The old five-hectare International School compound in Makati will be sold for P1.186 billion or P24,300 per square meters on November 11, the fourth time the government will attempt to privatize the property.
This is lower than previous floor prices set by the Department of Finance and the government privatization groups, which is
P3 billion and P2 billion, at least. Buyers are interested in developing an IT zone within the property.
DoF Undersecretary Gabriel Singson Jr. said the bidding documents were sent out last Friday, which includes a commitment from Mayor Jejomar Binay of Makati to recommend the reclassification of the International School property from an institution to commercial use to the city council.
The reclassification will increase the value of the property. Makati properties are one of the most costly in the metropolis, about
P80,000 per square meters. At this price the whole property could fetch a higher value of P4 billion.
"The commitment letter (from the office of mayor) will help us have a higher bid price," Privatization Council chief officer Pepito Bengzon said. The
P24,000/sq. meter floor price was recommended by two private assessors Royal Appraisers and Asia Appraisers. Sixty percent of the approximate 50,000/sq. meter property is "buildable" areas.
"What we’re trying to push for is to have the property sold off as an IT property. This means zoning change," Singson said. Declaring the property an IT area will make it attractive to buyers and developers.
The Arroyo administration has been reviewing its privatization program in view of prevailing market conditions.
At the moment it is reassessing guidelines and disposition proposals for state assets up for sale and since most are properties or idle lots, transactions are a bit "slow".
In addition, most of the property assets scheduled for sale are mired with legal challenges.
Among the difficult sales is the New Bilibid Prison properties and the Food Terminal Inc. Some non-property sale includes the PNOC Exploration Corp. Malampaya projects.
The DoF is house to the Privatization Council, which is a cabinet-level and inter-agency policy making body tasked to oversee the Philippine Privatization Program. It formulates guidelines, approves transactions and monitors post-privatization activities.
So far this year the DoF has successfully sold government shares in Philippine National Bank and Manila Gas Corp. properties. PNB fetched the desired price of
P8 billion while the Manila Gas sale yielded more than P600 million. 
