Duterte orders redevelopment of Mile Long property

President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the redevelopment of the controversial Mile Long property in Makati City.

Duterte’s Administrative Order (AO) 21 said the proceeds from the development of the property would be used to fund the government’s priority programs, including the pension program for military and uniformed personnel.

Signed on January 29, the AO mandated the Privatization and Management Office (PMO), which administers the property, to enter into a contract with the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) to enable the latter to administer, manage, and redevelop the Mile Long property prior to eventual disposition.

The President also directed the creation of a technical working group to study and formulate a redevelopment and privatization plan for the Mile Long property.

The technical working group will be composed of representatives from the Department of Finance, Department of Budget and Management, Bureau of the Treasury, the PMO, and the BCDA.

The DBM will also have to study, propose, and take appropriate measures so that proceeds from the development will be used to fund the pension program for military and uniformed personnel and other government initiatives.

Duterte had stated that he wanted to sell the property in order to generate funds for the construction of houses for soldiers.

The 2.9-hectare property was previously leased to Sunvar Realty Development Corp. owned by the Prieto-Rufino clan.

According to the government, Sunvar occupied the property on February 28, 1982.

The lease agreement expired on December 31, 2002 but Sunvar continued to remain in possession of the property and collect rent payments from its tenants.

Solicitor General Jose Calida once called Sunvar the "Philippine Daily Squatter," a play on the name of its sister company Philippine Daily Inquirer, a broadsheet perceived to be critical of Duterte and his policies.

In August 2017, the government won a case against Sunvar, forcing the latter and its tenants to vacate the property. — MDM, GMA News