ILIGAN City ― The Construction Industry Arbitration Commission (CIAC) has issued a “Writ of Execution” to enforce its ruling in the case surrounding the controversial Palao Market project in Barangay Palao, city officials said.
City Legal Officer Roberto Padilla disclosed the order to reporters, underscoring the ongoing dispute over the market, which remains unfinished nearly three years after its scheduled completion on Dec. 31, 2021.
The project, initiated in February 2020 under then-Mayor Celso Regencia with a budget of P590 million and no external loans, has faced significant delays despite seven extensions.
Current Mayor Frederick Siao’s administration terminated contractor BM Marketing on April 24, 2023, citing 35 project lapses.
BM Marketing subsequently filed a case against the city with the CIAC after the local Regional Trial Court ruled it lacked jurisdiction over the dispute.
The CIAC later determined the project was 99.4% complete and issued the writ, a conclusion city officials strongly contest.
“How can it be 99.4% complete when it’s clearly only about 70 to 75% finished,” Padilla argued, adding that the matter might escalate to the Court of Appeals or even the Supreme Court.
Padilla also stressed the need for the Commission on Audit to assess the project’s actual completion status, claiming the city government had already paid 50% of the P590 million contract price and could not justify further payment of P268 million as ordered by the CIAC.
City officials have expressed dismay over the arbitration decision, which they say contradicts their findings and leaves the fate of the Palao Market in legal limbo.
