The Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) Committee of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Code of the Philippines conducted another round of stakeholder consultation with the public and private sectors. The consultation session with the public sector was held on March 1, 2024 at the Hive Hotel in Quezon City, while the session with the private sector was held on March 4, 2024 at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Headquarters in Mandaluyong City.

Since early January 2024, the IRR Committee has been conducting online and in-person stakeholder consultations and information sessions on the PPP Code. The PPP Code IRR is targeted to be published on March 22, 2024, and will take effect 15 calendar days from its publication or on April 6, 2024.

In her opening remarks on March 1, PPP Center Executive Director and Undersecretary Ma. Cynthia C. Hernandez assured stakeholders that the IRR Committee will conclude its consultations with an IRR that is efficient, fair, and strengthens cooperation between the public and private sectors.

“As we draw closer to the finalization of the PPP Code IRR, we are confident that its updated policy framework will help us reinforce the country’s investment ecosystem and will create a more stable and predictable policy environment for collaboration on high-impact infrastructure projects,” Hernandez said during the consultation with the public sector.

On both March 1 and 4 sessions, PPP Center Deputy Executive Director and Assistant Secretary Jeffrey I. Manalo led the presentation to the stakeholders of the draft rules and regulations of the Code, which was publicly released by the PPP Code IRR Committee TWG on February 17, 2024.

The final draft of the IRR will be presented for approval at the 3rd IRR Committee meeting scheduled for March 18, 2024.

Chaired by National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan, the PPP Code IRR Committee is composed of the Secretaries of the Department of Finance, Department of Budget and Management, Department of Justice, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education, the Executive Secretary, and the Executive Director of the PPP Center.

The IRR Committee will be accepting comments, inputs, and feedback on the draft text of the IRR until March 8, 2024 (Friday), 5:00 PM. Interested parties may submit by filling out the form on this link: https://bit.ly/pppcodeirr-submission