Finally, the Capitol Property for sale and lease was awarded to Ayala Land yesterday through a negotiated bidding. The Capitol properties up for lease and sale consists of 7.7068 hectares along Lacson Street, North Capitol Road and Aguinaldo Street in Bacolod City. The properties that are for sale was 3.6 hectares, while 4.1 hectares directly surrounding the Capitol are for lease.
Although it was SM Prime Holdings who first offered an unsolicited bid, there were several failed bidding which led SM to file a petition for a Temporary Restraining Order last Wednesday. SM’s petition for TRO was denied by the court thus the negotiated bid proceeded as scheduled on Jul 15, 2011. SM lost the bidding by default after they failed to submit their bid.
It was reported that Ayala plans to invest P6 billion for the development of Capitol Civic Center to include retail, residential, hotel, convention center and office zones. Ayala will also invest an additional P25 million for the development of the Capitol Park and Lagoon.
The Capitol Civic Center will surely be another landmark development of Ayala Land who also developed the Bonifacio Global City and Trinoma Mall. Ayala already has several investments in the province with their Ayala North Point property and the Ayala North Point Technohub.
Governor Alfredo Marañon, Jr. considers this development as the “biggest investment in the province.” For the Negrosanons, this will be another legacy of his administration. Insofar as vision and political will are concerned, he and his brother, the late Joseph Marañon has proven that their administration has a lot of it. In can be remembered that it was under the administration of Joseph Marañon that the squatters in this same capitol property were relocated.
i am from the province of negros occidental. im sure that bacolod city has potential to become one of the bussiest city in the country since it is highly urbanized city. it is considered “the best city” in the country to live ….less crime…… business friendly and more safe compare to other city like cebu… therefore, no doubt bacolod city will rise…. support the ayala pdevelopment plan for economic stability and offer more jobs for negrense
Hope Im wrong but the 10% +/- is applicable for non-appreciating assets of the government properties. And even if they say they complied with COA, but they did not comply with requirement of leasing the whole property that is offered. They are only interested in the 4 hec that is partly for lease and for sale at the back area of the capitol and not the whole 7.7 hec that the provincial government presented for bidding. This is my point that nobody won the bid. In the first bidding SM did not join as they only want to have direct negotiations remember? They just joined on the second schedule.
Anyway, everything is under the bridge now as legally speaking this case will be between the bidders as the TRO was not served by CA until now thus this deal will proceed as scheduled. Ayala will be the owners in due time Even if the TRO will come on a later date. Just like when you are legally pronounced dead, then you killed someone, the court cannot charge you guilty as on paper you are already dead. Whew, thats why lawyers are rich, they can make the crooked line straight. Be thankful you have a strong governor who was not afraid to make vital decisions.
Everything in Government and Corporate dealings have under the table deals. Been travelling alot from Asia to Africa to the Americas working with a multinational company trying to close deals not for government but for private companies. And wherever I go, those side deals are standard and will always be there so Im not naive on that. Whoever won on this, definitely there is somebody who got from it. That is just what life is all about. No man is an island. Money begets money.
But actually its the latter that has the track record into this just like what happend with their San Lazaro and Manila City Hall property mall. The Manila City Hall property is worse as it was done via direct negotiations (as what they have suggested as they wanted) without bidding … thus it is still in court but you are now enjoying a very beautiful and big mall standing there ….
The point of the whole conflict wouldnt have started if:
a. The bidding was done in a clean and proper way.
b. No under the tables and special deals.
c. All the bidders was treated fairly and if they have issues or complains, they should have atleast accomodated them.
Oh well, i hope this ends well…
Actually, SM did comply with the COA requirement. They were within 10% of the COA valuation of the property, which is the standard baseline for a floor price. So this argument that SM’s bid did not comply with the floor price is frankly rubbish.
Moreover, a floor price needs to be announced before the bids are submitted. The mere fact that this was not stated when the bids were solicited already puts the entire bidding process into question.
