GMA orders merger of BOL, PMO

President Arroyo has ordered the merger of the Board of Liquidators (BOL) and the Privatization and Management Office (PMO) to expedite the liquidation of assets and properties of abolished agencies.

Through Executive Order 471, the President said the move would also improve the efficiency of the privatization program by removing duplicative functions in asset disposition.

EO 372 mandated the BOL to gradually settle, dispose of and convey properties of abolished government corporations and former crony-owned entities within three years of its creation.

EO 323, on the other hand, created the PMO to implement a disposition program for government corporations, assets and idle properties upon approval of the Privatization Council (PrC) overseeing the privatization program of the government.

In merging the two agencies, the President said "it is the administration’s policy to transform the bureaucracy into an efficient and results-oriented organization."

Based on EO 471, the functions, rights, personnel, properties, assets, resources, technologies, materials and records as well as the obligations and liabilities of the BOL will be merged with the PMO.

The assets and/or rights, which the BOL is mandated to dispose of under EO 372, shall be transferred to the National Government, which shall entrust the assets and/or rights to the PMO.

"The PMO shall be the surviving entity in the merger. As such, the administrative policies and operational guidelines of the PMO shall govern all transactions and dispositions of the assets of the BOL," the EO read.

The President said a rationalization and integration plan should be formulated and implemented by the PrC in consultation with the BOL and PMO.

Regarding remittance and utilization of revenues, the PMO shall be allowed to retain a portion not exceeding 10 percent of the proceeds from the disposition of BOL properties, which shall serve as the revolving fund for the payment of costs and expenses incurred by the PMO in the conservation and disposition of government assets.

"Thereafter, the net proceeds collected or receipts of any kind from the disposition of all BOL properties shall be remitted to the National Treasury in the manner followed by the PMO, which is 60 percent for the Agrarian Reform Fund and 40 percent for the General Fund," EO 471 read.

Upon merger, the operation income of the BOL shall be transferred to the PMO. By fiscal year 2006, the EO said the budget for the operations of the merged PMO and BOL should be incorporated in the General Appropriations Act.

BOL personnel who may be affected by the merger shall be offered the early retirement/separation benefits under EO 366.

The PrC shall have the authority to approve any action on the disposition of properties of abolished agencies under the merged PMO including all pending disposition transactions of BOL awaiting final action from the Office of the President.