Furthering its mandate of helping strengthen the Armed Forces while building great cities, the new leadership of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) has declared its unwavering support and firm partnership with its major stakeholder, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), by continuously generating revenues for the troops’ modernization program, and expediting the completion of several military facilities under its replication program.
Having spent 35 years in active military service, former Defense chief and currently BCDA Chairman Delfin N. Lorenzana expressed his all-out support to the modernization of the AFP by transforming former US military bases, such as Clark Air Base in Central Luzon, into new frontiers of development.
BCDA Chairman Lorenzana welcomed his former brothers-at-arms, led by AFP Chief of Staff (CSAFP) Lieutenant General Bartolome Vicente O. Bacarro, to the 25 th AFP Forum held last September 19 in New Clark City.
The Forum is part of the BCDA’s stakeholder engagement program, which aims to provide the military updates on its current efforts to contribute to the AFP Modernization Program. This marks the most well-attended AFP Forum hosted by BCDA by far, where more than 100
top brass in the AFP organization were present.
As a testament to its mandate, the BCDA, since its creation in 1992, has contributed a total of Php56.4 billion to the AFP.
“The BCDA is really about two things: one is to help strengthen the armed forces and the other is to build great cities, like the Bonifacio Global City, Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone, and the biggest yet, the New Clark City,” said BCDA President and Chief Executive Officer Aileen R. Zosa. She added that now more than ever, the BCDA will be more conscious in generating revenues for the modernization of the AFP and expediting the completion of much-needed military facilities.
Aside from contributions to the AFP Modernization Program, the BCDA also provides support by modernizing military facilities as part of its replication program. In March 2022, the BCDA turned over modern facilities to the Army Support Command of the Philippine Army to relocate the unit’s headquarters in Camp General Servillano Aquino in Tarlac.
During the Forum, the BCDA and the AFP have vowed to work together for the completion of an office building that will house the Special and Technical Staff of the Special Services Center and Division Administrative Command
Center in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City; the Philippine Marines headquarters at the Bataan Technology Park in Morong, Bataan; as well as the 65-hectare relocation site for the housing facilities of the Philippine Air Force in New Clark City.
CSAFP Lieutenant General Bacarro then expressed his gratitude to the BCDA for its invaluable contribution to the military’s modernization program.
“As such, on behalf of the men and women of the AFP, I express my wholehearted gratitude to the management of the BCDA for your invaluable contribution to building a stronger, more credible, and more capable Armed Forces,” said Lieutenant General Bacarro. “As the CSAFP, I reaffirm the AFP’s commitment to sustain the engagement between our institutions to further strengthen and enrich our partnership for more productive collaborations in the future,” he added.
After the Forum, the AFP officials were given a tour of the world-class sports facilities and disaster-resilient government center within New Clark City, as well as the new passenger terminal building of the Clark International Airport to brief them on the existing and future developments in the special economic zones where the BCDA operates.
Other ranking officials present in the gathering were Philippine Navy Acting Flag Officerin-Command Rear Admiral Caesar Bernard N. Valencia; Philippine Air Force Vice Commander Major GeneralArthur M. Cordura, representing Philippine Air Force Commanding General Lieutenant General Connor Anthony Canlas Sr.; and Philippine Army Armor Division Commander Major General Efren P. Baluyot, representing Philippine Army Commanding General Lieutenant General Romeo Brawner.
The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) has finished the construction of modern facilities for the Army Support Command (ASCOM) of the Philippine Army (PA) as part of efforts to relocate the army unit’s headquarters to a 29.8-hectare property in Camp Servillano Aquino in Tarlac.
During a ceremonial turnover event, BCDA Chairman Delfin N. Lorenzana formally handed over to PA Chief of Staff Major General Jose Ariel Niembra and ASCOM Commander Major General Glenn E. Cruz 21 completed facilities covered by the civil works contract amounting to Php1.66 billion.
It could be recalled that a partial turnover of 15 facilities was held last March.
“The swift construction of these facilities is a testament to the BCDA’s commitment to deliver its mandate of contributing to the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) modernization program. Here in BCDA, we strive not only to replicate existing military facilities, but to improve them, in line with the vision of having a worldclass Armed Forces by 2028,” Lorenzana said.
“We are confident that these new, modern facilities will pave the way for a reliable and strategically located logistics hub that will efficiently deliver the demands of Army units in the field. May this make our brave soldiers feel more empowered and secure as they perform their duties,” he added.
Th e development plan for ASCOM facilities
involves the construction of 44 structures within a 29.8-hectare lot in Camp Aquino. The construction commenced in 2021, following its groundbreaking in February of the same year.
Among the newly completed structures are the headquarters of the 1st Transportation Battalion, the 1st Logistics Support Group, the 1st Maintenance Battalion, and the 1st Supply Battalion.
The camp also houses transportation and maintenance repair bays, a wellness center, classrooms, student mess halls, barracks and quarters for officers and students, and warehouses.
“This replication project was made to improve the logistics operation of ASCOM and the Philippine Army due to its new and modern facilities. True enough, through the efforts of officers, men and women of ASCOM, that goal has been realized today,” said Major General Ariel Niembra, reading the prepared message of Lieutenant General Romeo S. Brawner, Jr., PA Commanding General. “With the advent of modern warfare, it is imperative for the army to endeavor [and] to be at par with its counterparts around the world [by] having the best facilities that would cater to our organization’s needs,” he added.