Finally, the negotiated bid required that both parties wave all rights to pursuing any legal action against the local government. This is obviously unacceptable to SM, because by all rights they had _already_ won the bid, and they have every right to file a case against the Negros local government for changing the rules of the game mid-stream.
i guest its the 2 billion on SM bid is only initial..thats only a 2 hotels and retail..then after that..they also proposed to build 10 building at 12 storey each..i read it on the local newspaper..about sm proposal to build 10 twelve storey building for residences and BPO..so SM bids for me was the best than ayala
If they think their offer was better then they should have joined in the negotiated bid.
They should have complied with the COA requirement for the minimum bid per square meter. Failing that and losing the TRO, they should have submitted a second bid.
Thanks Glady ….. We’ll I think Metropolitan Manila does not really know us Negrenses. I hate to say it but basically we are tribal people in a way. But whenever there is something we need to unite, maski taga silay ka man o taga CHICKS o Norte …. we know to whom we will side. This act of SM karma will haunt them for sure. Bad karma begets one ….
And good karma begets one too …. Who can deny a developer who offered to beautify the Lagoon of all places …. the source of life of the Capitol and of the Province in general as its Architect Burnham have put it. It is the mirror that will magnify the seat of government. But what im excited about is their plan to develop the Wildlife park ….. it made me teary eyed. I think its not the 6B that made Negrense crossed the line and rallied behind the governor but its their plan to develop those important places our hearts.
Guys those favoritism issue in the PDI are just SM media hype …. can you not understand what they are saying? They are trying to bully us Negrenses and its just ok or just dont get it?
In my point of view, no one won the bidding as both companies did not make the minimum bid. That is why there was a negotiated bid where SM did not join.
Lets backtrack guys, first of all, it was not SM who was the first to have interest in the property. Years back there where rumors that Ayala and Rob showed interest in those lots ….. those where the time when the squatter colony was squashed and SM Bacolod was still in blueprint. It was not done then because there was a Silaynon who claimed to be an heir of that provincial property. It was only late last year that the Supreme Court awarded the property to the provicial government.
SM’s mistake is grandstanding … they had published that they will be investing 2.5B in the property thus giving other interested parties their ceiling ….. Why did they did that? Did they thought that only SM has the financial muscle to spend that much in Negros? And dont think that SM or Ayala are here to help …. they are not NGO’s they are business empires thus they can smell the money …. Frankly I read from one blog that SM was shock of how their Bacolod supermarket division was performing … above expectations.
Anyway back to my argument, you cannot just sell a government property directly or else our government employees/ leaders will be jailed. Thus our provincial government decided to offer the properties for bidding. In the first bidding SM did not join so it was declared as failure because only Ayala joined. So thus the second bidding was done.
Now how can SM CLAIM that they won the bidding when they only bid for just a part of the whole land that is offered for bidding? This is automatic disqualification whether your bid is high or not.
Then in simple logic, how can you pick a 2.5B bid win over a 6B bid as Condrad of PDI is trying to instill in us? Picking a cheaper bid is good for supplies and project liabilites like road and public infrastructure construction …. But in this, our government is SELLING the property. If you want to sell your car, are you going to sell it to somebody who will buy it less? That is why in the negotiated bid, our governor negotiated for a higher price as per property was initially pegged.
I cannot see the logic of some … I am for Ayala because they will be bringing in bigger cash flow into the province period.
And by the way I got this information from my constant reading from online National and local newspapers, Blogs, and insider info everytime I go home for rest and recreation. Most important info that I always look first thing in the morning are news that carries a word or a paragraph about Bacolod and Negros …… this is my only way to connect to the city and province I love and miss so much. Well its really true that you will never realize the importance of a place, thing, or love one until the time that you loose it …. peace.
Very well said Azkalrules. Mr. Banal’s article is obviously one-sided. And I’m wondering how he considers an investment of P2B is better than an investment of P6B. It’s not taxpayers’ money and the reason why local executives are promoting Bacolod and Negros Occidental is to lure investors. The bigger the investment, the more money will pour in the local economy and more jobs will be generated. How Ayala can recover the P6B is their problem. I’m sure they’ve done their homework and they’re not willing to invest P6B if they think they will not be able to recover it. I am for Ayala not only because in my opinion they make better designs than SM but because I believe their proposed project will be for the benefit of the province and the people. If SM joined in the negotiated bid and offered a better project, I don’t see any reason for the provincial government to award it to Ayala. But since they did not, then that means they don’t have a better offer. You win some, you lose some. SM should just accept defeat this time.
