Star City property eyed for sale; P15B in revenues expected for gov't — DOF

The government is eyeing to sell its property in Pasay City where amusement park Star City is located as the Marcos administration seeks to boost non-tax revenues through disposal of state assets.

"It's in the process," Department of Finance (DOF) Undersecretary for Privatization and Partnerships Catherine Fong told GMA News Online.

"We need to find non-tax revenues… Mura lang rent niyan eh (The rent is low)… We would rather dispose of it," Fong said.

To recall, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto earlier said the government is eyeing to double its non-tax collections to P400 billion this year, in line with his pronouncement that there were no plans to impose additional new taxes throughout the remaining years of the administration.

Fong, meanwhile, said the government receives about P1 million a month from leasing the Star City property, located at the reclaimed area of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) complex near Roxas Boulevard.

The expected revenues to be generated from the sale of the property could reach more than P15 billion. The land area is over three hectares.

The DOF official said the agency is planning to conduct an open auction or bidding for the sale of the property "ideally this year."

However, Fong said that the Finance Department is still "looking for a replacement property" since the land where Star City sits is among the government assets tied to the Sukuk bonds.

"It's tied to the Sukuk bonds so we need to find a replacement asset before we can sell it," she said.

In November last year, the government raised $1 billion following its sale of US dollar-denominated Shariah-compliant financial instruments or Sukuk bonds.

Sukuk is a financial instrument that complies with Islamic laws, by circumventing the traditional concept of interest through tying it with tangible assets or properties. Holders of sukuk bonds receive portions of earnings generated from tied assets.

Star City, built in 1991 as an offshoot of the annual Toys and Gift Fair by the Philippine Center for International Trade and Exhibit (PhilCite), is sitting on a 34,346 square-meter lot in Pasay City. It is operated by Star Parks Corp. of the Elizalde family.

The lot is currently being leased to Elizalde-led Philippine International Corp. (formerly PhilCite) under a lease agreement which will expire in 2026. — VDV, GMA Integrated News