- Office of Minority Leader Edcel C. Lagman
- 0916-6406737 / 0918-9120137
- Official Website: http://www.edcellagman.com.ph
- 12 January 2011
NO LAW AUTHORIZES SALE
OF AGUINALDO AND CRAME
No executive official, including the President, can sell, lease or encumber Camp Aguinaldo and Camp Crame or portions thereof without any authority from Congress through an enabling statute or law.
Section 48 of Book I of the Administrative Code of 1987 provides that conveyance of real property of the government should be authorized by law.
The Supreme Court in a number of cases has ruled that legislative authority is necessary for the Executive to sell, alienate or encumber erstwhile properties of the public dominion after they have been declared as disposable patrimonial properties of the State.
It is not for the President to convey valuable real property of the government on his own sole will or judgment in the absence of an appropriate law.
It is for this reason that the sale of portions of Fort Bonifacio and Villamor Airbase was authorized under Republic Act No. 7227 or the Bases Conversion and Development Act of 1992.
RA 7227 creating the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) did not specifically include Camp Aguinaldo and Camp Crame among the Metro Manila military camps or properties for disposition.