BCDA Chairman Hilario Paredes; BCDA President and CEO Joshua Bingcang; Senior officials of the BCDA; National Treasurer Sharon Almanza; Undersecretary Alu Dorotan-Tiuseco; Undersecretary Cathy Fong; Assistant Secretary Jun Bernabe; fellow workers in government: good afternoon.

Let me begin by thanking the men and women of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority for your hard work in developing the nation and uplifting the lives of the Filipino people.

You are proof that when professionalism meets patriotism, it results in progress for all.

Your achievements are not dry prose in written reports. They are the living and booming communities that dot a landscape you have changed for the better.

Once empty fields are now thriving economic centers: Bonifacio Global City, New Clark City, and Newport City.

They attest to the transformative power of repurposing state assets.

Every idle land you turn into a wealth-creating hub becomes a job generator, a talent magnet, an income booster, and a hope multiplier.

And a revenue driver as what today’s ceremony once again proves.

The 2.04 billion pesos, representing 80 percent of your net earnings in 2024, which you are remitting to the Treasury, is your highest ever on record.

And if added to the 3.13 billion pesos from asset sales you have booked during the same year—the total amount, 5.17 billion pesos, is a robust addition to the state coffers.

Ibig sabihin, hindi lang kayo tumutupad sa tungkulin—lumalagpas pa kayo. Boundary na, may bonus pa.

But this amount is not a mere number in our ledger. They are remittances that fuel growth, dividends for development.

That 5.17 billion pesos can build around 2,000 classrooms. Or buy fertilizer for more than half a million hectares of rice land. Or a quarter billion hot meals for our children.

If channeled to its mandated beneficiary, the AFP, it can boost the welfare and the weaponry of our fighting men.

On the DOF part, we pledge to strongly support BCDA’s drive to harness more value out of its asset portfolio.

And as you very well know, the government is doing its share in making BCDA properties more attractive, pouring more money than what you had remitted.

The railway alone to Clark and the subway to BGC are the state’s vote of confidence on the continuing viability of baselands conversion.

Ginagawa natin ito upang patuloy tayong makahikayat ng mas maraming investors at mabigyan ng mas maraming oportunidad ang ating mga kababayan na umasenso.

It is also a revenue-raising track that reduces the pressure to inflict more and new taxes on our people.

For this is what Bagong Pilipinas demands of us: not just good governance from above, but genuine transformation on the ground—a feat of which the BCDA is no stranger to, having been a forerunner in this field.

To end, let me also acknowledge the hard work of our very own Corporate Sector and Strategic Infrastructure Group, whose diligent oversight helps make this success possible.

Muli, maraming, maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat. Mabuhay ang BCDA! Mabuhay ang Bagong Pilipinas!