SM and Ayala want to invest in Bacolod because they know they can make profit from their investment. First and foremost, it’s their bottom line which they are most concerned with.
As to favoritism of any sort, those are just speculations so I think it’s better if we will be prudent with our judgment. Let the court decide on who is the rightful winner of the bid.
Sm land and ayala land is not the culprit here, they merely want to help bacolod by investing in it. The real culprit is the gov and his deals with whoever wants to get it all.
Kaya pala napunta sa ayala kasi pamangkin niya makikinabang and may parte siya dyan for sure. A percentage of 6 billion is better than 2 billion. Correct? Just my 2 cents!
Favoritism or coincidence?
Things are getting ugly between these two conglomerates vying for a parcel of government-owned land in an economically important city in the Visayas.
Allies of one side is now hinting at some alleged favoritism being shown by the local government for one of the bidders.
According to these people, one local personality lobbying for the project to be awarded to the perceived winner is the very same person who is set to build a P6-billion mixed-use project for the same conglomerate.
People on the ground point out that this person is not only influential because of his construction business, but is also—surprise, surprise—the nephew of a local government official who approved the deal.
Given this development, expect the other side to fire off its own salvo in the coming days.—Daxim L. Lucas
Source:
http://business.inquirer.net/8619/biz-buzz-pruning-gov%E2%80%99t-securities-dealers%E2%80%99-list
Agree with negroshoper, corruption of the local gov’t and sidedeals paved the way in favor of Ayala. Because originally way back Feb/March, the first one who inquired for the said site was shoemart. The governor’s cut must be bigger if they approved Ayala than with SM.
This is bad for Bacolod. =(
I think that Negros is again stuck in the middle because of bad political practices. I just wish everything gets settled so that Negros will continue its momentum to be a true tiger city. Based on articles below, it was indeed SM that offered the best offer! Go Negrense! Fly Negros!
http://business.inquirer.net/8005/the-ride-of-negros-occidental
http://www.malaya.com.ph/july20/edducky.html
it is very sad that Sm still continued on there case versus ayala i hope it was settled early it is not good if investors are quarelling..i hope the governor will stop them.its not good in the eyes of other investors if they knew it about this one
I would have to agree with Tikalon, Ayala has a way of building structures that are in harmony with the natural elements. Two examples are the “new” Greenbelt, and the Ayala Triangle Gardens. I think it’s also worthy to note that Ayala commisions L.V. Locsin and Partners (architects) on numerous projects. The company was founded by Negros born Leandro Locsin. See wiki link here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leandro_Locsin
For me SM have the best offer because if they win they already proposes 2 hotels,a convention center.a retail..and more especially 10 twelve story building..we just imagine if SM build 10 midrise building its very nice..than ayala only offer 1 hotel a convention center a mall..and one high rise building for the office of BPO..but still im happy its either the two invest SM or ayala. but SM offers a big one..a 2 billion is only one initial in SM
Comparing the Ayala development in Bacolod to that of BGC is a long shot. I’m thinking more along the lines of Davao, Cebu, CDO and Angeles City. Mega business development with a local flavor. At least Ayala has more aesthetically pleasant buildings than SM. :p
Of course I’m not comparing the Ayala Capitol Civic Center to BGC. I just want to point out some of the famous projects of ALI.
My apologies. I guess I’m just pointing out how Ayala developments are more in touch with its locale than SM. The only SM I’ve been to which I guess embraced the local flavor is in Baguio and that’s just because they made it to resemble the rice terraces. Even their condo buildings are so blah.
i will very proud that ayala invested in capitol site..it is very best because its is big company in Manila now it can invest right now in bacolod..thats why me and other people in here is very happy,i hope too that Sm shall be expanded their business here..sothat bacolod had chances in the future soon to became queen city of the south in the like of cebu..Go go go neg
kabay pa kung madumduman pana nila ang mga tawo na dara sang una ga istar na gn paalin nila gaan nila ubra sa mga negosyo na patindugon da nila sa amo na na lugar