Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III bared a plan on Tuesday to sell more government assets this year, beginning with the privatization of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM).
Dominguez said the state-owned firm’s programmed sale to the private sector has long been overdue and that there is a renewed commitment under President Duterte to sell certain state enterprises.
“Yes, there will be more assets to be unloaded. I have just talked to the PSALM people and I told them that the original plan for PSALM was to get rid of the assets up to the first five years. That was 10 years ago. We have to speed up their disposal of assets,” Dominguez said.
He said a reassessment of current asset values will be made since certain valuations, particularly with PSALM, are only based on book value.
“No, I don’t believe their [current] valuation because that is all book value. We have to reassess,” he explained.
Dominguez, likewise, said he expects the asset disposal process to happen within three years.
“You know the original law was made in 2001, and they expected for five years they will be able to dispose all of the assets, right? They haven’t done it and it is already 15 years. I want to finish it in three years. I want to follow the original law,” Dominguez said.
He also said the privatization of casinos, like the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. is under consideration, in tandem with the sale of such banks as the Philippine Postal Savings Bank and the United Coconut Planters Bank.