By Paulo Loreto Lim

Bacolod City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 48 Judge Rosario Ester Orda-Caise recently ruled against SM Prime Holdings, Inc. as they sought to nullify the lease contract between Ayala Land, Inc. and the Negros Occidental provincial government over the properties surrounding the Provincial Capitol.
The judge ruled SM was forum-shopping, after it was revealed they had previously lost numerous cases of similar nature, as the court put it, “To nullify the award made by the province to Ayala Land, Inc.”
According to court records, SM claimed the government violated RA 7160, or the Local Government Code of 1991, by not conducting a bidding process for the said property.
The government responded by citing a 2012 Commission on Audit (COA) decision where SM questioned the bidding process, but the COA eventually sided with the government after finding no evidence of tampering with bidding./WDJ