Dennis Wright discusses GGLC row with CAMI members. Photo by Bong Lacson
CLARK FIELD – “It’s not required.”
Thus, said Peregrine Development International President- CEO Dennis Wright in response to accusations that his company has no license and therefore operating illegally in the Philippines.
Wright explained that his company need not apply for an accreditation with the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB) because it’s a foreign company. “It’s a 100 percent American owned company,” he said.
During the weekly media forum “Balitaan” organized by the Capampangan in Media, Inc. (CAMI) in cooperation with the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) and the Social Security Systems (SSS) at the Bale Balita here last Friday, Wright explained that foreign companies need not be certified by PCAB.
He explained that “only Filipino companies” are required to get accreditation from PCAB. He said in Clark, foreign companies can operate even without accreditation because it is an economic zone (freeport).
“You are not required to have a PCAB within Clark,” he said. “Clark and Subic have become some sort of a hybrid because of RA 7227 and the incentives it extend to investors and foreign companies,” he added.
On top of that, Wright said, Peregrine has approved safety plans certified by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Construction Health and Safety Program received by the department on June 20, 2013.
Peregrine has the same document for its Gas Plaza Commercial Building and Infrastructure, he said. An Occupational Health and Safety Procedures Manual which was prepared by Peregrine safety manager Renato G. Babaran was also received by DOLE on January 15, 2013 in compliance with the labor department’s requirement.
Wright said as a testament to their safety concerns, they have not suffered any major accident on the project site after thousands of hours of work. He said the only mark on their safety record was when a construction worker slipped and sustained a broken leg.
“CDC does all the permitting in Clark and it has approved everything that we’ve done for six years,” he said. Nato Sumalde, vice president of Peregrine Construction and Management LLC, Inc. which is a subsidiary of Peregrine said: “We all have the necessary licenses to operate as a business under our Engineering Procurement Construction Management contract.
We do give out the engineering work to sub-contractors like the detailed design and planning of the project to Palafox Associates, the paving of the roads to RD Policarpio and the construction of the Medical City-Clark to SC Megaworld Construction among others which are all accredited with AAA licenses from the PCAB.”
Forum shopping On the issue of forum shopping, Atty. Rogelio Nicandro, retained counsel of Peregrine for the Singapore arbitration, said when Global Gateways Development Corp. initiated the arbitration proceeding in Singapore they made a lot of prejudicial actions against Peregrine.
“We were forced to get interim relief from the regional trial court, which is allowed under the rules of court,” Nicandro said. He also said “we went to the RTC to prevent any judgment in the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Act in Singapore from becoming moot and academic.
“They have already violated a lot of things… everything is in the pleadings so we ask the interim relief from the RTC in Pampanga. We asked for a TRO it was granted. But it was only for 72 hours so we ask for an extension and it was extended and then eventually we asked for an injunction and it was granted,” he explained.
“We ask the court to hold them in contempt because they (GGDC) have not really complied with the TRO nor with the extension and the injunction,” he said. “But what happened was they appealed it to the Court of Appeals and the CA issued a TRO reversing the lower court. But only to the extent of preventing, for 60 days, the implementation of the order of the lower court,” he said. It will expire on Oct. 12.
“If the CA does not issue a preliminary injunction, then then the lower court’s decision will stand which means that GGDC will be compelled to put back the funds into the Working Capital Account,” he added. Peregrine Vice President for Marketing Jeff Pradham said his company was forced to go to the RTC because “GGDC was physically taking over the (GGLC project) site.”
In the meantime GGDC President-CEO Mark Williams has maintained that Peregrine is a “terminated contractor” and has ceased to be connected with the Sabah Al-Ahmad Global Gateways Logistics City project here since their contract was terminated on April 14.
