The Marcos administration is banking on public-private partnership (PPP) projects for the creation of more and higher-quality jobs as well as upgrading the country’s infrastructure.

In his speech at the 2022 Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines-San Miguel Corp. Economic Forum in Manila yesterday, Balisacan said PPPs will be used to address the binding constraints in infrastructure.

“Concerning job creation, one of the most critical constraints that stakeholders and policymakers have identified over the years is the country’s inadequate infrastructure. In light of the fiscal bind we find ourselves in, the use of PPPs has emerged as an essential mode of financing the infrastructure that the economy needs,” Balisacan said.

Aside from upgrading infrastructure, Balisacan said PPPs are expected to boost the competitiveness of domestic industries, and further encourage investments in various sectors that will lower prices and improve the quality of goods and services.

“In particular, we expect the infrastructure push to support present and future growth drivers such as manufacturing, tourism, information technology-business process outsourcing and creative sectors. We will utilize PPPs to upgrade our land, energy, logistics, transportation, telecommunications and water infrastructure,” he said.

Balisacan’s presentation showed there are 198 existing PPP projects that have already been awarded, while 71 more remain in the pipeline.

He said the National Economic and Development Authority, in coordination with other agencies, will conduct a thorough review of the amended Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law’s implementing rules and regulations (IRR) and will seek to address the private sector’s concerns on the viability of PPPs while upholding the government’s objective of protecting public interest.

“We have already received the President’s directive to review the IRR of the BOT Law. We are presently awaiting the convening of the committee to review the rules,” Balisacan said.

“Still, we have received several private sector stakeholders’ comments expressing their concerns over specific provisions of the IRR. Of course, the careful review of the rules requires that we perform a balancing act: encouraging private investment to promote job creation, technological innovation and product competition while protecting the public interest,” he added. – Angela Celis