THE Commission on Audit (COA) has granted permission to the Marikina City government to proceed with the negotiated sale of three properties in Loyola Grand Villas (LGV) in Barangay Tañong after two previous attempts to auction them off failed.
Four other properties in LGV’s Barangay Malanday location were likewise approved for rebidding based on the five-page decision released by the COA Commission Proper last September 20.
The city government is hoping to raise P75.44 million from the sale of the non-performing properties to fund priority projects and programs.
Appraisal by private firm Professional Asset Values Inc. in 2014 set the price at P24,700 per square meter for the first three LGV properties in Barangay Tañong, each measuring 603 square meters.
On the other hand, two properties measuring 400 and 422 square meters in LGV-Barangay Malanday were assessed at P20,000 per square meter, a third was assigned P21,500 per square meter (430 sqm); and the last at P23,400 per sqm (430 sqm).
The Technical Services Unit (TSU) of the COA Local Government Sector set higher price tags at P43,000 per sqm for the first three lots, and P45,000 for the remaining four.
Based on a resolution from the Sangguniang Panlungsod, a public bidding was conducted for the seven properties on March 3, 2017 but all the offers received were below the floor price. A second attempt on March 16, 2017 yielded the same result.
Marikina City’s Committee on Awards passed a resolution on March 28, 2017 recommending disposal of the said properties through negotiated sale. This was endorsed by Mayor Marcelino Teodoro as required under RA 7160 or the Local Government Code, subject to COA’s approval.
The director of COA Local Government Sector for the National Capital Region submitted the opinion that the four properties in LGV Barangay Malanday may be sold lower than the COA-TSU’s appraisal because of their proximity to the Marikina River and the West Valley fault.
The other three properties were tagged as non-disposable because they are open spaces, hence barred under Presidential Decree No. 957 which regulates the sale of subdivision lots.
The Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) however allowed the sale of the said properties on the condition that there should be remaining areas for parks and playgrounds which cannot be converted for other purposes and that the proceeds of the sale should be used exclusively for the improvement of the said open areas.
