement that it may obtain from the PRA to fund other business and development ventures.
Cyberbay said it failed to honor its loan commitments and incurred significant losses from accumulating interest costs and penalties. It managed to pare down its losses to P2.1 million last year from P2.3 million in 2020 through cost-saving measures.
According to Cyberbay, its ability to continue as a going concern will depend on the recoverability of Central Bay’s claims for reimbursement from PRA.