Aboitiz Power Corporation’s wholly owned subsidiary Philippine Hydropower Corporation (PHC) has filed a suit against Pacific Hydro Bakun, Inc. (PHBI), its joint venture partner in Luzon Hydro Corporation (LHC), for threatening its nominee directors.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Tuesday, AP said PHC has filed a Complaint for Tortious Interference in Contractual Relations and Exercise of Property Rights with the Regional Trial Court in Cebu City against PHBI).

LHC is the special purpose vehicle formed to develop, construct and operate the 70-megawatt (MW) Bakun hydropower plant in Ilocos Sur under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme with the National Power Corporation (NPC).

The complaint by PHC against PHBI and its parent company, Pacific Hydro Limited (PHL), arose from PHBI’s and PHL’s allegedly tortious conduct.

These include allegedly threatening and intimidating PHC and its nominee directors in LHC to vote in favor of allowing LHC to participate in the bidding for the Independent Power Producer Administration (IPPA) for the combined contracted capacities of the Bakun Plant, the 345 MW San Roque hydropower plant and the 30 MW Benguet mini-hydro plants (the Bidding).

PHBI and PHL also allegedly spread malicious allegations of wrongful conduct on the part of the nominee directors of PHC to third persons.

PHC maintains that LHC is a special purpose vehicle formed specifically and solely to undertake the construction of the Bakun Plant under a BOT agreement with NPC.

PHBI’s proposal for LHC to engage in the business of an IPPA for the power plants included in the Bidding is outside the primary or secondary purposes of LHC and is beyond the original intent of the shareholders of LHC, AP said.

For these reasons, PHC believes that PHBI and PHL cannot rightfully compel it to enter into the IPPA business with PHBI and PHL through LHC.