Published on Tuesday, 18 December 2012
00:00
Written by IRMA ISIP [ Malaya.com.ph ]
Malaya
Business News Online - Philippine Business News | Online News Philippines
The Bases
Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) will push for the privatization of part of Camp
Aguinaldo in Quezon City not only to help raise funds for the modernization of
the Armed Forces but to also protect the asset.
BCDA
president and chief executive officer Arnel Casanova in a conference said the
BCDA will only privatize portions of the camp which were not part of the
donation of the Ortigases.
The deed of
donation specifically prohibits the use of the land other than military
purposes.
The area tied to the donation will be retained and
would be developed as site for a Pentagon-like hub where all military
installations (Army, Navy, Marines) can hold office.
“We need to
modernize the AFP and budget from the GAA (General Appropriations Act) is not
enough. The Armed Forces need a stable source of funds,” said Casanova.
Under
Executive Order 309, the AFP gets 50 percent of net proceeds from non-sale
transactions of BCDA.
Casanova also
said there is a number of idle lands in
Camp Aguinaldo which could be vulnerable to professional squatting and
landgrabbing.
A master plan
would be drawn up to determine the best use of the property as well as the cost
but Casanova said it could run into “a few billion pesos.”
The
engagement of the master plan would be done in January.
Since the
establishment of the BCDA in 1992, it has generated gross disposition proceeds
of P56.597 billion of which P21.7 billion went to the AFP.
Bulk of the
proceeds were derived from Fort Bonifacio and Villamor privatization.
On the
average, the BCDA remits P2 billion to the AFP every year.
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