The sale of government assets under President Duterte went well in the first six months of his term, the program having generated P261 million in the aggregate, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).
Under the leadership of Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, the DOF was not only able to privatize state assets but similarly managed to cut red tape in the bureaucracy to speed up the delivery of essential public services and make businesses more attractive to both local and foreign investors.
The Privatization Management Office (PMO) remitted the entire amount to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), exclusive of approved and authorized retention amounts. Total PMO remittances to the government in 2015 reached
P109 million.
The PMO raised P284 million as of November 2016, of which P96 million came from the proceeds of the sale of 13,000 square meters of land in Paranaque City worth P55.9 million; seven parcels of land in Davao City and five lots in Tagum City worth P28.8 million; and 2,360 square meters of land in San Miguel, Manila, worth P11.3 million.
Dominguez, as chairman of the Investment Coordination Committee (ICC), also fast-tracked the approval of infrastructure projects, with 17 given the go signal during his first six months in office.