DOF arm selling P98.32 M assets

MANILA, Philippines — The privatization arm of the Department of Finance (DOF) plans to raise at least P98.32 million from the sale of assets and properties.

Privatization and Management Office (PMO) chief privatization officer Gerard Chan said the government-owned assets to be auctioned off comprise 63 lots in Luzon and Mindanao, as well as a membership share at a golf and country club.

He said these include 35 parcels of land in Quezon City, Laguna, Camarines Norte and Quezon province under the name of the Peninsula Development Bank, with a floor price of P26.95 million.

Chan said the government also intends to bid out four residential and commercial lots of the Selectra Electronics Corp. in Tanay, Rizal for a minimum price of P16.02 million, and two residential lots of the Delta Motors Corp. in Parañaque City worth at least P6.14 million.

The remaining assets scheduled for bidding include two lots under the Retired Servicemen Enterprises with a minimum price of P2.51 million, seven parcels of land in Bulacan, Quezon City, Tagaytay, and Marikina under the Development Bank of Rizal with a combined value of P35.24 million; and 13 residential and agricultural parcels of land in General Santos City under the name of the Al-Amanah Islamic Investment Bank of the Philippines with a total floor price of P10.27 million.

A membership share worth P1.2 million at the Canlubang Golf and Country Club under the name of Merchants Investment Corp. will also be sold this month, Chan said.

Aside from small properties, the PMO is also targeting to privatize big-ticket assets, one of which is the Mile Long property in Makati City.

The government is considering to sell only half of its Mile Long asset in Makati City to take advantage of the uptick in the property’s value once development of the sold area starts.

The PMO has remitted P554.44 million in dividends to the national government in the first nine months of the year, up 36.28 percent. The amount came from the proceeds of the sale of government properties, lease, landholdings covered by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, interest income and other dispositions.

In October 2017, the PMO turned over to the Treasury P289.48 million, the biggest amount remitted by the agency during the period.  The PMO said this came from the sale of government shares in Asean Finance Corp. and special cash dividend from Semirara Mining Corp.

Under Executive Order 323, all receipts from the sale of assets made by the PMO, except portions thereof for reimbursable custodianship and/or operational expenses, should be remitted to the National Treasury.