Contractors had long suffered from Megaworld's fraudulent behavior and lack of sincerity in honoring obligations — that was reflected in property contractor Datem Inc.'s claim for P873 million in unpaid projects.

A counsel of Datem said the property contractor's case is merely the tip of the iceberg in malpractices that spans years and involves several construction firms that worked on Megaworld projects. Other contractors are reportedly in a similar situation as Datem.

Documents provided to DAILY TRIBUNE showed that at least two big contractors have pending claims against Megaworld running into hundreds of millions of pesos.

In an order dated 14 November 2023, Presiding Judge Rochelle Yvette Galano of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court affirmed that Megaworld must pay P873,324,248.89 to Datem under a mutual agreement sealed in September 2022.

The court issued a writ of preliminary attachment, or WPA, on assets of the property giant, including on its deposits in a list of banks.

The projects covered by the RTC decision were Uptown Parksuites Towers 1 and 2, Eastwood Global Plaza corporate tower and luxury residences, One Le Grand Tower, 18 Avenue De Triomphe, and Clark Green Frontier.

Galano stated in the order that Datem had provided sufficient evidence to support its allegation of "fraud" against Megaworld, which justified the issuance of the WPA.

Provided with the attachment notices were Megaworld deposits in banks, including the Land Bank of the Philippines, Philippine National Bank and Security Bank.

Several banks of Megaworld, including Asia United Bank, Union Bank of the Philippines, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Banco De Oro, China Bank, PS Bank, East West Bank, Maybank, Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., were issued notices of garnishment on 16 November.

A notice of garnishment cautions the receiving bank to prohibit delivering, transferring, or disposing of Megaworld's property to any entity except the court sheriff.