CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—The only Christmas village-themed park not only in the Philippines but in the whole of Asia which stands as an iconic symbol of Pampanga’s famous Christmas lantern—the Paskuhan Village—has been sold.
The buyer—SM Development Corp. (SMDC). The seller—the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza). The price—P939 million.
Known officially as the Philippine Christmas Village and popularly as Paskuhan Village at its establishment in 1990 and now as Hilaga (North), the property with its main building shaped like a Christmas lantern when viewed from above—with its adjacent area of the Florikultura Gardens and the former Days Inn—occupies a premium 9.3 hectares at the junction of the North Luzon Expressway and the Jose Abad Santos Avenue in Barangay San Jose.
Congressman Guiao sad over sale
LIBERAL Party Rep. Joseller “Yeng” Guiao of Pampanga expressed sadness and dissatisfaction with the sale of what he described as a “symbol of the Capampangans.”
“We could have preserved Hilaga and put it to better use,” Guiao said. “Sayang [Too bad],” he lamented.
Paskuhan Village was built by Guiao’s father, then-Pampanga Gov. Bren Z. Guiao.
With the consummation of the sale, Guiao was adviced to retrieve the bust of his father, that is perched on a pedestal at the property’s Plaza Guiao.
The elder Guiao was among the group which included then-Tourism Secretary Jose Antonio Gonzales and then-Center for International Trades, Expositions and Missions Director Mina Gabor that conceptualized the Paskuhan Village.
Paskuhan brief
THE Hilaga property was part of the land owned by the Lazatin family. In 1990 it was donated to the government.
On December 11, 1990 then-President Corazon Aquino opened the Paskuhan Village which showcased the best Christmas-inspired Filipino arts and crafts, including demonstrations on how these products were made.
“To support the lantern industry of San Fernando,” was supposed to be among the principal reasons for the establishment of the Paskuhan Village.
At the time of its construction and until its reported sale recently, it was bruited that a “deed of donation” mandated that the area should be exclusively used for no purpose other than the promotion of the Christmas-lantern industry.”
In 2012 this came to the fore when a resolution was filed with the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Pampanga to put up a branch of the Casino Filipino at the Paskuhan Village, which by that time, was already turning into a losing proposition.
Religious organizations were joined by militant groups, parents and teachers association in opposing the casino at Paskuhan.
At one time, the Paskuhan Village hosted the regional consular office of the Department of Foreign Affairs before it transferred to Clark Field in Angeles City.
Deed of sale
THERE was no “deed of donation” that explicitly expressed exclusivity for the use of the Paskuhan Village for Christmas-themed purposes.
There was a “deed of sale” executed with the then-Philippine Tourism Authority by one “Robert David, in his capacity as the attorney-in-fact of the Lazatin-Singian patriarch Jesus Lazatin,” a source privy to the SM-Tieza transaction said, but requested anonymity for absence of authority to speak on the matter.
According to the source, the sale of Hilaga was part of the Tieza’s Asset Privatization Program upon the behest of its board headed by Tourism Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez Jr.
The source said the Governance Commission for Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporations (GOCCs), which is the central advisory, monitoring and oversight body authorized to formulate, implement and coordinate policies for GOCCs, has given the Tieza board, headed by former Pampanga Gov. Mark Lapid, the order for asset privatization of its 49 properties all over the country.
Up for sale in the first tranche are the Agoo Playa Hotel in Agoo, La Union, which is about 3.5 hectares; the Matabungkay property in Lian, Batangas, which is 7.8 hectares; the Talisay property in Talisay, Batangas, which is 91.7 hectares; and Hilaga in San Fernando, Pampanga.
“These properties are lumped in the first tranche because they have clean titles,” the source said.
It was also learned that an “invitation to bid” for the initial four properties was published in three major newspapers in November.
Only 5 bidders
LAST December 17 five bidders joined the open bidding for just one property—Hilaga. Four of the bidders are all SM corporations or companies and the last was Robinsons Land Corp.
It was learned that a floor price of P849 million was established by three appraisers commissioned by Tieza. And SMDC won with a bid of P939 million.
The source described SM as “aggressive” in acquiring the property as it has reportedly given locators and tenants at Hilaga only until January 29 to vacate the premises.
Hilaga is the second of SM’s recent big buys in the city of San Fernando.
Before the end of the 2014, it acquired a vast tract of land, including the Essel Supermarket in barangay Telabastagan which was also owned by the Lazatin family.
1 comment
mabuti hinabla ng Pampanga govt yun sm…sobra swapang kac…samantalang sa hiway asa P30T per sqm yun lupa, c sm binili lang ng P10T per sqm yun paskuhan…dapat makulong c mark lapid…cya nagbenta ng palugi…dapat makulong din cla hans sy at big boy sy, mga anak ni henry sy…cla yun mga ganid na kinu corrupt mga swapang na taga gobyerno katulad ni mark lapid…