Sources from the Department of Finance indicated that the disposition of the Ecology Village property was made immediate by the Thai government which has requested the Philippine government to extend its lease on several properties there that they occupy.
According to sources, the government of Thailand occupies properties in Ecology Village whose lease were scheduled to lapse sometime this year. This means that the government would have to decide what to do with the properties before it could decide on whether to extend or decline to renew the lease.
Sources said the DOF has instructed the Privatization Management Office (PMO) to draw up the privatization plan for the Ecology-Mile Long property since the government's tenants were pressing hard for definitive answers to their queries.
The source said the government was still trying to decide whether to sell the properties outright or to find interested investors that would be willing to lease the properties from the government.
The properties are held by the National Power Corp., stretching from Dasmariñas Village to Metropolitan Ave. in Makati City after the Philippine Development Alternatives Foundation, Inc. (PDAF) agreed to transfer the leasehold rights to the government on Sept. 30, 2002.
The strip of prime real estate covers a 125,617-square meter area that includes the Mile Long and Creekside arcades; Ecology Villages 1, 2 and 3; Sunvar Plaza; a Meralco power substation; the Makati City Post Office, and the fire station. Of the total area, 77.18 percent is owned by the National Government while 22.19 percent is owned by Napocor.
The DOF earlier said that if the government decides to lease the property instead of selling it outright, it could benefit from continuous income and it would still own the prime property when the property sector recovers from its long slump.
This year, the government is hoping to raise at least P1 billion from the sale of its remaining assets. Last year, its privatization proceeds amounted to P1.1 billion. Of the properties lined up for privatization this year, about 40 are real estate properties including several offshore assets.