Court-appointed Hanjin rehabilitation receiver resigns

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT —— The Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 72 in Olongapo City is expected to appoint a new rehabilitation receiver of the cash-strapped Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Philippines after the previous court-appointed receiver resigned.

Stefani Saño has filed his irrevocable resignation before the court after what he described as “delays” in the rehabilitation proceedings.

Saño is senior deputy administrator of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.

He also cited the recent court motions filed by the creditors, raising issues of “competence, independence, and conduct” against him as a reason for his resignation.

“These accusations are bereft of factual and legal basis but the rehabilitation receiver feels that they do not merit a refutation,” Saño wrote in his resignation letter received by the court on Wednesday.

He also cited his frustration over the move of Metrobank, one of the five creditor banks, to remove him as rehabilitation receiver right after he instructed Korea Development Bank to transfer to Metrobank $45 million that represented full payment for two ships already delivered by Hanjin.

“Time is of the essence, and the precious time of the Honorable Court cannot be spent in protracted debates and arguments to resolve the issue as to who deserves to be the rehabilitation receiver,” he said.

On January 8, the company that operates at the Subic shipyard filed for corporate rehabilitation at the Olongapo City Regional Trial Court to protect it from its creditors.

The company owes $400 million in outstanding loans from the country’s banks, on top of another $900 million borrowed from lenders in South Korea./lzb