The Capas Regional Trial Court has issued a Temporary Restraining Order allowing Metro Clark Waste Management (MCWM) to continue operations at the Kalangitan Sanitary Landfill amid an ongoing legal dispute with the Clark Development Corporation (CDC) and the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA).
The court order, effective November 28, 2024, and lasting for a period of 20 days, prohibits CDC and BCDA officials from obstructing MCWM’s business activities or preventing the company from fulfilling its waste management contracts:
Respondents Clark Development Corporation (CDC), CDC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and President Agnes VST Devanadera, Members of the Board of Directors of CDC and all other CDC officers, employees, or representatives, acting for and in their behalf or getting orders or instructions from them, are hereby ordered to ENJOIN AND RESTRAIN from interfering, directly or indirectly, in the business operations of petitioner MCWM and from taking steps in prohibiting the public from engaging in any business transaction with the petitioner or from discouraging and warning, whether directly or indirectly, the various LGUs and private companies who have waste management service contracts with petitioner from availing of its services, or from performing any act/s leading to any form of interference in the business operations of petitioner until the application for a Writ of Preliminary Injunction be resolved and decided upon by this Court.
Dispute Over Operational Authority Clarified by Court Ruling
The court’s decision counters earlier claims by CDC, which suggested that an earlier and separate Preliminary Injunction issued by a different court in favor of MCWM last Oct 29, 2024, and which is still in effect, merely blocked a forced takeover of the landfill and did not authorize MCWM to remain operational.
The Court’s new ruling via this TRO makes it unequivocally clear that MCWM is authorized to continue operations while the legal proceedings are ongoing.
The TRO specifically prohibits CDC and BCDA officials from taking steps to:
— Prohibit the public from engaging in business with MCWM.
— Prevent MCWM from contracting with companies for waste management services.
— Interfere with MCWM fulfilling existing contracts with local government units and private companies.
The court’s decision reinforces MCWM’s capacity to provide uninterrupted waste management services as the legal case progresses.