CLARK FREEPORT—The Aquino administration is set to hand the 215-hectare Mimosa Leisure Estate (MLE) back to the private sector through a public bidding sometime in August.
The sale of the sprawling property in Clark, Pampanga, is part of the government’s overall strategy to attract private investment and boost tourism in the area.
Clark Development Corp. (CDC) president and CEO Felipe Antonio Remollo announced on Friday, in his first press conference with Pampanga journalists after assuming his post early in May, stressed that he doesn’t want the public bidding to fail “again.”
“We want it to be fair and we will be careful [in bidding it out]. We want to succeed,” said Remollo, whose appointment at the CDC was reportedly pushed by losing vice presidential candidate and now Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas.
A three-term Dumaguete City mayor and member of the ruling Liberal Party, Remollo disclosed that the terms of reference for the bidding will be finalized and made public this month.
The CDC, which took control and management of the MLE in December 1999 by virtue of a court order, failed to privatize the premier leisure estate four times, the last of which happened during the term of former CDC president and CEO Benigno Ricafort, who was replaced by Remollo.
Mimosa is being run by the state-controlled CDC. In 1998 CDC regained control of the property from Mondragon Leisure and Resorts Corp., which failed to pay its rental obligations to the government.
The MLE has a recreational and residential complex, a 36-hole all-weather golf course designed by the Honolulu-based team Nelson Wright and Haworth, a casino and and luxury hotel operated by Holiday Inn.
Rodelio Mamac, founding president of the Mimosa Golf and Country Club Association Inc. (MGCCAI), said the privatization of MLE “is most welcome as the CDC is only an interim operator.”
Mamac, barangay captain of Balibago, Angeles City, said he and MGCCAI President lawyer Babes Infante had supported the turnover of MLE to a private entity. He stressed that the MGCCAI members “whether they are Filipinos [they] should be prioritized and ensured of their rights as members.”
Businessman Ruperto Cruz, who founded the MGCCAI, said past presidents of CDC had bungled the privatization of MLE, frustrating local and international groups to acquire the estate.
Cruz said he had spoken with Korean investors, who are members of firms which failed to acquire the MLE due to failure of bidding or disqualification due to technicalities, learned that they lost confidence and trust in the past CDC administrations after the alleged questionable biddings.
“We hope that Remollo will be different and far better for the benefit of the members. He should remove the perception that past failed biddings had been used as milking cows, benefiting some officials, ” said Cruz, who operates the 18-hole Royal Golf and Country Club championship golf course in Angeles City, some four kilometers away from the Friendship Gate of this Freeport.
Cruz said the MLE’s bidding should succeed for the benefit of the communities adjacent to Clark, as groups and the national government are poised to aggressively push for the transformation of the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport into the premiere airport of the country.
“Mimosa and Royal Golf will complement each other rather than compete given that scenario. The two will attract more local and foreign tourists, especially those landing at the Clark airport,” he added.
The BusinessMirror visited the MLE golf course on Friday afternoon and spoke with other golfers, including members of the Pampanga Golfers Association (PGA). They said their fellow PGA members are “fully supportive of the privatization of Mimosa.”
The MLE golf course once visited by US golfer Tiger Woods had been dubbed as the major attraction at the Freeport.
In Photo: Clear skies and friendly weather on Friday afternoon delight golfers playing at Mimosa. (Ric Gonzales)
