PRESS RELEASE
17 July 2014
General Santos City – The City Government of General Santos has entered into an internship agreement program for LGU-PPPs with the Public-Private Partnership Center (PPPC) for the Integrated Food Terminal and City Public Market components of the Integrated Economic Development for Regional Trade (IEDRT) in General Santos City Project. The signing was held at the city’s Sangguniang Panlungsod session hall last July 15. Gensan is the first local government unit to avail the Center’s internship program.
GenSan City Mayor Ronnel C. Rivera and PPP Center Deputy Executive Director Atty. Sherry Ann N. Austria signed the internship program agreement that will capacitate the city government on PPP project implementation. Also present in the signing are Vice Mayor Shirlyn L. Bañas-Nograles, 17th Sangguniang Panlunsod (SP) members and department heads during its regular SP session.
The internship program agreement is part of the Center’s strategy program on engaging LGUs in public-private partnerships. Preceding the agreement signing, the Sangguniang Panlungsod, sponsored by City Councilor Brix T. Tan, approved the city’s PPP Code that serves as a basis for undertaking the project as PPP and for the participation of the LGU interns in the program.
Based on the agreement, the PPP Center will provide hands-on training and assistance to the city’s PPP Board, PPP Technical Working Group facilitated by the City Economic Management & Cooperative Development (CEMCDO), and PPP Selection Committee who are in charge of project development and bid management of its identified PPP projects. Specifically, the PPP Center will mentor the PPP team of GenSan in the areas of project development, project bidding and competition, and project implementation.
The IEDRT in GenSan City was identified as a priority strategic economic support project of the city that will spur infrastructure investments to improve its ability to serve as a regional food-trading center of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City (SOCKSARGEN). The project seeks to improve the physical and institutional linkages among the various stakeholders of the city’s food chain industry. It also aims to benefit the locals by creating a network of food market-related activities that will spur the city’s economic development while also expanding access to quality and healthy food at a regional scope.
In support of the project, the City has also enacted the following resolutions and issuances: Sanggunian Resolution No. 535 for the approval of the project for PPP implementation and Sanggunian Resolution No. 536 which authorizes the mayor to enter into the Internship Program Agreement. The Regional Development Council also supported the agreement by enacting the Regional Development Council XII Resolution No 27. This resolution endorses GenSan project for PPP financing and implementation.
Photo by City Mayor’s Office, General Santos City
