The government remains confident in achieving its over ₱101-billion privatization revenue target for 2025, following new guidelines that paved the way for the first-ever unsolicited bid for an idle asset, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).

“We received our first unsolicited offer last Monday,” DOF Undersecretary Catherine L. Fong told Manila Bulletin on Thursday, April 3.

Fong, who heads the DOF’s privatization and partnerships group, disclosed that this unsolicited offer was made for a property in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija.

The DOF-attached Privatization and Management Office (PMO) is selling an 8,288-square-meter (sqm) lot in Brgy. Magsaysay Norte, Cabanatuan City, at a base price of a little over ₱58 million. This is part of a total of 34 lots valued at ₱358.2 million available for negotiated sale.

The PMO is eyeing to dispose of up to 51 lots this month, with a combined base price of ₱603.5 million. It is offering 17 of these idle properties, worth ₱245.3 million, through public auctions on an “as-is, where-is” basis.

In February, the DOF published the new 41-page guidelines on the privatization and disposition of government assets.

Fong mentioned earlier that these new privatization rules would allow unsolicited offers for over 28,000 small assets, primarily targeting ordinary Filipinos—including overseas Filipino workers (OFWs)—who may acquire idle government properties as small as a 200-sqm lot.

The latest Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) data on Wednesday, April 2, showed that as of end-February, the government’s total income from privatization stood at ₱19 million, unchanged from the PMO’s January figure, as relayed by Fong earlier to this reporter.

Privatization revenues in the first two months did not reach one percent of the ambitious three-digit target.

Year-on-year, end-February privatization proceeds were significantly below the ₱231 million recorded a year ago.

“Things are still in the works, under negotiation, under procurement, etc.” Fong said.

Despite the lack of a major spike in privatization earnings at the start of the year, the government expects the upcoming sale of the 796-megawatt (MW) Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan (CBK) hydroelectric power plant in Laguna to boost its 2025 privatization drive, Fong added.

It can be recalled that in February, the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) canceled the CBK independent power producer administrator (IPPA) privatization and opted for a direct asset sale instead, as the IPP contract is set to expire early next year.

Last year, DOF Secretary Ralph G. Recto estimated that CBK’s privatization would generate between ₱50 billion and ₱100 billion.

Last month, Recto also confirmed that the government is set to privatize major assets, including the 2.2-hectare (ha) Mile Long property in Makati City and the remaining 46-ha Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) property in Taguig City.

Recto said earlier that selling the government’s idle assets would contribute to much-needed public revenues to fund the budget deficit.

For 2025, the Marcos administration is increasing its budget deficit cap to ₱1.54 trillion—the widest in three years, in terms of amount, if achieved.

Last year, the government exceeded its target fiscal deficit of ₱1.48 trillion, reaching ₱1.51 trillion, which is 5.7 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).