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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider The Economy devider Downscaled 2025 privatization target surpassed in July—DOF

Downscaled 2025 privatization target surpassed in July—DOF

Published Aug 20, 2025 06:00 pm  |  Updated Aug 20, 2025 05:12 pm
Finance Undersecretary Catherine L. Fong
Finance Undersecretary Catherine L. Fong
Revenues collected from privatization have already surpassed the downscaled ₱5-billion target for the year after the private-sector operator of Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX) paid a partial ₱4.415 billion in concession fees owed to the government.
Department of Finance (DOF) Undersecretary Catherine L. Fong, who heads the DOF’s privatization and partnerships group (PPG), told Manila Bulletin on Wednesday, Aug. 20, that privatization revenues as of July had reached ₱5.528 billion.
This end-July figure included the rare ₱714-million remittance from the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), which came from the sale of a Claude Monet painting. Manila Bulletin is still awaiting the PCGG’s response to its query regarding the details of this particular Monet sale, which the agency said was under review by the office of its chairperson, Melchor Quirino C. Sadang.
Under the national government’s quarterly fiscal program approved by the Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) in June, ₱4.218 billion in privatization remittances was expected in the fourth quarter of the year.
But last month, the DOF managed to collect a bigger amount from CALAX operator MPCALA Holdings Inc., a subsidiary of Manuel V. Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC).
Fong explained that this formed part of the ₱17 billion in concession fees to be paid to the government under the concession agreement.
MPCALA Holdings had delayed its concession fee payments because the government had been unable to deliver right-of-way (ROW) for the 44.6-kilometer (km) expressway spanning Cavite and Laguna provinces. However, Fong noted that the unacquired ROW for CALAX has now become minimal.
While MPCALA claimed losses due to delayed ROW, the government is seeking interest payments for the delayed concession fee payments, the DOF official said.
Fong added that the DOF and MPCALA are discussing a settlement to offset claims against each other.
End-July 2025 revenues from privatization have already exceeded the government’s annual collections since 2019, historical Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) data showed.
For 2026, the government is targeting a record ₱101 billion in privatization revenues. The 2025 goal was also originally ₱101 billion, before it was slashed to ₱5 billion.
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