THE PRIVATIZATION Management Office (PMO) has begun the liquidation process for the Partido Development Administration (PDA), the Department of Finance (DoF) said in a statement.
The DoF said that Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III directed the PMO to “set in motion the process of disposing of the assets.”
Mr. Dominguez also told the PMO to “ensure the disposition of assets of the PDA pushes through.”
The Finance department said that the move was “in line with the Duterte administration’s goal of ridding Government of its non-performing assets (NPAs).”
Proceeds of the liquidation will also be used to settle PDA’s outstanding liabilities.
The Governance Commission for Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations recommended the abolition of the PDA in 2017 as it was determined to have overlapping functions with another government agency, and that it did not serve its objectives.
The PDA was created in 1994 with the goal of accelerating the development of 10 municipalities in the fourth district of Camarines Sur.
The Office of the President issued a memorandum order last month saying that “the PDA and its various operating units have been consistently operating at a loss for several years, which necessitates continuous subsidy from the National Government.”
Malacañang said that “despite the operation of the PDA for almost twenty (20) years, the 4th District of the Province of Camarines Sur has the highest poverty incidence level compared to other districts of the Province, and has a higher poverty incidence compared to the average for the entire Bicol Region.”
Mr. Dominguez also asked the PMO to speed up the liquidation of the Technology Resource Center (TRC).
The TRC was ordered abolished in 2014 under the previous administration amid alleged links to the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scandal.
Some functions of the TRC were transferred to the Department of Science and Technology in 2015. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan
