BCDA to appeal SC ruling on sale of Bonifacio lot

State-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority is set to file a motion for reconsideration at the Supreme Court to contest an earlier high court ruling, which prevented the government agency from bidding out the development of the 33.1-hectare Bonifacio South Pointe property in Taguig.

The Supreme Court ruling, which was released only last month, favored the petition of SM Land Inc., which had sought a Swiss challenge instead of a public bidding after it submitted an unsolicited offer.

But Malacañang thumbed down the petition and opted to sell the property through an open competitive bidding process. The property firm of the Sy family then cited the BCDA for breaching their agreement to conduct a competitive challenge.

“We will file a motion for consideration. It’s the President’s decision to [hold a] public bidding…. We believe that the best value for the government could be achieved [through a public bid] and not through a Swiss challenge, which got us a very low price,” explained BCDA president and CEO Arnel Paciano D. Casanova.

According to Casanova, SM Land had offered only P36,000 per square meter for the project. Based on BCDA’s last appraisal however, the property value ranged from P78,000 to P100,000 per square meter.

A bidding, he added, will also level the playing field for interested parties.

On Aug. 13, the high court issued a decision, which permanently stopped the BCDA from auctioning off the Bonifacio South Pointe property. It also ordered the state agency to push ahead with the competitive challenge. Amy R. Remo