By Richmond Mercurio (The
Philippine Star) | Updated June 15, 2016 - 12:00am
Casanova
MANILA, Philippines –
State-owned Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) is preparing to
dispose of two prime properties in Taguig that would help boost the national
coffers during the start of the incoming administration.
“We have some properties
allocated for disposition if there’s a need for the next administration to
immediately generate revenues for the national government,” BCDA president and
chief executive officer Arnel Paciano Casanova said in a mid-year briefing
yesterday.
These properties are the
25.8-hectare Navy Village along Lawton Avenue in Fort Bonifacio and the
33.10-hectare Bonifacio South Pointe estate.
Casanova said the
government stands to gain about P60 billion from the sale of the two
properties.
“But our strategy is not
to unload or dispose these on a wholesale basis but create value over the
years. It depends on the need of the government for cash,” he said.
The Navy Village is a
disputed property situated inside the former Fort Bonifacio Military Reservation in Taguig as
its ownership was earlier claimed by a group of retired military officers
called the Navy Officers’ Village Association Inc. (Novai).
BCDA has won the case
against Novai before the Supreme Court (SC).
“The Navy property, this
is what we intend to dispose in the later part of the year subject to the
approval of the next administration, basing it on the need to increase more proceeds for the AFP modernization,” Casanova
said.
The disposition of the
Bonifacio South Pointe property, however, will still have to be decided by the
SC.
“We want to recover this.
We want the SC to discuss and tackle this case en banc. We want the SC to
resolve en banc the case here in Bonifacio South Pointe. Government agencies
cannot be compelled by the courts to dispose land at a loss. We want this land
to be disposed at a fair market value and open a transparent bidding,” Casanova
said.
Casanova said BCDA, whose
cash position as of end-2015 hit an all-time high of P17.6 billion, is now
preparing for transition in line with the entry of incoming president Rodrigo
Duterte.
“We needed to be guided
by the new administration on what are their priority projects. We will brief
the new leadership on what are the opportunities that they can take on,” he
said.
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