GSIS revives plan to sell Port Area lot

MANILA, Philippines — State-run Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) has revived a plan to sell its big ticket asset in Port Area, Manila, after the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) came out with the updated zonal value for the property, a top official said yesterday.

In a press briefing, GSIS president and general manager Jesus Clint Aranas said the state pension fund would pursue the sale of two lots in Port Area, covering a total area of 781,857 square meters.

The GSIS originally intended to dispose of the property last year at a minimum bid price of P19.91 billion, but Aranas deferred the sale as the valuation of the property at the time was outdated.

Based on the BIR’s latest assessment as of May 9, the zonal value of the first lot – with a total land area of 672,645 square meters – has been increased to P33.63 billion, while the second one – spanning 109,212 square meters – was estimated at P3.82 billion.

“We intend to pursue from that angle,” Aranas said.

Aranas said the proposed disposal of the property would be discussed by the GSIS’ board of trustees in its next meeting. He is targeting to finish the sale before the end of the year.

According to Aranas, GSIS has decided to let go of its Port Area property as the state fund is not generating any income from it.

He said a part of the asset is being occupied by International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) under an agreement with the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), which does not have any permission from the GSIS.

“The property is currently occupied by ICTSI. Supposedly they have an agreement with the Philippine Ports Authority which does not have title over it,” Aranas said.

Aside from selling the land, Aranas said the GSIS is also eyeing to collect the rental arrearages incurred during the years the property was used by ICTSI.

He said the state fund has attempted to collect the unpaid rentals, which is estimated at around P80 million a month or less than P1 billion a year since early 1970s.

“In June 2017, GSIS officer-in-charge Nora Malubay wrote Atty. Santiago demanding payment of at least P80 million a month. So if you do the math by the number of years, those are the arrears that we are expecting from the unpaid rentals. I think we’re close to P1 billion a year, almost P1 billion a year…since early 1970s,” he said.

However, the GSIS chief said neither the PPA or ICTSI has responded to their letters.

“At this point right now, no one is even bothering to reply to us. We want a rental income of P80 million a month, no one is replying, we want to negotiate with them. I am very much willing, let us sit down and let’s finish this debacle, this is not something that we need to litigate on,” he said.

Meanwhile, GSIS said its net income in the first quarter of 2019 jumped four-fold to P38.7 billion from P9.05 billion in the same period last year.

The state fund attributed the increase mainly to the rise in stock market values, as well as the increase in interest income, and the increase in premium contributions.