THE Department of Finance’s Privatization and Management Office (PMO) said revised rules for auctioning government assets will now allow unsolicited bids, which are deemed better suited to small properties that are accessible to more bidders.
Approved by the Privatization Council (PrC) on Sept. 6, the guidelines were published on the PMO website on Feb. 27 and the Official Gazette on Feb. 24.
“Any interested party may submit an unsolicited proposal that includes the description of the property, price offer, terms of payment and other details necessary to evaluate the proposal,” the guidelines said.
Finance Undersecretary Catherine L. Fong said in January that unsolicited offers are well-suited for the 28,000 titles in the database, which include properties as small as 200 square meters, making the acquisition process attractive to ordinary citizens.
PMO has a P101.01-billion privatization revenue goal for 2025, more than double the P42.12-billion target in the previous year.
The PMO now recognizes four methods of asset disposal — public auction, negotiated sale, unsolicited proposal and government-to-government transactions.
The rules for unsolicited proposals require the offeror — whether an individual or entity — to submit at least 10% of the offer price or the market value of the asset, whichever is higher, as bid security. This bid security can be applied towards the purchase of the asset
The disposition entity (DE) will publish the request for comparative offers to invite others to place bids as well.
Any failure by the winning offeror to follow the terms and conditions set by the PrC will result in the forfeiture of its deposit, with the DE free to proceed to a public action of the asset.
“Present occupants of a residential property may purchase the Asset following the rules under Chapter 3 – Unsolicited Proposal of these Guidelines,” it said.
The guidelines also include the accreditation process of real estate brokers who wish to assist in the sale of properties and their broker’s fee if their services enabled the disposition of an asset.
For winning bids priced at P100 million or less, broker’s fees are set at 5%, while for assets above P100 million but below P500 million the rate is 4%. For assets of P500 million or above, the rate is 3%.
The rules was signed by Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto, National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan, Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman, Trade Secretary Ma. Christina A. Roque and Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante