PCGG to auction ‘Payanig sa Pasig’ property for P16.4B

The 18.5-hectare prime property in Pasig City popularly known as “Payanig sa Pasig” will be up for auction, the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) announced Thursday.

At a press briefing in Mandaluyong City, PCGG chairman Andres Bautista said the property has a floor price of P16,450,553,000, with each square meter costing P89,461.10.

Bautista said the Privatization Council of the Department of Finance (DOF) has given them the green light to sell the property, which was surrendered to the government by known Marcos associate Jose Campos.

"In terms of timing, we believe that real property prices are at a high and it's a good time to sell... we think the right thing to do is to privatized these properties," Bautista said.

He added that the timing of the sale has nothing to do with the upcoming 2016 synchronized national and local elections, saying proceeds from the sale will be remitted to the National Treasury.

“Itong property na 'to has challenges assigned to it and we think, after consulting both our real estate consultant and other government agencies, that now is a good time to dispose of these properties,” he said.

About 10 properties were disposed for a total worth of P800 million under the Aquino administration.

“Squatters”

Despite having documentation for all 18.49 hectares of the prime lot, Bautista said 10 hectares of the property are being used by tenants who have allegedly neglected to pay dues to the government for years.

“Right now, the PCGG is only able to get rent from around 8 hectares of the 18 hectares. The rest is not paying rent to us... Those tenants are basically squatters because they are not paying government the rent they owe the government,” he said.

Bautista is confident the tenants will not pose a problem to the sale. “We're not in possession of the 10 hectares of the property... but we don't see it as a problem, we see it as challenges, and challenges can become opportunities,” he said.

The PCGG has sent notices to tenants within the aforementioned parcel of land, and is waiting for updates on their pending cases before the Sandiganbayan, he added.

“We're basically telling buyers, this is the current state of affairs, they will be conducting their own due diligence in respect to the property, we will provide to them all the documents so that they can see,” Bautista said.

Considerable value

Director Morgan McGilvray of CBRE Philippines, Inc., PCGG's real estate consultant, said the asking price for the land was a “considerable value” compared to land prices in prime locations such as Bonifacio Global City.

The 18.5-hectare parcel of land is bounded by Ortigas Avenue, Dona Julia Vargas Avenue, and Meralco Avenue and positioned in the middle of the Ortigas Business District.

PCGG will hold a general briefing for bidders at their office on April 17. It expects to open the bidding by June this year.

Some developers have already expressed interest in the property. —KBK, GMA News