10 GMCAC execs remain at large

CEBU, Philippines —  Ten of the 15 executives of GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC) who are facing arrest in relation to the criminal case the Department of Justice filed for alleged violation of the Anti-Dummy Law remain at large as of yesterday.

Only five of the airport executives the court ordered to be arrested have posted the required P90,00 bail each for their temporary liberty, based on the records of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Those who have already posted bail are Andrew Harrison, Manuel Louie Ferrer, Edgar B. Saavedra, Oliver Y. Tan, and Jez Dela Cruz.

The other accused-- Srinivas Bommidala, P. Sripathy,Vivek Singhal, Ravi Bhatnagar, Ravishankar Saravu, Michael Lenane, Sudarshan MD, Kumar Gaurav, Magesh Nambiar, and Rajesh Madan—are still at large as of Monday.

It was not immediately known whether the said foreign executives are in the country.

Regional Trial Court Branch 68 Judge Ferdinand Collantes in Lapu-Lapu City ordered the arrest of GMCAC executives on November 25, 2021. 

The arrest warrant stemmed from the case the Department of Justice filed against them for allegedly allowing foreigners to manage and operate the Mactan Cebu International Airport.

In an earlier statement GMCAC downplayed the issuance of the arrest warrant as a mere procedural step to acquire jurisdiction over the persons involved in the case.

Anna Salgado, Corporate Communications Manager of GMR-Megawide, described the latest development as part of the long line of attempts to bring Megawide’s reputation and credibility down, which reportedly began when it bid to rehabilitate the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

GMCAC claimed to have transformed the Mactan-Cebu International Airport into the Philippines' only internationally-acclaimed and award-winning airport, and have done so through a firm adherence to all applicable laws, rules, and regulations, particularly as Megawide and GMR are widely-held publicly-listed companies. — FPL (FREEMAN)