The Philippine government marks a significant milestone as the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Republic Act No. 11966, or the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Code of the Philippines, comes into effect today, April 6, 2024.
From January to early March of this year, the PPP Governing Board, acting as the PPP Code IRR Committee conducted a total of 23 online and in-person information and consultation sessions to solicit questions, suggestions, and recommendations from key stakeholders in the public and private sectors, development partners, and other organizations to craft and finalize the IRR. This resulted in an IRR that is efficient, fair, and promotes stronger collaboration between the public and private sectors.
Undersecretary Ma. Cynthia C. Hernandez, the Executive Director of the PPP Center, expressed confidence that the PPP Code IRR reflects the needs and perspectives of all stakeholders.
The PPP Code seeks to institutionalize PPPs in the country by establishing a unified legal framework for all PPPs at both national and local levels. This landmark legislation clarifies the ambiguities in the Build-Operate-Transfer Law, which was last amended in 1994, and other existing PPP legal frameworks.
“The PPP Program is a major government initiative—in light of the tight fiscal space, it is an essential component of the President’s transformation agenda under the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028… We are in a hurry to get strategic investments to increase our economy’s growth potential. The momentum for reform and action is strong, and we are pulling out all the stops for investors who who wish to do business in one of the most promising economies in the region,” National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said.
The PPP Code was signed into law on December 5, 2023, and came into effect on December 23. The IRR Committee was mandated to promulgate the IRR within 90 days from the effectivity of the law, or by March 23, 2024. After its ceremonial signing on March 21, the IRR was published in a newspaper of general circulation on March 22, 2024.
The timely promulgation of the IRR underscores the government’s commitment to sustaining its infrastructure push under the “Build-Better-More” program.
