Recto bucks disposal of state assets during election period

MANILA, Philippines – The government should refrain from disposing of assets during the election period as it may end up selling at a bargain, a former economics official said.

“By tradition, no government undertakes a bargain sale of its assets during election season,” said former socioeconomic planning secretary and senator Ralph Recto.

“Haste makes waste. The items we sell today could fetch a higher price next day or after the election, when the economic tension has simmered down,” Recto, a senatorial candidate of the Liberal Party, pointed out.

“When you telegraph your eagerness to have a swift sale, buyers will readily sense and smell your desperation,” he said.

The most prudent thing to do at this time, he stressed, is to “halt and wait until the market ripens.”

“You don’t rush to a negotiated solution just because you failed at first. It only tells you that the market is not ready to match your asking price,” he said.

Recto said he was wondering why the government was rushing the sale of big-ticket items ahead of the elections, amid the lukewarm response of the market.

“If there are no serious buyers, why rush the sale to the point of bending backward just to accommodate the low offers of others?” he asked.

Recto said that if the government can’t get a good price, then “better save it for the next administration and the next generation.”

He cited the case of the Food Terminal Inc., which the government has been trying to sell since 2007.

Recto said the 120-hectare FTI complex in Taguig was initially offered at P15 billion.

The price went down to P13 billion last year, but still no group showed interest in the property, prompting the government to declare its auction a failure.

He said the government is now eyeing the sale of the property for P10 billion, but through a negotiated contract.

Recto said the same government attitude is evident in efforts to lease a 4,361-square meter prime property in Fujimi district in Tokyo, Japan, for P3 billion to P5 billion.

He said he would not be surprised if the government eventually closes a lease deal for less than the asking price of P3 billion.

The bidding for the contract to lease the property had been moved thrice – for lack of serious buyers – from December last year, to mid-January this year, and finally to this month.

Six Japan-based property firms have reportedly expressed interest in the Fujimi property.

The Fujimi property, residence of the Philippine ambassador to Japan, is considered one of the most beautiful ambassadorial residences in Asia.

The winning contractor will tear up the beautiful structure and replace it with a 21-storey commercial-residential building and operate it under a 50-year lease deal.

“The Fujimi property is being let go through negotiated sale even without first going through an open public bidding,” he said. –DELON PORCALLA (The Philippine Star) with Jess Diaz