Posted on August 01, 2011 09:14:53 PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]
FOUR MORE military-owned lots in Fort Bonifacio Global City in Taguig and in Pasay City are targeted to be privatized within a year after court issues surrounding these are resolved, Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) Chairman Felicito C. Payumo yesterday said.
These include three sites in Taguig City: a 25-hectare lot whose ownership is currently contested by the Navy Officers Village Association, Inc., the 33-hectare lot eyed by SM Land, Inc., and the 10-hectare United States Diplomatic and Consular Area for which Washington is demanding compensation.
Small remaining portions of Villamor Air Base in Pasay City, the current site of the Newport City entertainment complex, will also be auctioned off to private developers, Mr. Payumo said.
“From the date of decision of the Supreme Court or the proclamation of [President Benigno S. C. Aquino III], we can immediately set the process going and the disposal should not take more than a year,” Mr. Payumo told reporters in a briefing.
“The 25-hectare property once questioned by the Navy Officers Village Association [can be sold] once the land titles are settled by the Supreme Court,” he said.
“The other one is the Consular Area -- which is 10 hectares,” he continued. “[BCDA] is the implementing agency handling the property.
Although the US government has a monetary claim to it, that can be easily settled by whoever will take it... and it might be taken over by [the winning bidder].”
The official also named the 33-hectare area in Bonifacio Global City, for which the government-owned firm received an unsolicited proposal from SM Land last year.
“There are talks with SM Land, but there is no finality on what to do about it,” Mr. Payumo said, noting that the agency can earn roughly P36 billion from that deal.
“Other parts of the Air Force [in Pasay City] and Army in Fort Bonifacio can still be privatized as well,” he added.
BCDA earned 43% less from Metro Manila property sales last year after elections caused a lull in the agency’s deal making, according to earlier reports. -- E. J. Diaz
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