Source: BusinessMirror
Cai Ordinario
March 24, 2011

THE government is now formulating the guidelines for the public-private partnership (PPP) program to help line agencies and local government units (LGUs) avail themselves of the projects under it.

The task is being undertaken by the PPP Center.

Director General Cayetano W. Pade-ranga, National Economic and Development Authority,  said the guidelines would outline the steps and other processes to be taken by the PPP Center in accepting projects to package.

With the guidelines will come toolkits or templates to enable LGUs to take on small PPP projects on their own, without PPP Center assistance.

The toolkits will instruct LGUs how best to construct such structures as slaughterhouses, public markets, bus terminals, etc.

Earlier, Hernani Braganza, League of Cities of the Philippines secretary-general, said LGUs might be pressed for time to begin undertaking PPP projects in their areas.

Local executives only have three-year terms and they have cited this as one of factors that would limit their ability to undertake such projects.

Many LGUs also lack the personnel needed for cities and towns to begin undertaking the projects. Creating PPP proposals requires people with expertise, Braganza said.

Braganza also said while identifying projects might be easy, the process of undertaking them was still unclear for many LGUs.

He urged the PPP Center to formulate guidelines that would make the access of LGUs to PPP projects easier. Otherwise, LGUs will just go back to the usual build-operate-transfer route, Braganza said.

The PPP Center is backed by the P300-million Project Development Monitoring Fund from the national budget.

It could also tap a $10-million technical assistance from the Asian Development Bank, Australian Agency for International Development, and Canadian International Development Agency.

PPP Center executive director Philamer C. Torio said the government aims to raise P200 billion to set up the Philippine Infrastructure Development Fund. The fund will be under the care of the National Development Co. that will then lend it to line agencies that will need additional funds.

Torio said the Land Bank of the Philippines, Development Bank of the Philippines, the Social Security System, and the Government Service Insurance System will contribute P50 billion each to the fund which will largely finance right-of-way acquisitions or Rowa.