Sunday, October 19, 2008 [ philstar.com ]
A Presidential Commission on Good Government official said compromise talks with the Ortigas family are still ongoing to settle conflicting claims over the “Payanig sa Pasig” property owned by a PCGG-controlled realty firm.
Ricardo Abcede, PCGG commissioner for asset management and disposal, said the PCGG is still pursuing talks with the Ortigas Co. even if they “are confident” about winning the property dispute.
He said the PCGG wants to avoid a protracted legal battle.
“Should we wait 20 years from now or should we sell it now so that the government can use the revenues for the benefit of the people?” Abcede said.
He said they are discussing a number of options, including a 65-35 percent sharing of the proceeds of the sale of the property, which is at least 18 hectares and worth between P15 billion and P19 billion.
The “Payanig sa Pasig” property, which was the site of a carnival of the same name in the 1980s and 1990s, sits in the heart of the Ortigas business district. It is bounded by Ortigas Avenue, Meralco Avenue, Julia Vargas Avenue and the upscale Valle Verde subdivision.
The property came into the possession of the PCGG in 1987 when the late Filipino-Chinese businessman, Jose Yao Campos, turned over the Mid-Pasig Land Development Corp. (MPLDC) along with other companies in a compromise agreement with the commission.
In turning over the firms, Campos admitted that he held the companies in trust for the late deposed President Ferdinand Marcos.
Campos’ turnover of the firms averted PCGG’s confiscation of United Laboratories, a firm he founded. The drug company was earlier suspected to be actually owned by Marcos.
The Ortigas family, from whom Campos bought the property, are trying to reclaim the land, saying they sold it under duress. However, Abcede said the government insists that Campos and Marcos bought the land from the Ortigas family at a reasonable market price.
“We feel the court will rule against them,” Abcede said.
The PCGG-controlled MPLDC, in an effort to earn revenues from the land, had leased the property to various entities such as the Pasig Printing Corp., which set up the Metrowalk commercial center, and Westpoint Development, which set up the Ortigas Home Depot complex. – Rainier Allan Ronda
