BY EVANGELINE DE VERA

THE Supreme Court yesterday issued a temporary restraining order against a Pasig court’s injunction against the implementation of the electronic passport project of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

In a three-page resolution, the SC’s Third Division granted the petition of the DFA and Bangko Sentral, represented by the Office of the Solicitor General, for the issuance of a TRO on the Feb. 14, 2007 ruling of Pasig Judge Franco Falcon.

The injunction was issued on the petition of BCA International Corp., the company firm previously contracted by the DFA to undertake the e-passport project.

The High Court directed the respondents to comment within 10 days.

BCA and DFA entered into a build-operate-transfer agreement after the National Economic and Development Authority approved the Machine Readable Passport and Visa Project (MRP/V Project) in September 2000. The project was designed to modernize the quality of passports and visas issued by the government.

Under the BOT agreement, BCA was required, at its expense, to design and develop an applicable system for e-passport, which was to be completed in six phases.

In April 2002, while Phase 1 of the project was being implemented, the parties amended the BOT agreement to harmonize it with the implementing rules and regulations of the BOT Law.

Under the amended agreement, BCA incorporated a project company, Philippine Passport Corp. (Philpass), to undertake and implement the MRP/V Project.

The DFA and the BSP decided to terminate the agreement due to delays in the implementation of the project owing to the financial incapability of BCA.

This prompted the BCA to file the petition for the issuance of a TRO and writ of preliminary injunction before the Pasig court.

Sen. Manuel Roxas II earlier warned of a passport shortage by June unless the High Court lifted the TRO by the Pasig court.

He said once the supply of passports ran out, the constitutional right to travel of thousands of Filipinos and overseas workers would be imperiled.