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The Supreme Court has issued an order enjoining a lower court from implementing a ruling that barred toll road operators from remitting to the government its share in their income.
In a resolution dated Aug. 4, the second division of the Supreme Court stopped the Makati Regional Trial Court from implementing an order that prohibited the implementation of the Interim Rules and Guidelines created by the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) and the Commission on Audit (COA).
The Makati court ruling specifically directed private toll road operators to remit collections to the Philippine National Construction Corp. as provided under their respective Supplemental Toll Operation Agreements (STOA).
Issued in 2012, the Interim Rules and Guidelines set the formula for the net income remittable by PNCC through the joint venture companies to the government.
These toll road companies include the Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC), Citra Metro Manila Tollways Corp. (CMMTC), South Luzon Tollways Corp. (SLTC) and Manila Toll Expressway Systems Inc. (MATES).
The lower court’s injunction order was in response to a case filed by businessman Rodolfo Cuenca, an associate of the late president Ferdinand Marcos and PNCC shareholder, in August last year against the private toll road operators.
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