Published on 02 February 2013
Written by Raadee S. Sausa [
manilatimes.net ]
State-owned
Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) has generated P56.657 billion in
disposition proceeds for the period of May 1993 to December 2012 from the
disposition of former Metro Manila camps the biggest of which are Fort
Bonifacio and Villamor Airbase.
In
a statement, BCDA said that of the generated P56.657 billion in disposition
proceeds for the past 19 years, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) got
the lion’s share at P23.433 billion, or 41.38 percent.
The
amount comprises P12.291 billion remittances for the AFP modernization program,
P9.496 billion spent for the Military Replication facilities, and an additional
P1.646 billion set to be remitted to the National Treasury for the AFP
modernization program next month.
“Soon,
the AFP can draw the additional amount from the National Treasury to fund its
modernization program,” BCDA President Arnel Paciano Casanova said.
He
noted that from the period January to December 2012, the BCDA generated gross
disposition proceeds of P3.31 billion, or a 126.7-percent increase from the
P1.46 billion it recorded in the same period of 2011 because of prudent
financial management and more efficient collection efforts.
In
2013, the AFP‘s share of the disposition proceeds will significantly increase
based on future transactions of sale, lease and joint-venture development the
BCDA will undertake.
“We
expect that the amount will grow bigger as we continue to optimize the value of
BCDA assets and improve our collection efficiency,” Casanova said.
One
main disposition involves the public bidding for an incorporated joint venture
of the 33.1-hectare Bonifacio South Pointe property (formerly the
BNS/PMC/Ascom/SSU area), which BCDA expected to generate at least P7.3-billion
cash up front.
The
AFP stands to receive 50 percent of this amount or about P3.6 billion.
Casanova
added that of the generated P56.657 billion in disposition proceeds for the
period May 1993 to December 2012, BCDA’s share amounted to P12.518 billion, or
22.11 percent, while the share of the 14 government beneficiary agencies under
AO 236 was at P7.364 billion, or 13.02 percent.
Casanova
pointed out that the shares of the AFP and the 14 government beneficiaries were
directly remitted to the National Treasury. In turn, the Department of Budget
and Management is responsible for the programming and releasing the
appropriation to the AFP to finance their modernization program.
The
14 government beneficiaries include the National Housing Authority, National
Home Mortgage Finance Corp. and Home Insurance and Guarantee Corp.; Department
of Public Works and Highways and the Department of Transportation and
Communications; Philippine Health Insurance Corp.; Mount Pinatubo Assistance,
Rehabilitation and Development Fund; Philippine Veterans Affairs Office;
Department of Science and Technology; National Bureau of Investigation, Bureau
of Corrections, Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology; Department of Education, Culture and Sports, Department of
Social Welfare and Development; Philippine Economic Zone Authority; Commission
on Higher Education; Office of the Secretary, Department of Justice and the Ombudsman;
Supreme Court of the Philippines and Lower Courts, Sandiganbayan, Court of
Appeals and Court of Tax Appeals; Department of Social Welfare and Development;
and the Department of Labor and Employment.
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