Napocor may respect rights of Mile Long tenants

The National Power Corp. (Napocor) is inclined to respect the existing contracts of sub-lessees of Ecology Village, the Mile Long commercial complex, Sunvar Realty Development Corp., and the Makati local government.

However, the National Government (NG) and Napocor are required by law to sell the 12-hectare property. Republic Act (RA) 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2000 provides that Napocor must sell its assets to make a profit.

Napocor officials said they have decided to terminate the 25-year lease contract held by the Philippine Development Alternatives Foundation or PDAF (formerly the Technology Resources Center Foundation Inc. or TRCFI). The problem is that TRCFI has live contracts with sub-lessees, including Sunvar.

"We understand that it would be unfair to the sub-lessees since they were not privy to the arrangement between the NG, Napocor and PDAF," they said.

They said they would stand firm on the non-renewal of the lease contract with PDAF. But Napocor is looking at alternatives for the sub-lessees.

One option is the sell the properties to the private corporations or individuals who currently occupy them. The gov’t is considering the possibility of giving these tenants the first priority where these properties they are put on the auction bloc.

The value of the properties should however be reviewed and given a new valuation by an independent appraiser hired by the NG or Napocor.

With regards to the properties held by the Makati local government, Napocor officials said the LGU will be given an option to buy the property or give it up.

"It should not be a problem since the Makati local government has a lot of properties including an under-utilized municipal building," the unnamed officials said.

The same officials said that their problem is that the NG has not responded to their requests to immediately act on the issue.

Napocor has asked President Arroyo to allow them to negotiate in behalf of the NG aside from their interests. The letter dated June 4 remains unanswered as of presstime.

The property, nearly 12.0-hectares in area, is currently occupied by several commercial and residential establishments including the Mile Long commercial complex, Ecology Village, Sunvar Plaza, the Makati fire department and post office, and the parking lot of Don Bosco College.

Of the total land area, Napocor owns 2.6 hectares while the NG owns the remaining nine or more hectares. The principal lessee of the properties under its 25-year lease contract which terminates this year, is PDAF.

In a contract signed in 1978, the NG and Napocor leased the area to PDAF, then called Technology Resources Foundation Inc., at the rate of P1 per square meter per year since. In turn, PDAF has been renting the properties to sub-lessees at commercial rates.

Sunvar Realty for instance paid in 1976, P16 million for a 50-year lease contract with PDAF for the Mile Long complex including the Sunvar Plaza.

Sunvar Realty Development, including its 300 tenants in the Mile-Long complex want government to respect their rights.

Sunvar Realty President Carlos Rufino said "it would not be fair for them to loss their remaining 25 years after all their investments over the years. PDAF should support us when it comes to negotiating with Napocor," Rufino said.