29 October 2012, Manila Bulletin
Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson was commended recently by Philippine Water Works Association (PWWA) President Edgar C. Lopez for strongly advocating for a balance, collaborative public-private partnership (PPP) over privatization as the long-term solution in the development of the country’s water supply and sanitation sector.
Singson, in his keynote during the opening of the three-day 20th PWWA International Conference and Exhibition on Water Resources Management, or PhilWater 2012 held in Puerto Princesa City, spelled out his policy and strategy as the water czar where he emphasized PPP as keystone in striking a balance between social service and economic viability to address long-term governmental goals.
“It is clear that the water services industry cannot continue as a social service without regard to economic viability (but) neither is privatization the answer to the problem,” Singson said.
“The reform requires a more balance public-private partnership model involving the public and private sectors, various stakeholders including consumers and focused on outputs: the quality of water, service levels, coverage, prudent capital expenditures and operating costs and finally affordable water tariff,” Singson stressed.
Singson said the primary focus of the balance PPP model is service improvement but not with the public sector supplanted by the private sector but only with a re-defined role. “The PPP model must be a collaborative partnership between the two sectors and shall be applied especially in communities still without level 3 water supply systems,” he said.
He said this collaborative PPP model can also be applied in the sanitation services as contained in National Sewerage and Septage Management Master Plan with a targeted R3-billion annual budgetary requirement for target coverage by 2020. He said the limited government subsidies available in this sector can be buttressed by private sector financing and investments that can be recovered through charging of users’ fee for sewerage and septage services without the services being privatized themselves but as integrated with the water services as in MWSS and other utilities here and abroad.
Lopez hailed the advocacy of Singson as being in line with the Aquino administration’s thrust of balance economic growth through good governance and transparency.
