The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center and the Provincial Government of Batangas signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to institutionalize their cooperation to develop and implement infrastructure and development projects in the province through PPP. The MOA signing was held last December 23, 2021.
The MOA, signed by Batangas Governor Hermilando I. Mandanas and PPP Center Executive Director Ferdinand A. Pecson, outlines the technical assistance that will be provided by the PPP Center for the province’s PPP projects. Among the identified PPP projects are the Township and Livelihood Cluster Development Project, which aims to provide post-disaster shelter, resettlement, and inclusive improvement of the living conditions of Batangueños, and the Batangas Regional Food Terminal Port Project, a sub-component of the proposed Regional Food Terminal (RFT), which will intensify sustainable food production, trade, and processing and provide meaningful sources of livelihood to farmers, fisherfolks, and livestock raisers in the province and the region. The two projects intend to accelerate the recovery of the Province after the two recent major disasters that the Batangueños have experienced – the Taal Volcano eruption and the Covid-19 pandemic.
As part of its Local PPP Strategy, the PPP Center works to support local implementing agencies including the Local Government Units (LGUs) to implement local PPP projects. This will help decentralize Metro Manila by opening up more employment opportunities through the construction of more infrastructure and development facilities in the different regions (such as transportation, water supply and sanitation, solid waste management, health, information technology, government property development, etc.).
The Local PPP Strategy is also aligned with the implementation of Executive Order No. 138, otherwise known as the “Full Devolution of Certain Functions of The Executive Branch to Local Governments, Creation of a Committee on Devolution, and for Other Purposes”. LGUs will have greater fiscal independence and bigger development fund to undertake infrastructure and development projects due to devolved roles and responsibilities from the national government. PPPs could be one of the options that LGUs may consider in light of the bigger funds that they will be receiving, which increases the share of LGUs in national taxes and revenues.
