The Public Estates Authority, one of the Government’s most active development agencies, was created in 1977 by virtue of Presidential Decree 1084 to serve primarily as the clearing house for all reclamation projects in the country. 

A government agency attached to the Office of the President, PEA performs both regulatory and proprietary functions. 

PEA, which is mandated to be self-sustaining, has created assets for the Government by converting underutilized land into valuable and income-generating real estate properties, especially in its 1,500-hectare reclamation project in Manila Bay known as Bay City.  Aside from this, PEA is involved in a wide range of projects and delivery of services related to land development and urban renewal, infrastructure projects as well as financing and construction of buildings particularly for other government agencies. 

Its charter vests PEA with power and authority to develop and dispose idle public lands, to enter into contracts and loan agreements with private, public or foreign entities and to exercise the right to eminent domain in the name of the Republic of the Philippines. 

Likewise, PEA has strong institutional linkages with other government agencies as well as private sector entities, an important factor in generating support for and ensuring the successful implementation of its programs and projects. 

The Office of the Solicitor General, the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel, the Department of Budget and Management and the Government Corporate Monitoring and Coordinating Council, provide the basic guidelines and parameters on financial and organizational performance. 

In the implementation of its mandate, PEA consults with other line agencies and development authorities.  Among such agencies are the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council and its attached agencies.

PEA had always been at the forefront of the Government’s economic development program.  Through its projects, PEA is able to reach a broad spectrum of clientele – the National Government, other line agencies, local government units as well as local and foreign investors. 

Although PEA is not part of the housing sector, PEA remains one of the staunchest supporters of the government’s National Shelter Program.  Thousands of socialized houses built by its partners from the private sector, have been sold at affordable prices to qualified beneficiaries.

And as it prepares itself for the greater demands of the next millennium, PEA pledges to stick to the time-tested manner of serving the Filipino people – through utmost professionalism and transparency.