Robinsons Land wants ‘Payanig sa Pasig’ property too

ROBINSONS Land Corp. (RLC) is joining the roster of property developers interested in the “Payanig sa Pasig” lot that will be auctioned off by the government, a company official said last week.

Frederick D. Go, RLC president and chief operating officer, said the company will buy the bid documents for the 18.48-hectare property in the Ortigas central business district.

“We’re interested at looking at it. We will be getting the TOR [terms of reference],” Mr. Go told reporters on the sidelines of the company’s stockholders’ meeting last Wednesday.

The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), an agency tasked to recover the illgotten wealth of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, is bidding out the property.

Interested parties can purchase bid documents until May 15, and seek to qualify by then. A pre-bid conference is scheduled for May 26, while bids will be opened on June 3.

Apart from the Gokongwei-led property developer, among the companies that are reportedly interested in the lot are SM Prime Holdings, Inc.; San Miguel Properties; and Ayala Land, Inc.

Still, Mr. Go has misgivings as legal issues hound the prime Ortigas property.

“The location is excellent but the big condition is the ‘ as- iswhere-is’ basis,” Mr. Go said, add- ing RLC needs time to carefully study the property on offer.

“The timetable they put, which is in June, is another factor. I think that’s extremely difficult [to meet],” he said.

The PCGG has set a floor price of P16.45 billion, or P88,974.33 per square meter, for the Ortigas property that used to be a carnival site during the 1990s and now houses commercial establishments, including the Metrowalk complex.

Asked to comment on the price, Mr. Go said: “It’s ‘ as- iswhere-is.’ It’s very hard to comment on the price because the normal transaction in the Philippines is the seller always warrants the land he is selling.”

Businessman and known Marcos crony Jose Y. Campos surrendered the property in 1986 under Mid- Pasig Land Development Corp.

PCGG officials and members of the Privatization Council are facing graft charges before the Office of the Ombudsman filed by BLEMP Commercial of the Philippines, Inc. President Richard S. Singson, whose company claims ownership of the land.

Other parties, including the Ortigas family, have asserted too their ownership of the property.

Currently, PCGG only controls about eight hectares of the rectangular lot — which means tenant leases are being paid to government — despite being in possession of the original 2.4- hectare land title and a reconstituted title for a 16-hectare parcel as granted by the court in 1988.

CEBU PROPERTY

Apart from the lot in Pasig City, RLC is also setting its sights on the 240-hectare property that will be auctioned off by the Cebu provincial government.

Asked if RLC is interested in the South Road Properties, Mr. Go said: “We’re definitely interested in that. We are just waiting for the Cebu City government to auction [off ] those properties.”

Mr. Go said the area “has potential” and could help RLC grow its presence in the province, where it is now building its flagship Robinsons Galleria mall and the 200room Summit Hotel, by 2016.

“We will open Robinsons Galleria Cebu this year and the hotel, next year,” Mr. Go said.

RLC was incorporated in 1980 to serve as the real estate investment arm of JG Summit Holdings, Inc.