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Land swap deal to benefit aviation school, BCDA says
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Posted: April 20, 2010 | Category: Investment And Projects
The Philippine State College of Aeronautics (PHILSCA) will benefit from the land swap agreement it has entered into with the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) since this will allow PHILSCA to own a more valuable property and a modern campus that will enable it to better fulfill its mandate as an aviation school.
This was the explanation given by Dean Santiago, BCDA vice president for business development, in response to news reports claiming that the PHILSCA board is refusing to honor the land swap deal because the relocation site it is being offered in exchange is worth less than its existing campus and is purportedly flood-prone as well.
“Definitely, PHILSCA is reaping huge benefits from this land swap deal,” Santiago pointed out. “With the new building we have constructed for them, their institution will be modernized. They will, therefore, be able to service our aviation industry better.”
Pursuant to Republic Act 7227, portions of the Villamor Air Base, including the location of the PHILSCA property, was turned over to the BCDA for development.
Currently located inside the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City, PHILSCA purchased the said property from the BCDA in 1999 through a Contract to Sell. The agreement expressly states that in the event that the final master development plan of BCDA for Villamor Air Base will necessitate the re-development and re-zoning of the property to other uses, both parties agree to enter into a swap arrangement involving their respective properties in Villamor Air Base.
This land swap agreement was reiterated in a Deed of Absolute Sale (DOAS) between BCDA and PHILSCA in 2001 and in a Memorandum of Agreement in 2007 among BCDA, PHILSCA and Megaworld.
PHILSCA has agreed to vacate its present campus in the event that the final master plan for the development of Villamor Air Base necessitates the re-development and re-zoning of the areas inside the airbase.
With the development of the former airbase into a modern business and tourism hub now in full swing, BCDA is invoking the terms of the agreement and has offered to relocate the aviation school to a 1.7-hectare site at the Villamor Air Base golf driving range along the West Service Road of the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX).
“The value of the site we have offered to PHILSCA, including the modern campus which BCDA has built, amounts to P560 million,” Santiago said.
The average appraised value of the school’s current campus, on the other hand, is only P191.9 million, he noted. Clarifying the news report quoting a higher value for the property, Santiago said the higher cost being cited is inaccurate as it is based on a commercial valuation of the land where Megaworld Corporation, the private company undertaking Villamor Air Base’s development, has already put in considerable improvements, thereby increasing its value.
“Besides, the PHILSCA property should not be appraised as a commercial area because it is for institutional use,” he added.
Santiago said news reports claiming that the new site is flood-prone are also untrue, “This area is three meters higher than the lowest area in the vicinity,” he noted.
As to reports that the area is “prone to ground shaking,” Santiago noted that the entire Philippine archipelago is prone to earthquakes. “What is more important is the stability of the infrastructure to withstand the earthquake,” Santiago said. He added that major infrastructure near the new site include the South Luzon Expressway and Skyway.
