The Provincial Government of Negros Occidental, led by Governor Eugenio Jose V. Lacson signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center, headed by Executive Director Ferdinand Pecson on April 7, 2022. The MOA outlines the cooperation framework and technical assistance that will be provided by the PPP Center for the Province’s PPP projects. The goal is to develop a robust pipeline of PPP projects for the Province of Negros Occidental.
The MOA signing was part of the Negros Occidental Provincial Water Summit where the Provincial Integrated Water Security Plan was presented to stakeholders. The water security plan was developed by the province in partnership with United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Safe Water.
In his opening remarks, Governor Lacson pointed out that the water security of Negros Occidental is now “at a critical point” because of rapid population growth, urbanization, and water demand for agriculture, which is further aggravated by water pollution, water-borne diseases, and destruction of watersheds. “Given the enormity of the concern, this necessitates serious and concerted efforts of all sectors. Thus, I call on the active involvement of our local governments and stakeholders,” Governor Lascon said.
The Provincial Integrated Water Security Plan aims to further increase access to resilient water supply, improve water resource management, and strengthen water sector governance in the province.
As part of its Local PPP Strategy, the PPP Center works to support local implementing agencies including the local government units to implement local PPP projects 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.
