Palace: Belgian firm's suit vs PHL premature

source: gma

Malacañang on Tuesday shrugged off a Belgian firm's decision to seek P6 billion in damages from the Aquino administration over the cancellation of the P18.7-billion Laguna Lake Rehabilitation Project.

At a press briefing, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda described the case filed by Baggerwerken Decloedt en Zoon (BDC) as premature.

“In the first place, there was no notice to proceed with the project," Lacierda said. “It would mean that no damage has been done yet to BDC."

BDC, a Belgian company with 150 years of experience in dredging, filed the case before the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes in the US after the Philippines allegedly failed to come up with a win-win solution to end the dispute over the scrapped project.

Lacierda said President Benigno Aquino III will soon respond to Belgium Prime Minister Yves Leterme's letter seeking the forging of a solution to the dispute.

BDC began operating in the Philippines 10 years ago on the basis of an investment treaty the government signed with Belgo-Luxembourg Economic Union.

Some Belgian businessmen believe the dispute could affect the bilateral ties between the Philippines and Belgium, the country’s 18th biggest trading partner, with 2010’s trade figure placed at $639.8 million.

source: gma