COA: No proof Nayong Pilipino appraised land leased to Landing

The Commission on Audit has flagged the Nayong Pilipino Foundation (NFP) for failing to submit proof that it conducted an independent appraisal of the 9.57-hectare property it allowed a Hong Kong-based company to lease.

In its 2017 management letter, state auditors said the NFP also failed to produce an advertisement inviting other interested parties to bid for the development project before the Board of Trustees (BOT) approved the lease agreement with Landing Resorts Philippines Development Corp. (LRPDC).

"Thus, BOT was not able to compare the offer of LRPDC with other quotations/offers from interested investors to determine whether the said offer was the most advantageous to Nayong Pilipino Foundation," the COA said.

President Rodrigo Duterte has fired the NFP board on Tuesday for approving a supposedly disadvantageous lease deal with LRPDC. Malacañang also tasked the Department of Justice to review the agreement. 

That same day, NFP and LRPDC management led the groundbreaking ceremony for the $1.5-billion integrated resort-casino dubbed as "NayonLanding" in Parañaque City. 

The COA said the project was earlier arranged under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) when the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) and the Investment Coordination Committee endorsed it on February 9, 2017.

The NFP board later withdrew the project from the PPP on November 7, 2017 without NEDA approval.

A board resolution was also issued allowing a monthly lease rate of P14.36 million exclusive of taxes, a lease period of 50 years with an option to renew for another 25 years, and the payment of two months guarantee deposit.

The COA, however, said the NFP approved the LRPDC proposal for the lease of the reclaimed area "without conducting independent appraisal of prevailing rental rates of the leased property within the vicinity, feasibility study and without posting of notice to public to solicit offers from other interested Filipino investors."

NFP management claimed that it conducted an evaluation of rental rates within the Manila Bay Reclamation Area, but COA said it has yet to receive the appraisal report as of June 4, 2018 when it transmitted its 2017 audit to the office of NFP Board chairperson Patricia Yvette Ocampo.

"We recommended that the BOT submit to COA a copy of the report on the independent appraisal conducted on the appropriate rental rate for the 9.57 hectares property of NPF and proof of advertisement to the public to solicit offers from other interested parties to ensure that the proposal of LRPDC is the most advantageous to the government," COA said. —NB, GMA News