3 bidders eye Japan lot

by Roderick T. dela Cruz
Source:Manila Standard Today

Nov.20,2009

 

Three Japanese groups have acquired bid documents for the Dec. 3 long-term lease auction of a Philippine government property at Fujimi district in Tokyo, Japan.

Finance Undersecretary Crisanta Legaspi told reporters in a news briefing that the Dec. 3 bidding would proceed as planned to help the government raise revenues from the property, despite opposition from a group called Save Fujimi Property International Network.

The opposition group is composed of Filipinos in Japan who are calling to preserve the shared cultural and historical rights of the Filipino and Japanese people.

“Three groups have already submitted pre-qualification documents,” Legaspi said.

Finance Undersecretary Estela Sales said the government conducted a pre-qualification process on Nov. 16, where three groups acquired bid documents.

The three groups, which Sales declined to identify, were expected to participate in the December bidding, she added.

The government is auctioning the right to develop the 4,360-square-meter Fujimi property in Fujimi Cho, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo into a commercial center.

The property, acquired by the Laurel family in 1944 and later turned over to the Philippine government, serves as the official residence of the Philippine ambassador in Japan. It was certified as a building constructed during the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate (1603-1868).

The Finance Department expects to raise P3 billion to P5 billion from the lease of the property.

A bids and awards committee composed of the Office of the President and the departments of Finance, Foreign Affairs, Public Works and Justice was organized to auction the lease contract.

Under the original proposal, the winning group will build a commercial building in place of the existing one for up to 50 years.

The Save Fujimi Property International Network has asked the Senate to stop the redevelopment of the property, which it said should be preserved for its cultural and historical value.

The Finance Department said the lease of the property would help the government raise more revenues amid dwindling tax and duty collection.

The government also hopes to privatize within the year the 103-hectare Food Terminal Inc.’s complex in Taguig City for about P13 billion, the 40-percent stake of PNOC-Exploration Corp. for P11 billion, and a 24-percent interest in San Miguel Corp. for more than P50 billion.

Teves conceded that the budget deficit might hit P300 billion in 2009 without the proceeds from these government assets.