By Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas | GMA News | December 15, 2015

Top officials of Schunk Bahn Und-Industrietechnik GMBH and its venture partner Comm Builders Technology Phils. Corp. (SBI-CB&T) were supposedly barred from entering their office at the North Avenue MRT-3 station.

The order was supposedly given by MRT General Roman A. Buenafe, according to SBI-CB&T.

The company has sued Beunafe and four other officials, including Transportation and Communications Undersecretary for Operations and head of the DOTC Procuring Entity Edwin Lopez, MRT-3 Engineering Division Chief Misael Narca, MRT-3 Rolling Stock Principal Engineer Arturo Din, and MRT Signaling System Principal Engineer Daniel Barrera.

As maintenance service provider of MRT-3 under a Department of Transportation and Communications procurement contract, SBI-CB&T claimed that it hasn't been paid for spare parts and services since July 2015.

Schunk Bahn Und-Industrietechnik GMBH General Manager Stefan Schaaf told reporters in a briefing Tuesday that he was on his way to his office along with Roehl Bacar, the complainant in the graft case against the MRT and DOTC officials, when they were told were not allowed to enter the premises.

Verbal instruction

"First of all, we have more or less 200 employees there including administration which is about 10 people, and engineering which is about 20 people. We have a lot of paperwork to do with reports and all this is necessary there," Schaaf said.

"We have our own office there to supervise our own staff," he added.

Asked why they were not permitted to enter, Schaaf said that it was "according to verbal instruction of the general manager."

"It was to prevent Mr. Bacar and myself from entering the MRT premises," the German executive claimed.

At the sidelines of the briefing, Schaaf told GMA News Online that the last time he spoke to Buenafe was some two weeks ago. He said there has been no communication with Buenafe since then.

To file new case

SBI-CB&T lawyer Francis Sol. S Yap said that they plan to file a separate administrative case this the week against the same respondents.

Of the total contract price of P131,279,801.27, they have only been paid some P28,657,232.51, with an unpaid balance of P102,622,568.76, Yap noted.

"We relied on good faith, on representations of MRT as embodied in our contract. Merong paglilinlang na ginawa sa amin," Yap alleged.

The contract calls for equipment maintenance and spare parts supply for the MRT-3's rolling stock, depot, and signaling system.

"The contract is a six-month contract from July 5 until January 4. Wala pang nababayaran sa services. We are already pushed against the wall. Patapos na ang contract," Yap noted.

GMA News Online is still waiting for a response from the MRT and DOTC officials.