MANILA – Finance secretary Carlos Dominguez III has raised the need for “totally transparent” contracts for any rental deal on state properties.
“Definitely, we have to implement a totally transparent method of getting the best deal for the rental of all government property,” he said.
This after the Department of Finance (DOF), in a statement, said Finance officials have found out the onerous provisions of the land deal between Chevron Philippines and a subsidiary of the National Development Co. (NDC).
The agency said Chevron, formerly Caltex Philippines, was able to secure a deal with Batangas Land Co. Inc. wherein the former paid P0.74 per square meter (sq.m.) for the 120-hectare property in the industrial park in San Pascual, Batangas that the private firm uses as oil import terminal.
The rental fee is way lower compared to the supposed fee of P17.90 per sq.m. per month based on the appraisal reports of NDC and other official sources using the current fair market rental value of the area.
Dominguez, an NDC Board member, said this is “another government contract with onerous provisions,” as he called for a review of its contract after some agencies recommended to the Privatization Council to renew the deal.
He added that the goal is to have a contract that is “advantageous to the taxpayers.”
The DOF statement said the rental terms on the property have been subject to negotiation since 2000 but it was only increased to P10.66 million annually in 2010, which remains below the fair market rental rates in the area.
“If the amount is adjusted to current fair market rates, the rental rate by now should be above P20 million a month or P257.76 million annually,” it added. (PNA)
