BCDA generates P56B in 20 years; AFP gets lion's share

State-owned Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) has generated some P56.65 billion in disposition proceeds during the last 20 years, or from 1993 to 2012, with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) getting the lion's share. Of the total P56.657 billion in disposition proceeds, which included those from the sales of former military camps Fort Bonifacio and Villamor Airbase, the AFP got P23.43 billion or 41.38 percent. Proceeds from the military camp sale were used to finance various ongoing programs and activities, the BCDA said in a statement Thursday. The agency said that about P12.3 billion went to remittance for the AFP modernization program, P9.5 billion was spent for the Military Replication facilities, and an additional P1.65 billion is set to be remitted to the National Treasury for the next phase of the modernization program this February. “Soon, the AFP can draw the additional amount from the National Treasury to fund its modernization program,” BCDA president Arnel Paciano D. Casanova said. He noted that from the period January to December last year, the agency generated gross disposition proceeds of P3.31 billion—a 126.7 percent increase from the P1.46 billion it recorded during the same period in 2011. The agency attributed the improvement to prudent financial management and more efficient collection efforts. Casanova said that in 2013, the AFP's share of the disposition proceeds is expected to increase based on future transactions of sale, lease, and joint-venture exercises that the BCDA will undertake. “We expect that the amount will grow bigger as we continue to optimize the value of BCDA assets and improve our collection efficiency,” Casanova said. One main disposition involves the public bidding for an incorporated joint-venture of the 33.1-hectare Bonifacio South Pointe property, where BCDA expects to generate at least P7.3 billion in up front cash. The AFP stands to receive 50 percent of this amount, or about P3.6 billion. — KBK, GMA News