New Camp Aguinaldo, Crame development plans proposed!
09/01/2010

The venerable institutions of Camp Aguinaldo and Camp Crame might be transferred and relocated if a new plan by a resurgent real estate development firm is set in motion.

Ortigas & Co., Limited Partership, one of the Philippines' oldest and most prestigious property developers, is said to be in the process of reactivating its proposal to relocate the Quezon City-based headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to newer areas while developing and converting the prime lots into more economically-feasible centers.

The chief operating officer of Ortigas pointed out that this planned move will allow the government to raise funds for the long-delayed modernization of the armed forces and police, while allowing the lands to achieve their full economic potentials.

"Maybe because of the present requirements of the metropolis, (the area where Camps Aguinaldo and Crame now stands) is not the best location for a military camp," Rex C. Drilon II, chief operating officer of Ortigas & Co. said.

Mr. Drilon said there are better uses for the 60 hectares now being occupied by a golf course in Camp Aguinaldo. He said that a military camp would be more suitable in areas such as Clark in Pampanga, which can provide better housing facilities, in addition to being better able to host the country's armed and police forces.

The total area of the two camps is said to amount to 220 hectares. Of this total, Ortigas & Co. donated 34 hectares in the 1950s. The deed of donation contains a clause that stipulates Ortigas & Co. gets back the donated portion if the government decides to convert the camp into other uses.

Ortigas & Co, Limited Partnership is currently in the midst of a phoenix-like frenzy in commercial and residential developments.

"Real estate sales are proceeding according to plan and the shopping center business is doing well," he added, citing strong overseas remittance inflows and investor optimism.

The company is the developer of such high-end residential developments as Valle Verde and Wack-Wack; business centers such as Ortigas Center and retail and commercial areas like Greenhills Shopping Center and Tiendesitas. Their current projects are the Circulo Verde residential enclave in Quezon City and the Luntala townhouses within the Valle Verde 6 subdivision.