BCDA remitted P1.9B to treasury dep’t as of May

Remittances from the Bases Conversion and Development Authority reached P1.87 billion in the first five months, jacking up the fund that the Armed Forces of the Philippines could draw from to modernize its equipment and facilities.

In a statement Thursday, BCDA president and chief executive Arnel Casanova said the remittance in the January-May period represented the share of the AFP – through the AFP Modernization Fund – of net proceeds from non-sale transactions, such as lease and joint ventures, related to former military camps located within Metro Manila.

The bulk of the proceeds came from the lease of and joint ventures for the former Fort Bonifacio, which had been developed into the Bonifacio Global City, and a portion of the Villamor Air Base, which is now the Newport City development.

Executive Order 309 mandates the allocation of half of all non-sale transaction net proceeds to the AFP.

In May alone, Casanova related that the BCDA’s remittance to the National Treasury amounted to P29 million, which was remitted on May 6 and May 16.

From the start of the privatization process in May 1993 to May 2011, asset disposition proceeds, both from sale and non-sale transactions, have reached more than P51.02 billion, of which P33.05 billion was remitted to the National Treasury.

Of this total, P21.22 billion went to the AFP: P11.73 billion for the AFP Modernization Program and P9.5 billion for the replication of military facilities.

The rest of the proceeds went to tax payments to the Bureau of Internal Revenue and local government units, as well as to the replication of non-military facilities and housing within the affected former military bases, and compensation for informal settlers.

Upon the remittance of the AFP’s share to the National Treasury, Casanova said the BCDA relinquished all control of the fund and transferred this to the DBM for programming and releasing.