MANILA, Philippines - Two more real estate groups with presence in Japan have expressed interest in vying for the government’s posh property in Fujimi, Japan, bringing the total number of interested parties to a total of five parties.

However, all the groups appealed to the government to move the bidding date to give them more time to prepare the documentary requirements, Finance Undersecretary Estela Sales said Friday night.

The schedule to lease out the real estate property has been moved to the “middle of January” from the previous bidding date of Dec. 3.

Last week, the government announced a Dec. 21 bidding date but this has also been scrapped amid appeals from interested parties for a longer period to prepare their offers.

Furthermore, she said the privatization of the property is now being done through a “negotiated development” under which the Bids and Awards Committee for the Philippine Government Properties in Japan (BAC-Japan) may talk with only one party if the other groups fail to meet the necessary requirements.

On the other hand, under a regular bidding procedure, all interested parties would have to go through all the procedural requirements. If none of the groups meet the requirments, the government would have to declare a failure of bidding.

This route may again delay the privatization of the property, Sales said.

Sales said the government had to go for “negotiated development” instead of the regular bidding because interested parties were having difficulty meeting the requirements.

“The BAC decided not to rush the process so we will have an opportunity to attract more groups,” Sales told reporters.

The government hopes to bid out the lease and development contract for the property for P3 billion.

 With the delay in privatizing the Fujimi property and other state-owned assets, the government now expects this year’s budget deficit to hit P300 billion from the previous projection of P250 billion.

Various cause-oriented groups have opposed the bidding, saying that the government should not be selling a property with significant historical and cultural value.

A group led by Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr. has asked the Supreme Court to stop the bidding of the property, saying that it needs to preserve a property that represents the country’s culture and heritage.

Earlier, the Save Fujimi Property International Network also staged protests in front of the property which is currently used as the residence of the Philippine Ambassador to Japan.

The group has said that the government’s Fujimi property has significant cultural and historic value and should not be commercialized.