The Sandiganbayan Special Division has given the green light to auction off the infamous “Boracay Mansion” confiscated from former President Joseph Estrada.

In a resolution, the anti-graft court directed Sandiganbayan chief sheriff Edgardo Urieta to proceed with the auction of the 7,145-square meter property located in an exclusive neighborhood in New Manila, Quezon City.

Urieta said the auction is temporarily scheduled on January 26, 2010.

“I was tasked to implement the order by following court procedures,” Urieta said in an interview.

The property was called the “Boracay mansion” because its landscaping was similar to that of a typical posh beach resort, complete with a swimming pool with wave machines.

Ii was built on two contiguous lots located between 10th and 11th Streets in New Manila – one measuring 5,192.88 square meters and the other with an area of 1,953.04 sq. m.

According to the Commission on Audit (CoA), the government stands to earn some P143 million from the intended sale of the sprawling mansion.

CoA pegged the land value in the area at P20,000 per square meter.

Engineer Jose Damole, chief of CoA’s Property Disposal Evaluation and Research Division, said the fair market value of the mansion is P142,918,400.

The property was among those that were ordered forfeited by the Sandiganbayan for being part of Estrada’s ill-gotten wealth after he was convicted of plunder on Sept. 12, 2007.

The auction was postponed several times owing to problems on its title and the adverse claim asserted by the Quezon City government on the basis of unpaid real estate taxes incurred by the St. Peter Holdings, the previous registered owner.