Reghis Romero II loses bid to stop son’s control of Harbour Centre Port

THE Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) has denied the bid of businessman Reghis Romero II to  stop the Harbour Centre Port Holdings, Inc. (HCPHI) owned by his son Michael from asserting control over the port terminal Harbour Centre Port Terminal, Inc. (HCPTI).

“After carefully considering the submission/arguments of the parties in their respective pleadings filed in relation to the plaintiff’s application for the issuance of a writ of preliminary injunction, this Court is of the considered and humble view that the plaintiff had not been able to show their entitlement to the provisional relief of preliminary injunction,” QC RTC Branch 90 said.

The elder Romero wants the court to bar Michael from using two 2011 documents to prove his ownership right over the port terminal.

The documents purportedly show Romero ceded control of HCPTI as early as March 2, 2011, through two deeds of assignment that “fully and completely transferred” 689,258,653 shares in HCPHI’s favor.

The same resolution, however, denied younger Romero’s second motion to dismiss the civil suit filed his father.

“After considering the aforecited ‘second motion to dismiss vis-avis the plaintiffs’ opposition thereto…this Court is of the considered view and humble view that the aforecited ‘second motion to dismiss’ should be denied as this Court finds merit in the plaintiffs’ relevant argument raised in the aforecited opposition which will no longer be quoted herein so as not to make this order lengthy,” Judge Daway ruled.

The plea was embodied in the civil suit filed by Romero before the QC RTC seeking to nullify the deeds for being “fabricated.”

The civil complaint was first handled by QC RTC Branch 97 Presiding Judge Bernelito Fernandez who issued a 20-day temporary restraining order (TRO) last May 8, 2015 enjoining Michael from exercising, directly or indirectly, acts of ownership or rights over HCPTI.

However, barely three weeks after, Fernandez inhibited himself from the case following accusations of partiality in the proceedings.

Due to Fernandez inhibition, the hearings on the ownership case of HCPTI were postponed.

The case was eventually re-raffled to the sala of Judge Daway.