BCDA’S five-year contribution to AFP breaches ₧17-billion mark

THE Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) has contributed a total of P17.8 billion to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) during the first five years of the Duterte administration.

In a news statement issued on Wednesday, BCDA said its contribution to AFP from 2016 to 2021 exceeded the agency’s disbursement to the military of P13 billion in the previous administration.

“The goal of BCDA is to breach or exceed the contribution to the AFP by [the] previous administration as we still have around one year left of the Du te rt e ad mini strati on,”b cd a president and chief Executive Officer Vivencio “Vince” Dizon said.

Under the Republic Act 7227, BCDA, as the corporate arm of the AFP and the Department of National Defense, has the authority to develop former military bases and is mandated to generate funds for the AFP modernization.

“We generate disposition proceeds from the sale, lease, or joint venture of the arrangements with our private sector partners in Fort Bonifacio and Villamor Air Base,” Dizon said.

For the past 27 years, disposition proceeds generated by BC DA reached P 112 billion, of which ,44 percent or P49 billion goes to the AFP.

Dizon said despite the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, the agency vows to intensify its development projects with the private sector to help in the economic recovery and restore jobs that were shed due to the global health and economic crisis.

He said BCDA projects have generated 400,000 jobs and brought in over 1,000 locators in special economic zones under the BCDA group, which poured in a total investment of $4 billion.

Combined asset value of BCDA amounted to $10 billion, with major assets include Subic-clarktarlac Expressway, a seaport in Subic and in Poro Point in La Union, Clark International Airport, Subic International Airport, and a small airport in Poro Point Freeport Zone, La Union.