BCDA to sell 2 more military camps

MANILA, Philippines - State run Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) is seeking to privatize Fort Magsaysay and Sangley Point to raise more money for the government and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

BCDA chairman Felicito Payumo said they plan to extend the agency’s corporate life by including more lots for privatization. Currently, Payumo said they only have three major properties to be auctioned off and completed this year or next, while others are smaller properties.

After this, the life of the agency will be terminated because it has already fulfilled its mandate. However, Payumo said President Aquino can issue an executive order tasking BCDA to privatize more military properties like Sangley Point in Cavite and Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija to effectively extend its life.

“We want to develop other areas. An executive order can be executed. It can be a vehicle for development,” Payumo said.

Aside from the two properties, Payumo said the local government of Taguig has asked them to help privatize the 120-hectare Food Terminal Inc (FTI) property. A subsidiary of the National Food Authority, FTI is an agro-industrial and commercial estate set up during the Marcos administration to serve as direct trading hub for agricultural commodities, storage and food processing.

Payumo also said they can privatize parts of the Air Force and Army facilities in Fort Bonifacio.

Also, Payumo disclosed that there were plans to convert Camp Crame and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City to a Pentagon-like structure. This will house all the branches of the Armed Forces but at this point, Payumo admitted talks are still raw.

The three major properties that needs to be disposed of this year are the 33.1-hectare BNS/PMC/ASCOM/SSU lot, the 25-hectare NOVAI land and the 10 hectare Consular facility beside JUSMAG.

Payumo said Sy-led SM Land Inc. has offered to pay P36 billion for the BNS/PMC/ASCOM/SSU property to be developed into a mixed-use complex.

The 33.1-hectare BNS/PMC/ASCOM/SSU lot is composed of lands presently occupied in part by the Army Service Command and Security Services Unit of the Philippine Army and in part by the Bonifacio Naval Station and Philippine Marine Corps of the Philippine Navy.

The property is located along Lawton Avenue and is separated from the JUSMAG property by the NAMRIA area and a six-hectare strip of land retained by the Philippine Army.