Govt to privatize idle assets for revenue boost

THE government is ramping up efforts to generate non-tax revenues by fast-tracking the privatization of non-performing assets, the Department of Finance said.

Revised guidelines have been issued to streamline and expedite the disposition of the assets. This is expected to provide additional revenue streams for the government while offering investment opportunities for ordinary Filipinos.

"Privatization of non-performing assets is among the strategic moves to raise much-needed revenues to fund the growing needs of our people," Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said.

"And by opening the doors for ordinary Filipinos to take part, we are also creating investment opportunities for them while contrib-uting to nation-building," he added.

The assets to be privatized, Finance Undersecretary Catherine Fong said, do not generate economic activity or government income through taxes but instead incur costs.

"We allocate budgetary support for the Privatization Management Office (PMO) for upkeep and pre-disposition activities, and in-stead of raising revenue and helping stimulate the economy, these assets are a burden," she added.

The privatization push is aligned with Executive Order 323, which established the inter-agency Privatization Council (PrC) and the PMO.

The PrC oversees all national government privatization initiatives while the PMO is responsible for managing and disposing of assets belonging to government financial institutions and specific government-owned or controlled corporations.

To ensure a more efficient and transparent privatization process, the PrC recently made revisions to the Guidelines on the Privatiza-tion and Disposition of Assets, which took effect on March 11, 2025.

Recto said that updated guidelines aimed to improve the efficiency, accessibility and inclusivity of asset disposition.

Among the key changes is the introduction of provisions allowing private sector entities and individuals to submit unsolicited offers. The guidelines also expand the available modes of asset disposition, introduce the accreditation and use of brokers and mandate the creation of a structured and digitized asset registry to improve access to information.

"We sincerely hope to receive offers from ordinary citizens wishing to own their own land while helping the national government create better value by speedily disposing of these assets," Fong said.

She added that the government would be publishing notices of available assets in newspapers and on official government websites to ensure transparency and public awareness.

Every sale must receive unanimous approval from the PrC and the council will set the minimum base price for each asset based on fair market value as determined by third-party appraisers.

The revised guidelines also call for clear timelines for each stage of the privatization process, from appraisal to contract signing, to eliminate bureaucratic delays and make asset acquisition more straightforward.