Gov't hits priva target on mine sale

Recurring payments from the sale of Nonoc Mining and Industrial Corp.'s assets injected more than half a billion pesos into the national coffers, pushing the government's privatization income above P6 billion in the first 10 months of the year.

- BY DERCO ROSAL

The Nonoc Mining revenues are a "recurring payment for previous disposition," Department of Finance (DOF) Assistant Secretary Michael Peter A. Alejandro told the Manila Bulletin on Thursday, Nov. 27.

Payments for Nonoc Mining assets surged 152.4 percent to P737 million as of end-October, from P292 million in the same period last year. A bulk of these payments—P583 million—was remitted last month.

Alejandro said the payment process from the mining corporation is lengthy, and additional revenues from Nonoc Mining are expected to further boost the national treasury.

The finance official maintained the government has already reached its P5-billion privatization target for the year, noting that the Privatization and Management Office (PMO) collected "more than P6 billion as of end-October.