“The November 2024 Resolution affirmed the Supreme Court's resolution dated July 25, 2023 that denied the petition for review on certiorari filed by PNOC assailing the decision and resolution of the Court of Appeals that, in turn, affirmed the trial court decision rescinding the deeds of conveyances for the transfer of the properties to PNOC and ordering the reconveyance of such properties to Petron,” the energy giant said in a stock exchange filing on Friday.
Long-running dispute
The November 2024 resolution confirmed earlier rulings, canceled the decades-old land transfer, and ordered the properties returned to Petron, which is owned by conglomerate San Miguel Corp., with a final judgment issued to close the case.
The decision ends a seven-year legal battle that began in 2017 when Petron filed a complaint to reclaim landholdings transferred during its government-mandated privatization in 1993.
Valuable assets
SMC had asserted that PNOC declined to honor automatic lease renewal clauses for refinery lots, bulk plants, and service station sites, after the state-run firm alleged that the agreements it had entered into decades earlier were disadvantageous to the government.
The disputed properties include land in Limay, Bataan, housing Petron’s $3-billion integrated refinery, 23 bulk plant sites, and 66 service station lots—critical to Petron’s nationwide operations.
This landmark ruling secures Petron’s long-term use of these assets and reinforces its leading position in the Philippine energy market.
Lower courts had also ruled in Petron’s favor, citing PNOC’s breach of contractual obligations.
