THE GOVERNMENT will set aside revenue generated by the redevelopment of the Mile Long property in Makati to the military modernization program, the Department of Finance (DoF) said.
At the economic managers’ meeting with President Rodrigo R. Duterte last week, it was decided that the 2.9-hectare Mile Long property currently held by the Privatization Management Office (PMO) be transferred to the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) so the proceeds can be used for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Modernization Program.
“I told the president, it will be easier for us to do it through a GOCC (government-owned and -controlled corporation) to go into a joint venture with the GOCC,” Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III told reporters.
“So what we are contemplating is to transfer the property to BCDA and have them do the joint venture but we will have a special approval committee for the design of the joint venture,” he added.
He said that the transfer of the property can be done through an Executive Order.
“And also we want to make sure the funds for this will be allocated as the President requires 100% for the military” said Mr. Dominguez.
The BCDA is primarily tasked to convert former military bases into commercial areas. It has a mandate to remit 32.5% of its earnings to AFP programs, 50% to development efforts in Clark and Subic bases, 5% to housing loans for those affected, and the balance remitted to the Bureau of the Treasury.
The Mile Long property was the subject of a long-running legal dispute between the government and Sunvar Realty Development Corp., until a Makati court ruled in favor of the government in August 2017. Mr. Duterte characterized the episode as “economic sabotage” after the alleged illegal occupation of a government-owned property for nearly 50 years.
Mr. Dominguez said that there are back payment issues as the case is unde appeal.
“But those are not major issues,” he said.
According to Mr. Dominguez, a part of the property will be redeveloped into a high-rise mixed-use building that is “large enough to have three elements: commercial, office, and residential.”
“We have also gone to Makati and said we would like to change the floor area ratio (FAR). We want it to be as high as possible. The mayor said that it should be no problem. So the value of the land goes up if you have a higher FAR there,” he said.
However, he said that the valuation has yet to be finalized, but noted that it will be based on a new FAR assumption.
Mr. Dominguez said that the current FAR is at 8, but the government is seeking approval for a ratio of around 16-20.
He added that the redeveloped complex may include a bus terminal, due to its strategic location near the Metro Manila Skyway.
The concept for the project was developed by architect Felino Palafox, Jr. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

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