MANILA – The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) lost the second round of its row with the SM Group over a 33.1-hectare property lot in Bonifacio South in Taguig City.
 
In a 13-page decision penned by Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco, the Supreme Court’s Special Third Division junked BCDA’s plea to bid out the property, saying it should honor its original agreement over the P25.9 billion lot.
 
BCDA earlier said it can get better offers through a competitive bidding, noting that SM’s offer is too low.
 
The high court, however, reiterated its earlier findings that the BCDA can still get a better price on the property through a Swiss challenge.
 
It also said the state-owned agency failed to comply with the requirements for a second motion to be entertained.
 
BCDA accepted SM’s bid, made in 2010, but changed its mind in 2012, after six real estate developers expressed interest in developing the lot amid rising property prices.
 
The property, located between Newport City and McKinley West, is composed of lands occupied by the Army Support Command and Special Services Unit of the Army, the Bonifacio Naval Station and the Marine Corps of the Navy.