INQUIRER file photo
The lease contract granted by Nayong Pilipino Foundation (NPF) to a Hong Kong casino developer is void from the start, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said in its finding submitted to Malacanang.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the DOJ “characterized the contract as being void ab initio (void from the start).”
“According to the Secretary of Justice, the contract of Landing with Nayong Pilipino is a Build-Operate-Transfer [BOT] contract disguised as a lease contract. Because it is a BOT project, it should have complied with the BOT law including public bidding,” Roque said in a Palace briefing.
“This, of course, rebuts the public advertisement paid for by former officials of the Nayong Pilipino,” he added.
The sacked NPF officials on Wednesday released an open letter published in newspapers insisting the legality of a lease contract with a casino developer.
READ: Palace slams ‘open defiance’ of sacked Nayong Pilipino execs
Under the lease contract, Hong Kong-based Landing International Development Ltd will build a $1.5-billion casino resort on Nayong Pilipino property in Entertainment City.
President Rodrigo Dutert had earlier described the contract as flawed” and “gravely disadvantageous.”
“Again, I reiterate, the DOJ has joined the President in concluding the contract is void ab initio,” Roque said.
Duterte on August 7 fired all NPF board members over the “grossly disadvantageous” 70-year property lease contract. /jpv
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