To expedite the privatization of the controversial Mile-Long Property, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reverted the administration of the 22,924-square meter land in Makati City to the Privatization and Management Office (PMO).
Last Wednesday, the chief executive issued Administrative Order No. 50, which abolished AO No. 20 and ordered the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) to return the property to PMO as the government prepares to sell the property subject to the approval of the Privatization Council.
‘Upon reversion, the PMO is directed to undertake the expeditious disposition of the Mile-Long Property, including the preparation and implementation of a privatization plan, in accordance with EO [Executive Order] No. 323 [s. 2000] and other applicable laws, rules, and regulations,’ Marcos said in AO 50.
The President made the new issuance upon the recommendation of the Department of Finance (DOF) as part of the government efforts ‘to optimize the utilization of public assets, enhance fiscal space, and support priority development programs.’
It tasked the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to study how the proceeds from the privatization of property will be appropriated.
DOF earlier said it is targeting to sell the property by the end of the third quarter of the year for P10 billion.
The Sunvar Realty Development Corp., which is owned by the Rufino and Prieto clans, occupied the Mile-Long property through a lease agreement from 1982 to 2002.
However, after the agreement lapsed, Sunvar continued to occupy the property until a court ordered it to vacate the property in 2017.
The PMO took over the property before it was directed to transfer it to the BCDA by former President Rodrigo R. Duterte in 2020 through AO No. 20.
AO 50 will take effect immediately after it is published in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.