THE Department of Finance (DOF) said it will be disposing of the assets of two state corporate bodies—the Partido Development Administration (PDA) and the Technology Resource Center (TRC).
The DOF said the speedy liquidation of the PDA and TRC is in line with the Duterte administration’s goal of ridding the government of its nonperforming assets.
In a report to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, the DOF’s Privatization Management Office (PMO) said it was designated as the disposition entity to clear the way for the liquidation of both the PDA and TRC.
The Governance Commission for Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GCG) recommended the abolition of the PDA in 2017, while the TRC was ordered abolished by the Office of the President in 2014 for its involvement in the irregularities related to the Priority Development Assistance Fund.
In Memorandum Order (MO) 29 signed by Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea on September 25, Malacañang said, “The PDA and its various operating units have been consistently operating at a loss for several years, which necessitates continuous subsidy from the national government.”
The PDA was created in 1994 with the goal of accelerating the development of 10 municipalities comprising the fourth legislative district of Camarines Sur, better known as the Partido district.
“Despite the operation of the PDA for almost 20 years, the Fourth District of the Province of Camarines Sur has the highest poverty incidence level compared with other districts of the province, and has a higher poverty-incidence compared to the average for the entire Bicol region,” the MO said.
The GCG recommended the abolition of the PDA for the following reasons: the PDA performs functions or purposes that duplicate or unnecessarily overlap with functions, programs, activities or projects already provided by another government agency; and it is not producing the desired outcomes, or no longer achieving the objectives and purposes for which it was originally designed and implemented, and does not generate the level of social, physical and economic returns vis-á-vis the resource inputs.
Under MO 29, the PMO was directed to “dispose of the assets of the PDA to settle its outstanding liabilities.”
Meanwhile, in a memorandum issued in 2015, the GCG said the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) shall implement “the winding down of operations, disposition of the assets and settlement of liabilities of the TRC.”
It also stated that by October 31, 2015, all remaining functions of the TRC and custody of its assets shall have been transferred to the DOST.
On December 6, 2000, Executive Order 323 was issued by former President Joseph E. Estrada creating the PMO, which handles the marketing of government assets that are up for disposition.