PCGG: ‘Payanig sa Pasig’ property up for bidding

The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) is set to sell a piece of prime real estate that is considered its “crown jewel” in the Ortigas Center, nearly three decades after the land was surrendered to the government by a crony of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

PCGG Chair Andres Bautista on Thursday said the Privatization Council of the Department of Finance approved on Feb. 26 the bidding for the 18.5-hectare “Payanig sa Pasig” property at a minimum price of P16.45 billion or P89,461.10 per square meter.

In a press briefing, Bautista said the PCGG would be selling it on an “as-is-where-is” basis since there are still issues hounding the mixed-use property.

Shortly after the 1986 People Power Revolution, businessman Jose Y. Campos surrendered to the PCGG the two land titles of the property owned by Mid-Pasig Land Development Corp. Bordered by three major thoroughfares in Pasig City (Ortigas, Meralco and Doña Julia Vargas avenues), it came to be known as the “Payanig” property because of the big carnival that operated there in the 1990s.

Bautista said the first land title in PCGG’s possession covers 16 hectares of the property, which was purchased by Campos’ MPLDC from Ortigas & Co. on Aug. 10, 1971, for P6.4 million. The second title, which covers 2.48 hectares of the property, is a deed of transfer from Ortigas & Co. to MPLDC dated Dec. 9, 1974.

Tenants occupying a significant portion of the property, which is being claimed by former Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson’s Blemp Commercial Philippines Inc., had not paid rent to the PCGG, he said.

“Given the current state of affairs, I don’t think the government is able to maximize the value [of the property] so perhaps it’s time to privatize it,” Bautista said.

By selling the property on an as-is-where-is basis, Bautista said the winning developer would “essentially step into the government’s shoes.”

“[That’s why we will] let the developers know what the position of the government is with respect to the property,” he said. “We will show them the evidence of our ownership.”

Despite the pending cases in the Pasig Regional Trial Court, Bautista said at least 10 big land developers had expressed interest in participating in the bidding. The plan to sell it to the private sector has been submitted to the Department of Justice about three years ago, he added.

A general briefing for the bidders will be held at the PCGG office in Mandaluyong City on April 17. The receipt and opening of bids is set in June.

Under the current administration, the PCGG has sold 10 sequestered properties worth around P800 million, according to Bautista.