By Chino S. Leyco The Duterte administration will not sell its Nampeidai property in Tokyo, Japan, instead the Department of Finance (DOF) plans to construct new government buildings on the half-a-hectare square meter real-estate asset. Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said the government is planning to construct three buildings on the 4,800 square meter Nampeidai property that will cater to the Philippine embassy staff and Filipino migrants. Asked if this means the government will no longer pursue the previously planned privatization of Nampeidai, Dominguez said “I think if we have property in other countries and they are suitable for embassies, we should develop it for our own… rather than sell.” During the Arroyo administration, the government attempted but failed to bid out its Nampeidai property in 2008 after no buyers showed up during the auction day. “We were discussing the possibility of developing the property and building three structures there, and these structures will be the chancery and embassy and maybe a meeting place for Filipinos in Japan like a social hall or something, and apartments for the embassy staff,” he explained. Dominguez said the DOF will soon coordinate with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to come up with the plan for Nampeidai. “That’s like half a hectare in a place that is very accessible to the train. We can finance it through an issuance of bonds,” Dominguez said. Once completed, Dominguez said the government could generate revenues through rental fees. Aside from Nampedai, the Philippines has other real-estate assets in Japan which were acquired as part of Japan’s World War II reparations. The government also owns a 4,361 square meter property in Fujimo Cho, Chiyoda Ku, which once the location of the Philippines’ diplomatic offices in Japan.