A motion for reconsideration filed by Bacolod Councilor Wilson Gamboa to the dismissal of his petition seeking to nullify a joint venture agreement (JVA) between the Bacolod City Water District (Baciwa) and PrimeWater Infrastructure Corp. (PrimeWater) has been denied.
Bacolod Regional Trial Court Branch 45 Judge Phoebe Gargantiel-Balbin dismissed the motion for reconsideration filed by Gamboa in a four-page order issued January 13.
Gargantiel-Balbin on November 11 had dismissed the petition filed by Wilson Gamboa Jr. for declaratory relief and declaration of the nullity of the JVA for failure to state the cause of action.
The judge also denied their petition for a preliminary injunction and lifted the temporary restraining order she issued on October 27 to stop BACIWA and Prime Water from carrying out the JVA.
“Under the doctrine of primary administrative jurisdiction, courts cannot, and will not determine a controversy where the issue for resolution demands the sound exercise of sound administrative discretion requiring the special knowledge, experience, and services of the administrative tribunal to determine technical and intricate matters of fact,” the judge said in her January 13 order.
Relief must first be obtained in an administrative proceeding, she added.*