CDC denies lease contract with 2 private firms

CLARK FREEPORT, Philippines - The state-owned Clark Development Corporation (CDC) has said there is no agreement with two private firms for the lease of a government property in the Clark Freeport Zone. It said it has not entered into such contract with Anteva Group Corporation (AGC) and New Kanlaon Construction Inc. (NKCI). "There is no existing agreement, de facto or otherwise, between CDC and the AGC and NKCI," the state-owned firm said. The CDC added that it is under no obligation to formalize or enter any lease agreement with the two private firms. Earlier, AGC and NKCI alleged that they had a de facto agreement with CDC for the lease of 72 hectares of land inside a 400-hectare area in the Freeport Zone. "AGC and NKCI's decision to participate in a procedure for a 'Best and Final Offer' to the area of interest by submitting the documents required by CDC in the process on February 13, 2006 is the best evidence that there exists no de facto agreement for the lot," the CDC said. The Clark firm also said it had rejected a demand from the two firms to formalize a lease agreement under the terms embodied in their proposal dated October 24, 2006 because of the absence of any agreement whether impliedly or expressly with respect to the terms and conditions of the lease which would bind the parties together. It also advised the two firms on October 12 that it was considering leasing the area involved at the rate of US$0.20 per square meter per month. On October 24, the two firms offered to lease the area at a rate of US$0.10 cents per square meter per month, the CDC said. In its letter to the firms on November 12, 2006, CDC stated that their offer was low and unacceptable. The letter further stated that the rates approved by the CDC Board for the Clark Residencia was at US$0.20 per square meter per month and US$0.50 square meter per month for the Clark Tierra Verde I area. "The AGC and NKCI had ignored our official notices on the rates," the CDC said. The CDC also clarified that the area sought to be leased by AGC and NKCI was reconfigured as approved by the CDC Board on November 12, 2007, resulting in a different characteristic and subject to public bidding based on the opinion rendered by the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC). "Only a small part of the lot was apportioned for the multibillion-peso expansion of CDC's existing locators in good standing ad with proven track records, such as the BB International and Fontana Development Corporation," the CDC said. The CDC said despite the continuous reiteration and persistence by AGC and NKCI, it was not bound by law to accept a unilateral proposal with which it was not in conformity. – Sun.Star Pampanga