By Ferdinand Fabella

The Pasay City government has lost its bid to cancel an allegedly overpriced new city hall project after the Pasay Regional Trial Court ordered it to honor its contract with a construction firm.

Judge Eugenio de la Cruz of RTC Branch 117 issued a temporary restraining order in favor of Gilbert Yu, president of Young Builders Corp.

The court also issued a preliminary mandatory injunction compelling the city council and Mayor Wenceslao ?Peewee? Trinidad to ratify the loan agreement with the Philippine Veterans Bank to fund the construction of the four-story edifice and Hall of Justice.

?We will comply with the order of the court,? Trinidad told Standard Today, indicating that he was all for a new city hall.

In granting the petition filed by Yu, De la Cruz gave credence to the contractor?s apprehensions that the continued inaction of the city council puts its contract in jeopardy as the loan facility was set to expire on March 11.

?This court is inclined to grant the issuance of temporary restraining order to maintain the status quo as it hereby grants in favor of the plaintiff against the defendant for the latter to refrain from canceling the Construction Contract with the plaintiff,? the court said in its three-page order.

YBC initiated the case after the city council, presided by Vice Mayor Tony Calixto, ordered it to return the P45-million advance payment due to alleged irregularities in the contract.

YBC won the bidding for the P599-million city hall project on March 12, 2007 during the term of Mayor Allan Panaligan.

But only P45 million or half of the 15 percent required advanced payment was paid.

The firm, whose projects include the SM malls in Cebu and Iloilo and the Quezon City Hall building, claimed that it had spent P46 million for the ongoing construction at the reclamation area along Diosdado Macapagal Avenue.

In its complaint, YBC said the city council tarried over a required Sangguniang Panglungsod resolution that would have ratified the city?s Loan Agreement and Deeds of Assignment with the PVB for it to release the project fund.

In refusing to ratify the loan agreement, Calixto and his allies in the council were claiming that the project cost was grossly overpriced.

Calixto could not be contacted for comment yesterday afternoon.

Trinidad was pushing for the project despite the opposition.

?Who could ever say that this was overpriced? This contract was signed during the past administration. They should have sued the past city council,? he said.

?They could be charged with contempt and sent to jail if they will continue to sit on the ratification of the loan agreement.?

Was he burning his bridges and dumping his own allies?

?I have no enemies but if [Calixto] wants to run for mayor, he should show he is a good leader,? he said, shrugging off talks about early poll maneuverings.