ABS-CBN News

MANILA, Philippines – The government is reviewing its public-private partnership program (PPP) to include concessional loans in the implementation of infrastructure programs.

President Benigno Aquino III told members of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) on Wednesday that enough fiscal space will now allow the government to roll-out infrastructure projects through a “hybrid” PPP.

He said economic managers are now “reviewing the whole process besides compressing the time element.

“There’s also a rethinking — would it be prudent for us to embark on what was originally announced, but with the wrong assumptions?”

The President said the initial PPP program is anchored on the assumption that “nothing in the budget could be utilized for these needed infrastructure programs.”

Now that economic fundamentals have changed, the partnership could be modified to include “concessional loans,” he said. “We’re hoping to get infrastructure projects at the lowest price, so it’s necessary to review.”

He said the economy has managed some savings, brought about by a significant reduction in the deficit. He also cited the appetite for peso-denominated global bonds.