New Clark City (NCC) recently hosted the Philippine Air Force Riders Club headed by no less than PAF Commanding General Lieutenant General Connor Anthony D. Canlas Sr. during the club’s regular ride to the north as part of their advocacy for safe motorcycle riding. “This is a part of a holistic safety program to eliminate accidents since motorcycles have become a common and affordable means of transportation of the PAF personnel,” said the air force chief. The Club is composed of PAF officers and enlisted personnel.
Receiving THE airmen at the Athletics’ Stadium were BCDA-MTD Philippines, Inc. Joint Venture General Manager RAdm Jose Miguel Rodriguez (Ret) and Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) Marketing Officer Suzanne Marie Ramos.
“Welcome to New Clark City, the new home of the PAF Riders Club! We are here to offer our services and to tell you that this place is yours as much as it is ours…You can come here anytime,” said Rodriguez while touring them inside The Residences, a 525-unit condominium type housing in the metropolis that would soon house workers of the National Government Administrative Center (NGAC) Office Building, among other stakeholders.
Lieutenant General Canlas described NCC as the “future commercial hub north of the NCR,” adding that it is “a good investment opportunity not only for the [PAF] but for the entire Armed Forces of the Philippines.”
The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and the Philippine Army’s Civil-Military Operations Regiment (CMOR) vowed to jointly work together for the continuous modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), including its much-needed military facilities. This was the commitment made by both BCDA and CMOR during the recently concluded 26th AFP Forum in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig. The BCDA-led forum was attended by about 200 CMOR members, led by Acting Regiment Commander Colonel Marces Gayat.
CMOR, led by Acting Regiment Commander Col Gayat, accorded Foyer honors to former Defense Chief and currently BCDA Chairman Delfin Lorenzana upon the latter's arrival in Fort Bonifacio for the forum.
“Being in yet another position to pay back the organization is something I am endlessly thankful for and want to make the most of,” Chairman Lorenzana said.
BCDA President and CEO Aileen Zosa was also present to provide updates on BCDA’s contribution to the AFP Modernization Program and the status of several replication projects for the Philippine Army. Among these are the Special and Technical Staff building for the Special Service Center and Division Administrative Command Center in Fort Bonifacio and the Army Support Command headquarters in Camp Servillano Aquino in Tarlac.
CMOR Acting Regiment Commander Col Gayat then expressed his gratitude to the BCDA for its commitment to help strengthen the Armed Forces by transforming former military bases into new economic growth centers.
“[This is a] momentous event because the CMOR itself has been a witness to the meta-
morphosis of Fort Bonifacio into a beautiful city. The BCDA Chairman shares with us the same DNA and the same mark of a soldier,” Acting Regiment Commander Col Gayat said during the 26th forum.
The 26 th AFP Forum forms part of BCDA’s efforts in forming stronger linkages with its major stakeholder, the AFP.
The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) was recognized anew as one of the top-performing government-owned and -controlled corporations in the Philippines, after it gained an “outstanding” assessment rating in the 2021 Corporate Governance Scorecard of the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG).
Chairman Lorenzana, along with BCDA Director Reghis M. Romero III and BCDA Executive Vice President and COO Officer-in-Charge Atty. Gisela Z. Kalalo, received the Certificate of Recognition during the GCG Corporate Governance Scorecard for GOCCs Awarding Ceremony on December 5 at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.
This is the 7th consecutive year that the BCDA has scored over 90% on its performance scorecard. This shows BCDA’s continuous improvement in delivering consistent and efficient policies and practices in corporate governance and stakeholder relations, pursuing disclosure and
transparency, and implementing Board responsibilities with competence and accountability in line with good governance conditions.
“We are truly humbled and honored by this recognition. This is a recognition for the hard work of everyone in BCDA and a reminder to continuously provide excellent public service to all our stakeholders, specially to the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” said BCDA Chairman Delfin N. Lorenzana.
The GCG-implemented scorecard aims to raise corporate governance standards practices for GOCCs, patterned after the ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard and grounded on the Principles of Corporate Governance of State-owned Enterprises by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on par with ASEAN state-owned enterprises.
GCG recognizes well-governed GOCCs and their potential as significant contributors to the country’s economic development as declared by Republic Act No. 10149 or the “GOCC Governance Act of 2011.”
The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) is a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC), which lives by its core function: to strengthen the Armed Forces while building great cities.
It is vested with corporate powers under Republic Act (RA) 7227 or the Bases Conversion and Development Act of 1992: “An Act Accelerating the Conversion of Military Reservations Into Other Productive Uses, Creating the Bases Conversion and Development Authority For This Purpose, Providing Funds Therefor And For Other Purposes.”
The Republic Act 7227 was signed into law by former President Corazon C. Aquino, on March 13, 1992. The BCDA Charter was amended by RA 7917 in 1995, and further amended by RA 9400 in 2007.
BCDA Corporate Center
2/F Bonifacio Technology Center
31st Street corner 2nd Avenue
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City Philippines
Email: bcda@bcda.gov.ph
Contact No.: (632) 8575 1700
We build great cities while we help strengthen our Armed Forces.