A PROADMINISTRATION legislator asked the government on Tuesday to take immediate legal steps to stop the impending sale of the sequestered 4.1-hectare IBC 13 property in Quezon City that has been opposed by the Commission on Audit (COA).
Party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy of Bagong Henerasyon is set to file a resolution calling for the immediate investigation, in aid of legislation, into the circumstances surrounding the joint-venture agreement (JVA) entered into by the government-run broadcast network Intercontinental Broadcasting Corp. and R-II Builders Inc.-Primestate Ventures Inc. that was finalized on March 10, 2010.
Citing the 2010 audit report on the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), Dy said state auditors have asked the agency to seek the legal assistance of the Office of the Solicitor General to stop the implementation of the JVA by filing a petition for a temporary restraining order before civil courts.
“The COA recommendation was submitted to the PCGG last March. We hope legal steps have already been taken to address the audit agency’s concern,” Dy said.
The JVA allows R-II Builders to construct condominium buildings and develop 3.6 hectares of the Broadcast City owned by IBC 13. R-II will then be given the right to sell the residential units and other developments for profit.
In exchange, IBC 13 will get P728 million from R-II Builders. It will also receive a two-story commercial building to be erected by R-II Builders within the remaining 5,000 square meters to be retained by the broadcast station.
The COA had questioned the JVA for pegging the valuation of 3.6 hectares of the IBC 13 at P9,999.99 per square meter or a total of just P364 million.
Dy said that since the property is adjacent to posh villages like Ayala Heights and Capitol Hills, the agreed valuation can be considered “a real bargain.”
She cited the COA report that pointed out that the JVA has not been examined by the agency’s technical inspectors who are expected to compare land valuation with the existing market value in the area.
“The arrangement in the JVA is skewed in favor of R-II Builders Inc.-Primestate where IBC will be left with only 5,000 square meters for its Broadcast City with a relatively small two-story commercial building which may earn a small income. This two-story commercial building and the IBC 13 Employee Preference privilege for condominium units are mere sweeteners without gain or worth on the part of IBC 13,” the audit report added.
Dy said the P728,000,000 IBC 13 will get “is insignificant” if compared to the huge profit to be realized by R-II Builders-Primestate, which will fully own what it had developed within the 3.6-hectare prime land.
“The deal is onerous in favor of RII Builders and highly scandalous on the part of IBC and PCGG,” she said.
