The administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has returned control of the controversial Mile-Long Property in Makati City to the government’s Privatization and Management Office as it moves to accelerate plans to dispose of the 22,924-square-meter government-owned property.
Marcos issued Administrative Order No. 50 on September 30, abolishing the previous order that had placed the property under the Bases Conversion and Development Authority and directing the BCDA to return it to the PMO. The property is now set for privatization, subject to approval by the Privatization Council.
Under the new administrative order, the PMO has been instructed to prepare and implement a privatization plan and proceed with the disposition of the property in accordance with existing laws and regulations.
The move followed a recommendation from the Department of Finance, which said the government wants to make better use of public assets, create additional fiscal space and support priority development programs.
The Department of Budget and Management has also been directed to study how proceeds from the eventual sale should be appropriated. This means the government is preparing not only for the property’s disposition but also for how the resulting funds could be used.
The property has been under government control after years of legal and administrative disputes involving its previous private occupant. The site had been leased to Sunvar Realty Development Corp., associated with the Rufino and Prieto families, from 1982 until 2002.
When the lease expired, the company continued occupying the property until a court eventually ordered it to vacate in 2017. The PMO subsequently took control of the site.
The Mile-Long Property was later transferred to the BCDA under Administrative Order No. 20, issued in 2020 during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
The latest order reverses that arrangement and places the property once again under the PMO, the government office tasked with managing and disposing of assets identified for privatization.
The government has previously placed an estimated value of around P10 billion on the property and had targeted its sale within the year. The planned transaction, however, remains subject to the required government approvals and the implementation of the privatization process.
The property’s location in Makati makes it a significant government asset. Its large size and position within one of the country’s major commercial districts have made the Mile-Long site the subject of interest for potential redevelopment and private-sector investment.
For the government, the planned sale forms part of a broader effort to monetize selected public assets rather than retain properties that can be disposed of under existing privatization rules.
The administration’s decision also marks another step in resolving the long-running government handling of the property. The site has moved between different government agencies over the years, with the latest administrative order establishing the PMO as the agency responsible for preparing its sale.
AO No. 50 will take effect once it is published in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. Until the required process is completed, the property’s eventual buyer, development plans and final sale terms remain to be determined.
The return to the PMO puts the Mile-Long Property back under the agency responsible for privatization as the government seeks to move the asset toward a formal sale. The next stages will involve the preparation of the privatization plan, approval by the Privatization Council and determination of how the proceeds will be handled under the national budget process.
